We had gone through a couple of normal blenders due to using them almost every day to make drinks out of fresh and frozen fruit. They tended to wear out quickly and they took a lot of shaking in order to get the thick drink to blend up. When we started looking for a more commercial style blender we were surprised by how expensive they were. Then we found the Omni blender and it seemed to have the same qualities as the higher priced ones but for a much better price and with a 7 year warranty. After purchasing one we were not disappointed. We have put the blender through it's paces for the last 3 years. The blade just recently wore out and after calling Omni they gave us a replacement blade at cost.
The one part we have had problems with is the tamper. However, we are pretty rough with it (and using the tamper with the lid off is definitely not what you are supposed to do.
I would highly recommend this blender to any one wanting to get serious about drinking healthy smoothies.