Ninja - Smart Screen 72-Oz. Blender - Black

Because I am a Grandpa, my six young Grand Children frequently visit to play in Grandpa and Grandma's huge yard. Snacks and treats are always in demand. When I found out that this Ninja Smart Screen Blender, Model CT650, makes Ice Cream, Smoothies, and Snow Cones, I was impressed. Only a few, high-priced blenders, are able to do that in addition to routine, kitchen, food blender tasks. So, I anxiously looked forward to receive and use this complimentary Ninja blender in exchange for an honest review. And, after three weeks of almost daily use, I am super-pleased. However, it is my Grandchildren, who are this Ninja Smart Screen Blenders' greatest fans because of all the frozen, fruity treats, they now look forward too. WooHoo! Out of the box Grandma had this Ninja Smart Screen Blender running in less then thirty minutes to include thoroughly hand washing the blender and lid with warm, soapy water and air drying. While the pitcher and lid air dried we both read the included Instruction Manual. At first we were a little skeptical at how simple the operating instructions seemed to be, detailing the assembly, use, and cleaning/maintenance. But, after a couple of dozen blending tasks, this baby is designed to be uncomplicated and user-friendly. Grandma now has a knack for making the fruitiest and bestest ice cream combinations the Grand kids love. Their favorite is Grandma's 'Razzle-Dazzle-Berry' ice cream. She makes this ahead of the kids visit using frozen red raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and blue berries, powdered sugar, heavy cream and half and half. She freezes the heavy cream and half & half in ice cube trays the night before, enough cubes for two batches. After blending in the Ninja along with the frozen berries she serves the blended mix as a 'soft-serve,' style ice cream. There usually is enough mixture left to pour into a paper-lined bread pan, or, into an ice cream mold with sticks, and, back in the freezer to harden. After three hours it is ready for the kids, who can't wait. YUM! What do Grandma and I love about this Ninja Smart Screen Blender? ** Simple To Use – When you open up the box of the Ninja Smart Screen Blender, you will immediately notice a 'Quick Assembly' guide on one of the top box folds. It is pretty detailed, concise, and most of all the information you need to know to assemble and operate this kitchen marvel. It is so simple even a Grandpa like me can be skillful at making great desserts, soups, and blends of ingredients for delicious and healthy eating. ** LED Touchscreen – The Intuitive, black, LED Touchscreen displays the illuminated Power Symbol and Auto-IQ Programs: Smoothie, Puree, Frozen Drink, and my favorite, Ice Cream. I found that using these automatic 'presets' combines specific pulsing, blending and pausing patterns for each one I select. A preset amount of time is counted downwards on the LED Timer display for each individual selection. Additionally, I can use this blender manually by touching the Low, High, or, Pulse Symbols to activate. I can stop my manual selection by touching the same symbol again. Manual selection is so easy to use. Simply check the pitcher for your desired consistency, and, stop by touching that same symbol again. In manual mode the clock counts upward in seconds for that particular blending duration. ** Power – This is what this Ninja Blender is all about. At one thousand watts of power this baby turns hard, frozen ice into pulverized ice flakes, rock hard bread into fine breadcrumbs, and any combination of frozen smoothies, drinks, or purees to the exact texture and consistency you desire. It excels at converting ice into shaved ice for Icies. Since we live in North Florida my Grand kids love Snow Cones on warm days. Grandma makes them by pureeing a jar of fruit jelly or preserves with a touch of lemon juice and a small amount of water in the Ninja Blender. Then, pours the flavored syrup over the shaved ice from the Ninja Blender. SUPER-YUMMY! ** Desserts – The Ninja engineers designed this blender mainly for frozen treats. I have made Tangerine and frozen fruit Smoothies, Fruit-Flavored Ice Creams from the freezer, and Soft-Serve right out of the blender. This Ninja blender allows you to be imaginative with your own blend of chosen ingredients. Icies are a big Grand kid favorite, not to mention ice cream, and the flavor combinations we can make are endless. This Ninja Smart Screen Blender is worth its purchase price just for the many tasty and healthful desserts you will be able to create for you and your family. ** Rugged & Tasteful Design – This Ninja blender is built to last with quality components. The powered base unit has four suction cup legs, which require a flat surface to properly adhere too. They provide stability while the blender crushes ice and blends your ingredients to the desired texture and consistency in the large capacity pitcher. My blender looks good in my kitchen with its contemporary design and smooth, black, LED Touchscreen. It is too tall to fit under my cabinets fully assembled. However, I store it under my cabinets in two pieces, motor base separated from pitcher with lid. It works well stored in the 'open' on my counter and under the cabinets since we use it so much. ** Lightweight Pitcher – It is made from Tritan Plastic, which is BPA-Free and BPS-Free. It is Shatter Proof and safe with young children present. It does NOT shatter into dangerous pieces like the majority of heavier, glass-made, blender pitchers when dropped. It is also just as clear as glass and resists stains, dishwasher discoloring, even after hundreds of dishwashing cycles. It is easier for me and Grandma to handle because it is much lighter then glass. The pitcher is graduated into measurements of Liters and Milliliters on one side and Ounces and Cups on another, which accommodates any and all my recipes. It has a capacity of seventy-two ounces. However, Ninja recommends only filling it to the Max-Fill line, sixty-four ounces. The pitcher also features a locked pouring spout, which can be opened to add liquid for further blending if desired (with power OFF for safety). ** Safety Features - It won't work unless the container and lid are on properly, and locked into the base. There are locking symbols on the base, lid, and handle to insure correct alignment and placement. ** Blending – At the heart of this powerful blender is the Stacked Blade Assembly. It has six ultra-sharpened blades, which are fixed into position on a shaft. The Stacked Blade Assembly fits loosely onto the drive gear on the bottom of the pitcher. While blending it creates a vortex when I load the pitcher with heavy ingredients, or ice, at the top, and much lighter ingredients towards, or, at the bottom. This Ninja Blender is loud and noisy, especially while blending ice. But because it is so powerful the various blending processes take a short amount of time. ** Clean Up – I simply assemble the Stacked Blade Assembly back into the pitcher and lock the lid. I pour warm water and a small amount of dish detergent in the spout and touch the Pulse Mode for about twenty seconds. Then, I rinse it out and let it air dry. Cleans up thoroughly and easily. However, you can place the pitcher, lid, and blade assembly in your dishwasher too, since those parts are dishwasher-safe. The black LED Touchscreen is easy to clean with just a moistened soft cloth. Some points about this particular Ninja Blender to consider before you purchase: * No Individual Servings – This Ninja is designed for larger blending mixes. I have six Grand kids, so that is not an issue for me. However, you may not need all this extra capacity. * Requires Extra Care – When handling the blade shaft for removal after blending and for cleaning, extra care and caution must be used concerning your hands anywhere near these super-sharp blades. Definitely not to be handled by children or folks, who have arthritic issues, or limited dexterity. Over the past three weeks for desserts we have made a couple gallons of fruity ice cream, dozen batches of Icies, and fruit smoothies (see attached Tangerine Smoothie pic). I love fresh, homemade creamy soups. So, I made creamy Butternut Squash, Asparagus, and Broccoli soups (see attached pic). We have also concocted several frozen adult beverages, and pulverized hard bread into bread crumbs (see attached pic). I highly recommend this Ninja Smart Screen Blender as a purchase for yourself, gift to a family member, newly weds, or to a special friend. This blender is the gift that keeps on giving and a 'Must Have' in my kitchen, and, all the frozen desserts Grandma creates are a hit with my Grand kids. YooHoo!

