While it's not going to get ya to 5 seconds, a big issue with kettles is how full they are. My wife fills ours up all the way and boils it, uses one cup of water. I boil a cup at a time which is very quick and beats standing there waiting for a whole kettle to boil. And... the more you boil water, the "flatter" it tastes (to some people anyway).

(I've got one year of college, my wife has a PhD, but I still can't get her to go to "cup at a time").