Please note that this is a review for a different product to the one pictured, but on submitting a 'product suggestion' for the cup I wanted to review, I was - eventually (scenes indicative of long timescales passing - leaves changing on the trees, birds migrating north / south for the summer / winter, etc.) advised by the powers-that-be at dooyoo that my review of the (different) Tommee Tippee beaker should be submitted here.

So, the Tommy Tippee Tip-It-Up beaker is what you'd call a triumph of style over substance.

The translucent, attractively rounded plastic cup comes in a range of eye-catching colour combinations. I chose this cup based on its looks and the fact that it came certified free from Bisphenol A - that nasty plastic-related chemical that is believed to be having an adverse effect on - especially male - babies worldwide. Given the wide ranging negative publicity that Bisphenol A had in the press earlier this summer, it's surprising to note that although many baby bottle / equipment manufacturers have pledged to remove this chemical from their products in future, their policy is to keep current stocks of (presumably) Bisphenol A-containing baby ware on the shelves in the shop until it's all sold out. By looking to the back of the shelf at the 'Morrisons' where I got my Tommy TIppee cup however, I was able to find a one that confirmed it was Bisphenol A-free on the label.

The cup I got is the scarlet-bodied version with acid-green 'easy grip' handles on either side and screw-on cap (please note again that it's different in terms of shape, colour and the material used in its construction, to the one shown in the dooyoo review pictures). The cap also has a (detachable) clear, soft-silicone inner and 'teat'. It came with a bulky, rounded clear plastic cover that fits over the top of the teat to stop it leaking, but as this wasn't attached (and is transparent), that got misplaced almost immediately. The cup subsequently leaks like mad - unless it's sitting on a completely level surface.

The RRP for the cup is £3.50 and it's recommended for babies upwards of four months old.

Unfortunately the design flaws I'd attach to this cup are so numerous it'd be simpler for me just to list the few things I do find adequate about it. These are as follows. Despite leaking from the silicone teat, the cup part does hold water. The teat positively gushes water when it goes into an infant's mouth, so a baby can get at the liquid inside quite easily - and it's easy for a baby who hasn't used a bottle before to get used to the idea of drinking from a cup with this model. The 'easy grip' handles are nicely curved and flexible enough to allow the cup to be hooked round the frame of my baby stroller. And I still think it's very nice looking. That's about it.

The problems with it I've encountered with the cup so far include: the bulbous shape of the base part - (sigh - which isn't shown in the review picture, because the subject is an entirely different baby beaker - OF COURSE) so attractive to look at and yet so tricky (because of the extreme curvature and smaller-than-hand size) to clean adequately. The sharp-angled 'hip' just below the screw-on cap in the base part: decorative, but which forms another cranny that's difficult to clean. The way that from time to time, the silicone inset from the cap pops out of place mysteriously (presumably for cleaning purposes) and is then so inordinately difficult to put back in place. The way that, when you screw the cap back on, as you're tightening it in place, the silicone part invariably slips out place so that the teat part ends up off-centre in relation to the cup's (fixed) handles; this makes it more difficult for an infant to use the cup.

The limited amount of packaging that the cup comes with was also a pain in the neck. The cup comes with a thick and sharp-edged bit of plastic set around it so securely that the only way to get it free is to go in with scissors: I'm no health-and-safety obsessive, but this creates yet more sharp edges that you stand a real chance of cutting yourself on.

Despite having found functional problems with my Tommy Tippee baby cup, I've still been using it for my baby for about five months now - for the simple reason that the straight-sided replacement baby cup my other half bought (at Sainsbury's - the label has gone so I don't know who made the blasted thing) has an notionally snap-on lid so impossible to close that in practise that we've never been able to use it to put water in.

So as regards usable baby cups, things could clearly quite easily be a fair bit worse.