When I was a little kid, my parents taught me how to make homemade milkshakes with our blender. The device wasn’t much to brag about — just a simple run-of-the-mill blender that they picked up from a department store. It has simple functions on it and it got the job done — for the most part. There were some things it just didn’t handle very well and that was because it was underpowered for what we were asking of it. Could we make milkshakes with it? Sure, but were they more milk than ice cream? Yes — the blender just couldn’t handle mixing up large scoops of the frozen treat. If you have the Ninja Smart Screen Blender (CT650), you don’t have to worry about that being a problem. Not only does it feature 1000 watts of power, it’s designed specifically for blending smoothies and frozen drinks. As a matter of confession, I hadn’t even heard of Ninja as a brand until a few years ago. It just wasn’t something paid much attention to until a co-worker had complicated-looking smoothies everyday. I asked what she used to make them and she said her Ninja blender. She explained that it’s a bit pricier than other brands, but it’s totally worth it. My first experience with a Ninja on a personal level was with the Ninja Chef blender, which is a 1500-watt machine. The Smart Screen model is perfect for people who just want to blend simply with the power of a Ninja motor. It has 4 pre-set Auto-iQ programs for blending. So, the user doesn’t have any specific control over the blending time, but they can still do a low, high, or pulse setting for getting their drink just right. I really like this blender for simplicity-sake. You can plug it in and be ready to blend within a few second after getting the blender unpackaged. The 1000-watt motor can tear through ice and fruit with no problems. The control panel is sealed and therefore it’s waterproof. That makes clean up a very easy process. That was always one thing that bothered me about other older blender models — the mess that would get into the button crevasses. The cap forms a nice seal, but can be a little tricky to align. Once you do, you shouldn’t have any issues with it coming loose or causing a mess. I’ve made milkshakes, smoothies, and even some purees for holiday meals and the Ninja Smart Screen has handled it all like a champ. For the price, you won’t find a better option for an easy-to-use blender with the power of a Ninja.

Nobody could possibly deny it; when you unbox the Ninja Smart Screen 72oz Blender and plug it in, you just stand back for a few seconds, staring at the red illuminated touchscreen power button. It JUST looks uber-cool! You will hesitate for a moment, and finally turn it on; you will say “Wow..” (really, you will) when the touch screen buttons illuminate. Believe me, this doesn’t just ‘look good’; after you use it, you will say “Wow…” again as you carry your previous blender out to the trashcan. It’s not necessarily a selling point, but anyone that comes into my kitchen asks what it is, and I usually have to give some sort of demonstration, which of course I’m more than willing to do! I get the same type of reactions though, many times a “Wow”. I also get comments how it looks futuristic, sleek, modern, powerful, and how the touch screen reminds them of their smartphone. In a world where most people have touch screen smart phones, I personally think that people see a familiar connection between the device in their pocket and the appliance on the counter. It’s familiar, but it is an object that draws people in. Believe me, they will want to try it out. I’ve tried this for a variety of jobs, especially over the Thanksgiving holiday. I’ve tried all of the functions; without a doubt, this IS the best blender I’ve ever used. Hands down. This is a 1000 Watt blender, and it will power through whatever you use it for. The four Auto-iQ programs are well thought out. Depending on the setting used, the blender motor will ramp up in speed, slow down, and run at full-speed; the actions are much the same that you would do if you didn’t have the programs. I cannot say I’ve made many smoothies at home UNTIL using this blender. It is thoughtful of Ninja to provide smoothie recipes with the product, although they are well-known for their kitchen products. It takes the guesswork out, and once you’ve looked at the recipes, you will be creating your own in no time. I have two kids; they ask for smoothies. I’ve used the ‘Puree’ setting to make a smooth turkey gravy, and to make a fresh raspberry fruit topping for a chocolate cake. I took alfredo sauce and used the ‘Puree’ program to incorporate sun-dried tomatoes. Very impressive. The ‘Frozen Drink’ & ‘Ice Cream’ programs work very well too. The ‘Ice Cream’ program was used for milkshakes; it will easily incorporate peanut butter into vanilla ice cream. I’ve made frozen margaritas and frozen mojitos using the ‘Frozen Drink’ program. Even if you don’t drink fruit smoothies, all you need is some ice, some freshly-made coffee, and any additions added to the ample 72oz container; once you press the ‘Frozen Drink’ or ‘Pulse’, you will have a quick frozen coffee. The frozen drinks come out SO well; the ice is much more uniform than you’d see from other home blenders, so it does have a nice ‘professional’ consistency, like you might see from a bar or something. I’ve used both the Pulse function, and the ‘Frozen Drink’ program, to create chopped ice; excellent job. No slowing down, no anything, and it does it in just a few seconds (I even used it to make snow cone ice with my daughter). The lid and container are interlocked; if you remove the lid, the blender stops. No more splattering the walls or ceiling with ice cream! The spout can be used to add ingredients during the blending process, and works very well for serving your frozen creation. From the picture, you can see that the blades in the center of the blender are not what you would typically see. This really keeps the entire contents of the blender container spinning, and works extremely efficiently. Compared to other blenders, there is less foam at the top of your drink as well. You will likely unbox it and be surprised of its size, but remember, you can store the base and container separately. You will likely find it a bit loud, but recall it is 1000 Watts. When you need a blender that is simple to operate, well-built, well-designed, and is strong enough to power through anything, you won’t regret the purchase.

