Humanity has accomplished extraordinary things with technology.
We split the atom.
We landed people on the Moon.
We built a global communications network capable of transmitting nearly all accumulated human knowledge to a device carried in your pocket.
Then we connected the toaster to Wi-Fi.
Progress is complicated.
Welcome to Tech & Gadgets, where we review the phones, electronics, accessories, smart devices, peripherals, chargers, networking gear, and assorted blinking crap that modern civilization has decided we cannot possibly live without.
Some technology genuinely improves our lives.
Some solves problems.
Some creates entirely new problems and then offers a subscription service to solve those.
And some exists because an engineer somewhere looked at a perfectly functional household object and whispered:
“You know what this needs? Bluetooth.”
Let’s investigate.
Technology Is Fucking Amazing
We should probably establish this before spending several thousand words making fun of it.
Technology is incredible.
A modern smartphone replaces the telephone, camera, calculator, flashlight, map, compass, music player, television, alarm clock, calendar, encyclopedia, newspaper, and approximately thirty other objects we once had scattered around the house.
You can stand on a mountain, take a photograph, send it to somebody on another continent, check tomorrow’s weather, find directions home, order dinner, and determine the name of the weird bird staring at you.
That’s astonishing.
Unfortunately, that same $1,000 technological miracle will occasionally inform you that it cannot connect to a Bluetooth speaker located fourteen inches away.
Thus begins our investigation.
Does This Gadget Actually Solve a Problem?
That’s our first question.
Not:
Is it new?
Not:
Is it smart?
Not:
Does the commercial contain attractive people living in an immaculate house with suspiciously little furniture?
Does it actually make something better?
Faster?
Easier?
Safer?
More convenient?
More enjoyable?
If a device improves something we regularly do, great.
If it requires downloading an app, creating an account, connecting to Wi-Fi, installing firmware, granting six permissions, confirming an email address, and restarting the router so we can turn on a lamp…
We’ve invented a switch with extra steps.
The Smart Home Has Become Increasingly Opinionated
The house used to be fairly passive.
Lights stayed where you put them.
Thermostats controlled temperature.
Doorbells rang.
Refrigerators kept food cold.
Then we made everything smart.
Now the thermostat knows we’re home.
The doorbell knows somebody else’s home.
The camera knows the neighbor walked past.
The speaker knows we asked it something.
The television knows what we’ve been watching.
And the refrigerator may know we’re out of milk.
At some point you have to wonder whether we’re living in the house or working for it.
Smart-home technology can be enormously useful when it works well.
Automation, security, remote monitoring, energy management, convenience, and accessibility are meaningful benefits.
But smart features aren’t automatically useful features.
Sometimes the smartest version of a product is still the one with a button.
Phones: Tiny Computers We Occasionally Use to Make Calls
Smartphones may be the most important consumer technology most people own.
They’re also among the easiest purchases to overthink.
Processors.
Cameras.
Displays.
Battery life.
Materials.
Storage.
AI features.
Charging speed.
Water resistance.
Software support.
Durability.
Repairability.
And increasingly ambitious claims that this year’s phone has completely reinvented photography despite looking remarkably similar to the phone we bought last year.
We’ll dig into the details that actually matter.
How does it hold up?
Does the battery last?
Are the cameras genuinely better?
Did the new material improve anything?
Does the performance change everyday use?
Is the upgrade meaningful?
Because there’s an important difference between:
“This is a better phone.”
and
“You should spend another thousand dollars replacing the perfectly good phone already in your pocket.”
Chargers, Cables & Dongles: The Parasites of Modern Technology
Technology has never been more advanced.
Naturally, we remain surrounded by cables.
Charging cables.
Display cables.
Network cables.
Audio cables.
Adapter cables.
Extension cables.
Cables connecting other cables to devices whose manufacturers courageously removed the port you needed.
Every attempt to simplify connectivity appears to generate four additional adapters.
We’ll review the boring stuff too.
Chargers.
Power banks.
Hubs.
Docks.
Adapters.
Cables.
The unglamorous technology that you never think about until it stops working and suddenly the entire modern world collapses because a six-inch wire has developed emotional problems.
Good accessories disappear into everyday life.
Bad accessories become recurring sources of profanity.
Computer Accessories Without Opening the Computer
Computer components have their own section.
