The Sanyo EM-S2588 is a helpful little countertop microwave with a handy range of features. Unfortunately, there is limited help and support available on the manufacturer's website. This compact microwave will certainly do the job if you are doing some basic microwave cooking such as baking potatoes, cooking frozen vegetables or reheating a slice of pizza. This microwave's most advantageous feature is the ability to set five memory programs with your own unique presets. Each program can have two stages with different power levels and times.

The presets on this compact microwave include: popcorn, potato, pizza, beverage, soup, dinner plate, fresh vegetables and frozen vegetables. These preset programs are based on weight and number of servings, and each offers a few different options to accommodate different serving sizes and weights. To use a preset, just press the preset button you want and then press Start. By pressing the preset button multiple times, you can choose the serving size or weight.

There also are buttons for time defrost and weight defrost. The weight defrost function calculates cooking time based on ounces, not pounds, and the user manual offers a small but helpful conversion chart to switch pounds into ounces. It does not take different types of meat into consideration, however.

For manual cooking, this microwave oven requires you to enter the time before the power level, which is different from many other compact microwave ovens. If you do not select a power level, it automatically cooks at full power. The +30SEC button is a quick-start feature. Press it and the microwave will immediately start cooking at 100 percent power. You can also use this button to add 30 seconds to the cook time during the cooking cycle. There is also a safety lock feature to protect children by preventing them from getting into the compact microwave.

This product comes in either white or black. Though some people might not care, the white model does have a lot more black on it than many other white microwave models. There is little variation between two compact microwave ovens. The control panel for both models is the same. The text is written a little small and may be difficult to read, especially with the blue background for the preset section.

The biggest concern we had with this compact microwave is the lack of support from the manufacturer. The website provides specifications, but beyond that, there is no other help unless you fill out an online form. We could not find a phone number for customer support, although there are phone numbers for parts and accessories. The FAQs section doesn't have any specific information for this product.

However, the electronic manual offers clear instructions. It also provides some good cooking advice, such as tips for defrosting meat. Unfortunately, the quality of the PDF manual is low and it looks like the company just scanned a printed version, so there are specks everywhere on the pages.