This is a great blender -- I highly recommend it. I was excited about this one, since it has a larger pitcher than most blenders, 72 oz, and can turn ice into snow. The blades are extremely sharp, and there are numerous warnings about these. Most blenders I've seen have the blades in the bottom. This appliance has a 'stacked blade assembly' that isn't actually attached to anything. It sits in a holder in the bottom of the pitcher, and then there's another in the lid to hold it in position during use, but doesn't snap in place. If you're careful, you can use and remove the blades without incident, and there are warnings to remind you of this. Some reviewers saw this as a safety issue, but if you use as instructed, you should be fine. The blender won't work if the lid isn't properly attached, which provides another safety feature. It also tells you how to wash the blades - using a brush that is away from your fingers, or in the dishwasher. That's probably the only concern I would have with this, but it's a blender. It has to have very sharp blades to do what it's supposed to, especially with the way it pulverizes ice. The blades are designed to do a great job of blending the ingredients, and they do exactly as expected. Smoothies, milkshakes, slushes, beverages like daiquiris and margaritas, sauces, soups -- it's a very versatile device, and it does a great job with these. It comes with a recipe book, and more recipes are available online, both from the manufacturer and other websites. The lid attaches securely, so you can pour as soon as you're finished by popping open the cover on the spout, or you can open the lid, remove the blades, and pour that way. If you just want one small drink, it might be too large for you, but for my household, the old blender was always too small, and this makes enough that I don't usually have to do a second batch. Cleaning up is easy, remove the lid, pull out the blades. You can remove the entire pitcher from the blender base first, or after removing lid and blades. The Smart Screen feature means you can use one of four different buttons already programmed, based on what you are fixing, but it also has manual controls: high, low, and pulse. It includes instructions on what order to add ingredients for best results. This doesn't include other attachments, and some of those are not able to be used with this, but it's still a great deal for what it does, and it does such a great job at that. It has 1000 watts of power, which keeps up with regular use, and has more power than you need for most of the recipes you might try. It's an easy to use and easy to clean blender. I've found it to be versatile enough that it's the only blender/processor I need right now. You can find cheaper blenders, but they won't do what this one does, and this will outlast them.

So this Ninja blender looks like a beast when sitting on your counter. It has a commanding presence and look to it. The blade tower within the jar looks impressive and it looks like something that can crush and destroy anything you will put in this jar. This blender jar is a big jar that can hold a lot of liquid within it. It's a big massive bottle so if you have counter top with low cabinets it may be difficult to keep this on the counter. The base of the unit is pretty self explanatory and easy to use. Touch like interface is unique and responsive. The motor and horsepower within the base unit can crank out some serious power and the noise to go with it. So if you're looking for a quiet blender this isn't the one for you. I'm a junkie smoothie and make about 2 per day for our household. My usual smoothies are fairly simple and I like to have them come out clean and smooth. Fruit, yogurt, liquid, ice, seeds, and frozen fruits. This is a regular type of thing in our smoothie mix and unfortunately this blender can't make it smooth. Instead it chops it up and crushes things, but it leaves a gritty texture. I can't figure out why a blender with all these blades can't properly smooth out the texture to make it smooth and velvety. I have had a Vitamix 6300 in the past and yes it costs a small fortune for such a blender, but it truly pulverized food and impressively made a smoothie that was on par with something served at a fancy restaurant. So overall, I would say this Ninja blender is good, but not great. I recommend this blender to anyone looking for something better than a $30 Black and Decker. You can't compete with the quality and product of a high end blender like a Vitamix, but the cost also is 5 times higher. This Ninja blender is a sweet spot for a budget that meets the needs for most, but unfortunately I think it can't blend all that well. Also an issue for me is the razor sharp blade tower and cleaning them. With the loose razor setup and not truly locking in, I feel like this is a safety issue and this shouldn't be something that is available to consumers in it's current state.

