I purchased a Farouk Deep Brilliance Ceramic flat iron from Amazon a few years ago and was absolutely blown away by the quality of the flat iron. My Farouk Deep Brilliance is still working perfectly but recently I felt that I needed a backup iron in case something happened to mine (I've dropped it a few times). I was thrilled when Farouk introduced the Chi Deep Brilliance Titanium iron at such a great price and I purchased it right away. I was concerned about the titanium plates (I've only used ceramic plates) but I actually contacted Farouk directly before I purchased the iron and they told me that this iron was the new and improved Farouk Deep Brilliance. The Deep Brilliance is a Farouk line made especially for ethnic hair (I'm African American).Let's start with the pros:1. This Chi Deep Brilliance heats up pretty quickly...in just under two minutes. I'm usually rushing in the morning and haven't found myself waiting around for this iron to get hot.2. The digital display is a nice addition. You can clearly see when the iron is at your desired temperature and you can choose how hot you want the iron to get.3. It has a swivel cord that allows you to flat iron your hair with ease.4. It has an automatic shut off which is extremely helpful...I know that I've accidentally left my other iron on all day.Now the cons:1. My hair smells more burned than it did after flat ironing it with the ceramic plates. I don't know if that means that the temperature setting is too high but I don't love having my hair smell burned.2. The design of the casing around the titanium plates is very square. I don't know if this is something that I'll get used to in time but it does affect the way my hair curls. My Farouk Deep Brilliance had sleek rounded edges and this iron is decidedly bulkier and squared. It gives more a bump closer to my root which is good for volume I suppose but my hair wasn't as sleek and straight as it was with my other iron.3. My style doesn't seem to be lasting throughout the day. My hair looked pretty good this morning right after I'd flat ironed it but after a few hours my ends look frizzy and that has never happened to me before. When I take the time to flat iron my hair in the morning it normally holds up all day...even in the humidity.All in all I would say that it's a pretty decent iron...I don't know that it's better than a regular Chi. The color is nice but the design is definitely flawed...I'm actually a little bit disappointed.I purchased my first Chi flat iron--the original Chi--about 5 years ago. I loved that flat iron and have to admit that I was heartbroken when I dropped it and it finally gave out on me. I straigten my hair most days (I have normal hair, mid-length, naturally a wavy curl, not thick or thin), so I immediately went on a mission to find a new Chi. I read the reviews of this iron and all seemed great, but I was concered about the plates being titanium, as I have always used ceramic. With the price, though, I decided to give it a try.The flat iron is sleek (it does feel a little bit bigger in the hand, but nothing that I can't adjust to), and literally feels like glass when it runs through my hair. Perhaps it was that my original chi was getting older and worn, but I don't remember it ever feeling that smooth. The adjustable temperature is also nice, so if I don't want the high heat, I can set it to a lower temperature.I am overall very satisfied with the product--and am, of course, thrilled to have straight hair again!I have pretty curly hair and I have been on a search for a flat iron to straighten it out with no luck for years. The only way I could get it straight was when I got my hair cut and styled. Many hair professionals have suggested a Chi flat iron and I never thought I could afford one. Decided to look on amazon and found this one for less than $60. Received it yesterday and wow!! People aren't kidding when they recommend this brand. It's awesome! I didn't even set it at the highest setting of 410 degrees. I straightened it at 360 degrees. It even took less time than what I'm used to. I'm so in love with this thing. And even though it gets pretty hot, I didn't burn myself at all, which is a pretty common thing with me. This is my first day of using it so we'll see how well my hair stays straight throughout the day. I'm usually straight for a few hours and then back to curly again. And I forgot to mention how this makes your hair so shiny and smoothe. I feel like my hair has some texture again and you can see highlights in it. Can you tell I love this product??I was so excited about owning a flat iron, and I chose the Chi because I have used their hair products and always loved the results from their serum, shampoo and conditioner. My daughter-in-law owns the Chi flat iron, but a different model as she got hers a couple of years ago.The thing that I am very disappointed with is the control panel. I received my flat iron a day before I was to take a trip to attend a very important function, and I really needed to use it on my hair. My hairdresser uses a flat iron on me...so I was aware how to use it, but the on button (black soft rubber) got stuck and no matter what I did, I couldn't unstick it. I did take it on my trip...and after very carefully putting my fingernail in the small opening, I was able to get the button to lift up....and ever since, I have been very, very careful when I start the iron up...trying to prevent the button from sticking....but there is no guarantee that it won't stick to the bottom again. My d-i-l's control panel is not on the actual flat iron, and a much better control system; it is not that soft rubber that sticks. For the price of this unit...there should have been a much better on/off control panel.I've had this flat iron for about six months now and I am loving it. It works great, does the job great and my hair stays flat even the day after. I have long, thick hair and I was a little worried about getting a 1" inch flat iron thinking it would take forever, but I was pretty amazed at how fast and effective this flat iron works on my hair. I chose titanium over ceramic because (to me) titanium works just as good as ceramic and I don't think it burns my hair any more or any less than the ceramic flat irons I've had before.I do wish the 'Automatic off' setting would work as soon as you turn on the flat iron, but I've just gotten used to setting the timer when I know I'm in a hurry and I may forget to turn it off. Happy customer, will never own anything other than a CHI. ;) <3