stephct I am a form over function person any day of the week... but that's because I don't cook.

Even if I did cook:
1) More "features" means more things to bring.
2) How often are you really going to USE those features and how much joy are they going to bring to your life Just because they are there does not mean they are useful or necessary.
3) Will the joy of using a count down timer be greater than the joy of looking at the cooktop you love EVERY time you go into your kitchen?

*Break. More things to break. Not more things to bring!

Beagles-I love #3! You made me laugh. Thank you!

When it comes to appliances, go for function. It is like dating someone who is good looking but not interesting. The thrill is gone eventually with all new toys and you had better like what is left after it is commonplace to you....

That's what is so great about differing perspectives on GW :) You get both sides of the coin here!

Get the one with the knobs. I've had two induction cooktops and I wish they'd had knobs. Actually the '83 Kenmore had a button for every level and that was fine but the more recent all glass one? Bleh. I have small fingers and knobs would have worked better.

Beagles may not cook, but I do and I agree with Beagles all the way! (Even if I didn't feel knobs were just as good if not better than touchpad, which I DO!)

Fori- do you have the countdown timers on yours? The berta w the knobs doesn't. That's mostly what I'd be missing.

Hi Steph,

I don't have induction; but I did seriously consider it
when shopping for a new range a few years ago.
At the time, if I had see that adorable Berta induction hob
I think I would have jump into the world of induction.
I can see why you like the looks so much.
The little knobs add great "Berta" style.

{{!gwi}}

Anytime there is a question of knobs vs electronic touch pads I say go for knobs. It's a reliability thing. Those electronic touch pads break - without getting too geeky the temperatures inside the range or oven panels are HOT and the little electronic components on those boards often are not designed for that kind of heat - or dealing with so many cycles between hot & cold.

In one house we had a wall oven & I replaced the control board twice (did it myself and it still cost almost $300 for the dumb board). In this house we had an Amana gas range with the touch-pad to control the oven. It died and guess what - the part would have been about $300 but they didn't make it any longer. The range was only 12-15 years old. Without that one, highly customized touch pad board, the range was not salvageable & became scrap metal.

I bought a Berta just to avoid the electronic controls this time around. I'm biased based on my experience with the other 2 appliances and my work history (I'm an electrical engineer).

But I say, go Berta (or go for anything with knobs).
-Pam

Thanks so much for all the advice...I have one more wrench to throw in the equation...if I get the Berta then I have to get a Bosch dishwasher (800 series) not the Miele I had hoped for. Does that change anything for anyone?
You guys are the best, this is exactly what I needed!

My Bosch d/w works great. I've never had a Miele so can't compare. It cleans dishes well. I use the detergent tabs that are a combination of detergent and Finish rinse agent so they come out pretty dry. Just like anything else, I tend to use the basic features and haven't really tried to change it up, such as adjustIng the rack height or using different cycles. It is very quiet.

I'm going against the grain here. i have induction with touch control and I ditto what was said about ease of cleaning. I cook alot, and make a mess; love how it a smooth wipe. Stuff gets on knobs, around knobs, and under knobs. I love the look on a big hunky gas cooktop/range; but touch controls work great on induction for me.

Ooh I hadn't seen the Berta before--that looks like a decent setup. The knobs aren't in the spill zone (yes I've had spills do things with my touch pad controls--nothing serious since induction is mostly harmless) so they should stay pretty clean.

I haven't had the timers. I THOUGHT about the timers when I was shopping and all the halfsteps between levels and was prepared to buy the Miele (a few years ago when I was shopping, only Miele and Gaggenau had the timers that actually turned off the burners) and I realized I would not use that feature--not even for rice. My old induction cooktop had only 10 levels and I had perfect control for candy and stuff so I didn't think I needed more levels. (Insert 11 joke here.)

I ended up with a high powered barebones no frills cooktop that didn't even beep when there was no pot on it. Cuz darnit I'm smart enough to live without a beep!

Your knobs won't be that much trouble. And when you cover your cooktop with groceries after returning from the store, YOUR cooktop won't accidentally turn on cuz you got them sexy knobs.

I love, love, love my Bosch 500 induction cooktop. It is Soooo easy, and for me it is easy to love. I do love modern and simple clean things and these electronic controls are so not an issue in any way. I would not go back to knobs, soaking them, q tip cleaning---I don't cook much but I do more because I love my kitchen and kitchen stuff.

Just another voice.

Ditto what westsider40 said. I absolutely love my Bosch 500. And I NEVER thought I'd use the timer and it has become a WONDERFUL asset. I also enjoy cooking more because I don't worry about any mess I make. SO easy to clean with no knobs and only two metal strips. It totally surprised me with how much I love it.

Look at the cooktop though--the knobs won't get goopy!

Some people do use timers. Others don't even SET timers. The timers are, I suspect, the only feature that really distinguishes here I think.

Thanks so much everyone for all of the responses. I am so excited! I went this morning and ordered my appliances and went w/the Bertazzoni! I can't wait.

Yay steph! Enjoy that beautiful cooktop :)

That gorgeous cooker will put a grin on your face all the time. Enjoy.

Congratulations! Doesn't it feel good to have a decision behind you? I remember that sense of relief (Oh good! I don't have to keep thinking about that and the other 346 decisions I need to make can get some attention!)

-Pam

Induction with knobs???? Is that form or function? I don't understand.

I get the appeal of knobs on controls on vertical surfaces. On a horizontal, they seem like a liability - I love my wolf cooktop but the knobs are the weak link it seems to me as they are the part of the unit that become the hardest to clean. Not that I use it tons - but still.

I also don't get beagles' point about form over function in a kitchen. I don't especially like to cook - sure I do use the kitchen but I'm no power user and I make do with salads and other healthy stuff (key reason I use my kitchen rather than all takeout all the time). Still, I only enter the kitchen when I have to. I don't get the point of a set-up kitchen if you don't care to use it. Waste of energy, dollars and real estate to me. Heck, if I "didn't cook", I honestly wouldn't put in a stove of any ilk. I'd put in a wine fridge and a wine cabinet, a power point for an electric kettle (for me tea) and a DW (to wash the tea cups and wine glasses) put paid to the rest of the kitchen! I don't get that advice.

I'm very tactile and much prefer knobs, myself. Yay for the decision, either way - it's true it's just good to get 'er done and move along! We'll be waiting for photos --

In terms of form/function, it might be a bit harder to clean around knobs, if necessary, but I agree with the poster above that in return, you have controls that won't render the entire unit useless if/when they break.

But functionally, touchpads seriously annoy me because they rely on sheer visual cues. I'm at That Age where I've just begun to need reading glasses and I loathe having to stop everything to slip them on in the middle of busy cooking. It's much easier to see the position of a rotating notch mark or hear a click without being required to focus on a small LED display.

I have knobs and honestly, it's not that big of a deal. On my Kitchen Aid cooktop they are off to the lower right side, they are able to be pulled off and you just wipe them off with a dish rag. It doesn't seem a big deal at all. I don't even notice that it's any trouble or work. What you don't know won't hurt you. I've never had the touch controls so don't know the difference, lol. Maybe that is why I don't mind the knobs one bit. The entire surface is so easy to wipe clean that doing the knobs every once in awhile seems effortless.