The pink processors you see in the photos are the older Freedoms, they came in great colors. She loved the pink ones and I could always find them. The N5s are limited to those 5, I think, that you posted pictures of, although you can get colored sheaths or "bling" them with removable stickers and sticky jewels. We got black, although I think the white ones are really nice looking.
Nice as all that is, though, it's not what it looks like, but how it works and what it feels like on that matters, but I think you know that 
. Our clinic let us "try on" the different brands, handle them, and get a sense of how you turn them on/off, change programs, feel their weight on your ears. That might be a helpful approach for you.
We use the remote all the time -- easy for me or for her to adjust programs on the remote than to fiddle with the processors woven into her hair, see if her batteries are getting low, trouble shoot the system ... But, it's also yet another thing to keep track of. But it's a bit difficult to determine what program you are on with the N5 (vs the Freedom, which had a display) without it -- you have to count blinking lights or listen to the beeps (if it's on you). Or you can glance at the remote and see how much battery you have left, what your settings are, whether you are on your music program or you are set up to watch a movie using t-coil. I find it very hard to determine if it's on t-coil or not without the remote. I have a love / hate relationship with that thing. And you know how remotes tend to walk...
We had a tiny sticker on her right processor, although that fell off ages ago, now I have a 50/50 chance of getting the right one on (green light) or seeing yellow when I hit her contact point with the coil. She seems to have better odds than I when my daughter puts them on, maybe she knows some subtle difference in the way they feel.
Our rechargeables from 4+ years ago are still working, but I don't think they hold a charge nearly as long as they used to (hard to tell though, bc different maps use different amounts of power). But when we were upgraded to the N5s, we got a whole new set of accessories, and we're still using those rechargeable from 2 years ago, and haven't needed to buy new ones yet. Our only cost outlay has been for disposable batteries, funky processor covers, and a disposable battery cover ($$) to replace one that "walked" at school.
I've always been lucky with customer service, I guess -- have never hit a slow response from them yet.
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