Ours are manual and we loved them. We have a Victorian era house so were worried about the aesthetic implications but they actually blend in well. They are Nu Style and they have made a huge difference in terms of blocking out noise, light (especially in the girl's room), heat and cold (power bills down) and also security.

We were going to get the turning handle style mechanism but it wouldn't fit so we have one that is like a tension cord - it is much easier IMO, they go up and down so quickly - they actually saved our windows in a massive hail storm earlier this year as I got them down so quickly. If I hadn't the hail would have smashed the glass.