So, it seems like now most bagless canisters are using a bottom hose insert (see example image of Hoover S3865 WindTunnel Anniversary Edition Canister).  Why are they doing this for bagless machines? In the 90s the Fantom Lighting (sample image provided from Google Images) had a top hose insert, and most of your bagged canisters also have a top hose insert. In my opinion the bottom hose connection makes the machine less versatile when you want to clean up high and the canister begins to tip back. Is it a way to increase cleaning power or just a way to get cheaper manufacturing costs?

And here is the Hoover S3865 WindTunnel Anniversary Edition Canister

I know it is the Platnium series, its my daily driver - I don't know why I have been wanting to call it the Anniversary Edition. Thanks for the clarification.

The picture at the top of the page of that Fantom is the replica of the Dyson DC02 that the Americans never got. Mr Dyson must have sold the design to the USA, as Dysons were not available in the USA till after 2001 with the DC07.

The DC02 was not a popular vac in the UK and the DC05 which replaced it had the hose connection at the bottom of the unit as opposed to the top.

UK Dyson DC02:

A Dyson DC05 (Not available in the USA):

I believe the story as far as Fantom goes (and I just picked that one because it was the one I could remember off the top of my head for having a top mounted house insert) is that Dyson licensed the rights to manufacture and sell his technology under the Fantom name for the US & Canadian market. In 2001 when James Dyson got fed up with Fantom's greed ($75 for a HEPA filter etc...), he chose to pull the Licensing Agreement & move ahead with directly entering the US / Canadian market. Those early Dyson canisters are really neat looking.

I had a feeling I had heard something about what you said with the licencing agreements. Dyson thought Fantom were greedy did he? Pot calling the kettle black springs to mind lol

Early Dysons pre 2001 were very bright and colourful affairs, but the DC05 above (DC05 Clear) was not even available in the UK either. We got the DC03 and DC02 Clear but I think the DC05 clear was a Europe only limited edition.

The very early limited editions like the DeStijl and Antarctic Solo canisters will be very collectable in the future. The green DC02 shown above is an extremely rare DC02 ReCyclone, and one of these in excellent condition will be worth a fortune in the years to come.

Sadly Dyson has gone way downhill nowadays with build quality and the limited editions of the past are no longer available. Dyson has moved on from the lurid colours of the 90's and early 00's and quite frankly has become boring, with the model numbers changing that fast we will reach DC1,000 before long.

The DC08 (I think) was the most popular Dyson canister, and these still sell well on eBay today.

I just cant see the point of putting the ball on a canister vac, and its just a bit of a gimmick really. The Ball canisters and other micro canisters he designed seem very cheap and nasty, but the price is far from cheap!

This model was a very pretty affair and I always liked the DeStijl colour scheme - A DC02 DeStijl:

I have never used a Dyson, but seeing these early models is pretty interesting. I do like the colors on the DeStijl model. I wish manufacturers as a whole would get back to bolder colors, now it's grey, black, or white and that's it.

Times and fashions have moved on, and Dyson now seems to be more into the technology and over-engineering of his machines.

The early models were simple and easy to repair and maintain, and quite frankly I liked them a lot.

Here's an example of other "Clear models" we got in the UK. These were really stunning machines to look at, and back in the 90's they were so futuristic they looked like machines off Star Trek.

DC02 and DC03(upright) Clear:

The above DC03, was an interesting design as it had to canisters - one for the dirt and one for the oversized HEPA filters. Here is one belonging to me, in the standard colourway, next to a DC04 DeStijl. Both of these models were not available in the USA

Here is a pic of the range from DC04, DC07, DC14 and DC15.

The DC04 on the left is another limited edition in magenta and purple - a very pretty machine.

The DC15 is the first Dyson that really became over-engineered and far too complex. The first of the Ball cleaners launched in 2005. From then on, colours became more dumbed down, and canisters became smaller, as people complained that they wanted more compact vacs.

Here is what I mean about dumbing down of colours - the DC19 here that I sold last year, is a revision of the DC08, but has now become more dull and dark grey. The wand also changed to all plastic and became to flexible as a result. The hose was also too short and it just didn't seem as good quality as earlier DC08's had been. I sold this vac as I just didn't like it in comparison to the earlier DC08 which had a metal wand, and the DC08 was also a more colourful model, although not as much so as the earlier DC05. Dyson rarely sold a power head model either in the UK, we always seemed to be offered turbo brush heads driven by the airflow.

The DC19 Animal:

Benny - What I meant is that people complained that the DC15 was far too heavy, and other canisters too cumbersome to lug up the stairs, so Dyson set about making everything smaller and lighter. With the DC24 and DC50 and the DC26 (Wood and Wool) he went to far and made models akin to kids toys.

If you look on many review websites, and Argos as well, one of the biggest complaints people have is "Its too big and cumbersome", or "Its too heavy to lug up the stairs"

I read many reviews of the DC15, and it was clear to see that the biggest flaw was its weight and bulk. So many people complained about this.

You can also see this on Miele's first upright, the S7 - most of the complaints are about its size and weight. I can bet that when Meiele launch its replacement, they will make it smaller and lighter.

Dyson has to respond to criticism, or he wouldn't sell as many vacs as he does. He reduced the size of the DC15 a year or so later, to make the DC18, then made it smaller again to make the DC25, and went even smaller to make its then little brother the DC24, but these ran concurrently, with the DC24 the choice for older people or people with not much space. This was the same with the DC22 and DC26 - he wanted to satisfy a market for people that wanted a small canister who lived in small flats or homes with stairs where owners found a conventional canister to big and awkward to lug up the stairs. Many people complain about the Henry for this, saying that he is too bulky and heavy to get up stairs, or takes up too much room in a tiny flat.

Dyson did run the DC22 baby, and  DC26 city alongside the larger DC19 and DC32, to cater for those who needed a larger bin capacity. The DC39 however is nothing more than a gimmick. Also note on the DC39 how much room in the bin there is for the actual dirt itself, not a lot when you take out the room that the cyclone assembly takes up.

This is a criticism of many bagless canister models - the cyclone assy takes up so much room in the bin that the "MAX" line is getting further down towards the bottom.  

Vax addressed this on the Mach Air canisters, by increasing the space in the bin for the dirt. They altered the cyclone assy and also located the primary separator on the outside of the canister, although later models of Mach Air Mini machines had the primary separator located to inside of the bin again .

Vax Mach Air:

Benny is right about the clip on hose tool caddy - this was carried on to later canisters and its a dreadful design. A friend of mine has a DC08 Animal with that hose caddy and hers is broken. She said the tools always used to fall off it anyway.

The point where the ABS handle slides into the telescopic metal wand was always a weak point on early machines - how many of them do you see on EBay where the handle has been repaired with gaffer tape?

The DC02 also had problems with the tool compartment door flap not staying closed, as the exhaust air passed through this compartment.

The DC02 in comparison to the DC01 was a poor seller, which makes the limited editions so rare now, and those that are still left are obsolete so parts are no longer available.

The hose mounted caddy was abandoned on the DC19 T2, when the extension tube wand became its new location. The caddy clipped onto the tube, but I found this to be inconvenient as well, as it used to get knocked when vaccing in tight spaces, and end up sliding down the tube or turning itself round.

The best design was on the old bagged canisters where the tools stored under the lid over the bag housing.

The location for the tools on the DC02 was not a bad one, it was just that the lid had a habit of popping open in use by itself.

DC19 Animal, with wand mounted tools: