I have one and I think it is brilliant.
I was totally against them when they first came out, because I thought a saucepan and stick blender would do just as well, and I still think that at full price they are far too expensive, but I got one in a sale and am glad I did.
I just pile in the ingredients, add the stock, put the lid on, switch it on, and go away and do something else until it bleeps. You must cut the veg fairly small, though, so that it cooks through. Sometimes I get a bag of ready-prepared vegetables, like the butternut squash and chilli one from Waitrose - now that's really being lazy!!
Then I have beautifully smooth soup - I find that the blending is really efficient, better than a stick blender. You can have chunky soup as well, but I haven't tried that yet. Or you can cook on the chunky setting, then blend just a little bit if you want to.
Washing up is a doddle - just run it under the hot tap.
One thing - you MUST read all the instructions carefully, and if you are anything like me, read them twice!