What's in the box ----------------- 30-Recipe inspiration guide Ninja Smart Screen 72-Oz. Blender Total Crushing pitcher Pros ---- 1. Its just beautiful. Looks good on my new kitchen 2. The Jar is BPA free plastic and not glass 3. powerful, can crush ice and make good smoothies 4. Touchscreen, no mess and its waterproof. Cons ---- 1. Only one jar. I would love to have one more smaller jar. 2. Multiple blades, is it truly functional or hype? It is difficult to clean The Review ---------- I have a blendtec blender for some reason when i shake the motor, i feel some part is loose as i could hear something inside as if a coin got stuck. Hence i had to send it for repairs. As a temporary replacement, i got this. I have to be fair, i cannot compare a 100$ blender apples to apples to a 300$ blender. But i think i am fairly pleased with the results. The Blender has 4 Auto-iQ modes - (smoothie, pulse, frozen drink and ice cream). it also has 3 manual modes - Low, High and Pulse. I typically use the smoothie mode or the high mode and run it for a duration i would like to. I have to say that the smoothies made of ice, blueberry and strawberries came out fairly smooth. If not as smooth as the blendtec, i was very satisfied. I think the construction is also more sophisticated than the blentec and love the way the jar/pitcher locks in place with the blender motor. I also like the lid better than the blendtec. its looks like of very good quality. I have to also say that the touch screen is also waterproof and i could easily wipe it off when something gets on it, unlike buttons wherein i could say that food particles can get stuck between them. I cook a lot of Indian food, we need to make batter with rice and pulses for an Indian dish called "dosa" and the batter came out to be very smooth almost same as what my blendtec would do. Noise wise, i think it matches the blendtec, not too loud but again, its a blender, i think the noise is proportional to blending power so i do not expect it to be quiet. Overall, i am satisfied with the blender and i will recommend it.

We replaced a Ninja Pro 1000 with this model. The plastic jug was cracking and we were concerned it would shatter when running one day. To just buy the older style jug would have cost almost as much as a new blender so we just opted to replace it. This blender is an improvement. We were literally able to go from one day to the next, making the same smoothies as we always do so a comparison was easy. It is definitely noisier! It took my wife a little getting used to but it is not the quietest. On the smoothie setting, it only needs to run for a minute and that is not continuous so it is bearable. The touchscreen is nice and looks very slick. We only used the smoothie function so far so once you have all the ingredients loaded up and the top on securely, you push the Smoothie button and it takes care of things. You can even walk off and do something else for the duration (60 seconds in this case) which we could not do before. The program has different speeds and pauses which seem to really help. We notice it speeds up and stops to make the heavy items fall to the bottom and then it gets up to speed again. The fruits and vegetables do end up blended much better into the liquid than the previous blender could manage and it therefore makes much bigger drinks as more is being cut up and blended in. We are now able to add the protein powder at the same time as everything else whereas before, if we did that, it would create its own layer which was not very palatable. All in all, this is a great improvement over the previous model and although it does not have the Vac capability of the more expensive Ninjas, I don't feel we needed it and this one hits it out the park.

Ninja - Smart Screen 72-Oz. Blender with Auto-IQ: This recent Ninja is a great opportunity to get a slightly simplified version of Ninja’s great blenders. If you can live with only 4 programmed settings, this blender delivers a collection of features that I find easier and more useful. I really like the improved cap design. It’s a bit fussier to align because it has clips, but the upside is it stays tightly attached. It has a separate spout which stays closed. I much prefer this cover design which gives me more control over the pour and is more comfortable to maneuver. The control panel of the Ninja is completely sealed and, therefore, waterproof. The controls are brightly lit, making reading the preset programs easy. The manual controls are easy to find and understand. Those preset programs offer fascinating choreography that is matched to the desired outcomes. It’s all fun. Sure, you don’t get the chromed base, but it’s sleek and professional looking. The motor is Ninja powerful and the blades look extremely well suited to crushing, chopping and pureeing anything. We’re impressed.