Neato chops its prices for newest robot vacuum line

[MUSIC]. Given that most robot vacuums on the market today cost over 500 bucks, the $499 Neato bot vac D80. [INAUDIBLE] is a pretty solid, cost-effective option for you. I've you've had the chance to look at our previous review of Neato's Botvac 85, that's Neato's original Botvac line. This is kind of a lateral upgrade from that model. The original Botvac cost $499. This one costs $499. But, Neado says that this model boasts an upgraded brush design and more powerful suction. Unfortunately that wasn't the case with this particular model and we put it through its paces. We tested it on mid-pile carpet low pile carpet and a hardwood flooring surface using rice, sand, and pet hair. It did all right with the rice test, scoring third place out of the five models for comparison. The Z85 actually did come in first place with pet hair but the difference between first, second, and third place were pretty negligible. While none of the robot vacuums tend to do particularly well picking up [MUSIC] Picking up sand. This model did especially poorly, coming in last place out of all the models used for comparison. So when you consider that this model was being compared to really high performing models, it actually held up pretty well, especially with the pet hair test. But, I'm a little confused as to why neato introduced This model when it's so similar to the Botvac 85. They are the same price, at $499, and this one actually performed a little bit worse. So if you're in the market for a new robot vacuum and you like Neato, I would still stick with the original Botvac 85. For more on the Botvac D85 robot vacuum, check out my review on At cnet.com. I am Megan Wollerton for cnet