I think the takeaway here is to not put all your eggs in one basket. Each material has it's pluses and minuses. I like a variety of materials and the following is a quick rundown of what I use and a brief observation of them. SS for induction is great because it's reasonably responsive with an aluminum or copper core. Getting as much of that core material as possible will make the induction really shine when a recipe calls for rapid temp changes. One of my favorite things is that they can go in the dishwasher and you can use some heavy duty cleaners in case of an oops. I've had one warp on me, but the others are nice and flat. You'll also be looking at clad base vs fully clad. What and how you're cooking will enter into the decision making. Skillets and sauciers really use the heat that radiates up the sides. A stock pot doesn't, and the big ones are usually clad-base, only, anyway. Cast iron is great for maintaining a temperature. Braising, frying in oil, and such. Wonderful for stovetop to oven cooking and searing. It doesn't heat evenly and is not responsive at all. Whether enameled or seasoned metal, it's a good tool. Carbon steel needs seasoning and reapplying it is a given. Metal tools will scrape it off. Great for high heat cooking. You'll find very reasonably priced woks at an Asian market. Lots of cooks will use this material in place of non-stick. They do warp, and that can be a pain on glass when they start spinning. Cast iron and carbon steel are at their best when they're used regularly to maintain their seasoning. Acid in food will wear on seasoning, so simmering something like tomato based dishes isn't advised. They are hand wash only. Non-stick is awesome for scrambled eggs, fish, and other delicate preparations. It's best for low to med-low cooking. The coating will wear over time and the dishwasher speeds that up. I would get an inexpensive one.

artemis-ma: No manufacturer currently sells a six burner induction range in the North American market. Your mentions of "breaking the bank" etc, make me suspect that you want to stay below $2k as the price. Fortunately, going above $2k is unlikely to yield an induction range that will give more for your stated intentions. If you want a five-induction-burner unit, you have to buy a 5-burner, 36" cooktop and install a wall oven beneath it (or elsewhere in the kitchen if you have the room). To have six induction burners, AFAIK, you would have to get a 30" (4-burner) cooktop and a second, two burner unit (often called "a domino"). The power connections for these are more complicated, too. (A single oven will require a 20 amp 240v connection and the the cooktops will usualy require a 40amp 240v connection, so some rewiring might be needed if you went this route. Most induction ranges require a 40amp 240v circuit, but a few require 50 amp circuits.) If you can work with revamping the 240v wiring, then you might want to consider the new GE and Bosch 36" induction burners with their "bridging" capablities. Silken1 has (I think) the previous PHS GE PHS925 slide-in model. This had a couple of very long and mostly very positive threads, here, which will support the points that Silken made. I think Patricia has the successor model, the PHS 920 which has equally positive reviews here. Personally, if I were shopping for an induction range right now, I might be more inclined to the freestanding version, the PHB920, because there is a bit more room on the cooktop and (thus) a bit more room for canning. From my perspective, the major differences between the previous "925" versions and the current "920" versions are (a) styling and (b) the ovens in 920 versions have more (and better) options and a full-power third ("true") convection element. The left front burner on the GE ranges is 11" diameter and both right side burners are 8" diameter with sufficient power to be quite usable for a canning kettle. (Consider that folks have been canning for decades with kettles on 8" diameter 2500 watt coil burners.) Samsung's sub-$2k freestanding induction ranges (NE597NOPBSR and NE595NOPBSR) have interesting features (and sometimes just plain weird ones) but there are very few reviews here. Most have been positive. Samsung also has a reputation for poor warranty and post-sale support. I would skip the Whirlpool induction ranges. That includes Maytag and the older Kitchenaid induction models. The newest Whirlpool models from Jenn Air, and Kitchenaid are very expensive. Whirlpool's induction burners all seem to have only 10 settings which many find too crude, especially if you want to run pressure cookers or long, slow simmers. The zone arrangements are odd and the big burners are mostly in the back. There seem to be more reports of problems with them, too. The last time I checked, the manuals discouraged using these stoves for canning. The are some less expensive freestanding induction ranges from Frigidaire/Electrolux/Kenmore. The best versions of Frigidaire models, in my opinion, is the Kenmore 95073 and the relatively new Frigidaire slide-in (which often seems discounted to the $1500 to $1600 range, which is (by far) the least expensive induction slide-in.) Some folks like these because they have rotary dial type control interfaces (i.e., knobs) for the burner controls. The Kenmore has a 10" diameter large burner on the right front and an 8" burner on the left which (as with the GE models) should be good for canning. The use and care manuals specifically discuss canning. So does the Frigidaire slide-in. There is an Electrolux IQ version of the freestanding range, EI30IF40LS, with some trade-offs. The two right side burners are 7" in diameter, so somewhat smaller. They are bridgeable/linkable into one big, rectangular burner but it is not clear how well that would work for canning. The Elux also has more heat levels at the low end of the burner heat setting scal giving finer control for simmering type cooking. It uses all touchpad controls on the backsplash. As for canning -- induction-capable water bath canners are readily available and inexpensive if your current kettles are not induction capable. Pressure-canners are a different matter. Basically, for domestic use, all of the readily available large-capacity pressure-canners (Presto 16 qt and 24 quart, All-American 16 to 40 quart models) are aluminum and are not induction capable. (Fill them with water and filled jars, a stainless steel pressure unit would be too heavy to lift.) If you can work with smaller quantities for pressure canners, Fagor has several that can handle 4 quart jars at a time and the biggest Kuhn Rikon (12 quart capacity) will hold 5 quart jars at a time for pressure canning. (Costco.com has a Fagor "Rapida" 10-quart PC with a canning kit for $99).

I have an Electrolux slide-in, previous model to Dlm2000's, built Nov. 2011. More features than the Frigidaire that may or may not be considered useful to you. 2 speed convection fan, high for Convection Roast and Convection Broil and Preheat, low for convection bake and dehydrate, 23 heat levels counting PowerBoost,I think Frigdaire has 19-still plenty of adjustment. At about 2 1/2 years I needed service due to power company surge when they broke a power pole while moving it and blacking out half the town, luckily we had an extended Sears warranty and while having to wait some time for diagnosis and parts ordering and repair, wife was not at all happy about that, the past 3 years have been problem free including self-clean occasionally. I might recommend seriously considering the Frigidaire slide-in, a very good price-little more than an induction cooktop- still with the benefits of multistep induction heat levels and convection along with low price- to make a future out of warranty repair or replace decision less expensive or traumatic. Do buy an extended warranty. No personal experience with the GE but there are several threads here about both the first and current GE Induction ranges.

Thank you LWO. In that case, I'll just have to live with having a small vent sticking out the island then...I would go with GE Cafe, GE Profile. The following is not addressed to you, LWO, just a general comment. I've done extensive reading last weekend at this Kitchen forum. I understand the predominant voices on Houzz ask for range and hood on kitchen perimeter. I wish I read it before I bought the house. The previous owner spent 300K and hired an architect to remodel the house. It's very difficult to change the current design without gutting it. I now know the difference between a DIY house and a professionally architected house. Every design has a reason and it's symmetry everywhere. I've talked to four builders about moving the range off the island. There's no place along the perimeter...my only option is to remodel the whole kitchen, taking down the exterior wall and relocate the windows. I can't do that because I just bought the house and I've already paid for the current kitchen. I definitely should ignore pros who enforce their ideas on homeowners. Of course it's easy to gut the whole thing and start fresh, but that's also the most expensive solution for homeowners.