This is where we’ll put the crap surrounding the computer.
Keyboards.
Mice.
Webcams.
Speakers.
Headsets.
Controllers.
Docks.
Displays and accessories.
Networking gadgets.
External storage.
USB devices.
And whatever combination of plastic and RGB lighting the gaming industry releases next.
These products can make an enormous difference in everyday use.
After all, you don’t spend eight hours physically touching your processor.
At least I hope you don’t.
You touch the keyboard and mouse.
You look at the screen.
You listen through the speakers or headphones.
Peripherals deserve more attention than they’re sometimes given because they’re the parts of the computer humans actually interact with.
Networking: The Invisible Crap We Blame for Everything
Few technologies receive less appreciation than home networking.
When the internet works, nobody thinks about the router.
When it doesn’t, the router becomes the most hated object in the Western Hemisphere.
Routers, switches, mesh systems, Wi-Fi extenders, access points, network adapters, and other networking equipment quietly keep modern households functioning.
Phones.
Computers.
Televisions.
Cameras.
Consoles.
Smart-home devices.
Appliances.
Half the damn house is asking the router for something.
We’ll look at networking equipment from the perspective that matters:
Does everything stay connected without requiring us to crawl behind furniture and unplug shit every Thursday?
Reliability is a feature.
Sometimes it’s the most important feature.
Battery Life: The Specification That Eventually Betrays Us All
Every cordless device has a honeymoon period.
Look at this!
No cables!
Freedom!
Then the battery reaches 8 percent.
Modern battery technology is remarkable, but batteries age.
That’s why we’ll care about more than advertised runtime.
We’ll look at charging behavior, battery longevity when we can, replacement options, power management, and whether a wireless device remains convenient after the new-product excitement wears off.
A wireless gadget whose battery constantly needs charging is simply a wired gadget with scheduling requirements.
Apps: Why Does Everything Need an Account?
You buy a gadget.
You turn it on.
The screen says:
DOWNLOAD OUR APP.
Fine.
You download the app.
CREATE AN ACCOUNT.
Why?
It’s a light bulb.
Apparently the light bulb needs to know more about us before proceeding.
Apps can add tremendous functionality.
Configuration, firmware updates, automation, monitoring, personalization, and remote control can all be useful.
But we’ll also ask whether the app is actually necessary.
Can the product work without it?
Does it make the device easier to use?
Or has software been inserted into the experience simply because somebody decided every physical object now requires an ecosystem?
Not everything needs an ecosystem.
Sometimes we just want the fucking headphones to work.
Durability Matters
Technology frequently receives reviews when it’s brand new.
That’s understandable.
New products generate interest.
But brand-new electronics tell only part of the story.
What happens after six months?
Does the coating wear?
Does the battery deteriorate?
Does a hinge loosen?
Does the charging port become unreliable?
Does software support improve or decline?
Does the manufacturer fix problems?
Does the product still feel like a good purchase once the next version arrives?
That’s why long-term ownership matters here just as much as it does elsewhere on the site.
A great gadget isn’t merely impressive when you open the box.
It remains useful after you’ve thrown away the box.
Then There’s the Miscellaneous Shit
This is the fun part.
Some piece of technology inevitably appears that doesn’t fit neatly anywhere.
It’s not quite a computer component.
Not really a phone accessory.
Not necessarily smart-home equipment.
It may be a gadget we didn’t know existed until five minutes ago.
Perfect.
It lives here.
Consumer technology moves too quickly and gets too weird to build a category for every possible thing somebody attaches a processor to.
So yes, Tech & Gadgets is intentionally broad.
If it uses electricity, contains electronics, communicates with another device, charges from USB, connects to Wi-Fi, flashes unnecessary LEDs, or causes us to download another goddamn app, there’s a decent chance we can review it here.
The Upgrade Problem
The technology industry is very good at convincing us the thing we own has suddenly become inadequate.
New model.
Faster processor.
Better camera.
Brighter display.
More megapixels.
Additional AI.
Seventeen percent more something.
And suddenly the electronic device that worked beautifully yesterday begins looking embarrassingly prehistoric.
That’s bullshit.
Technology doesn’t become worse because something newer exists.
The real question is whether the newer product improves anything you actually care about.
Sometimes it does.
There are meaningful technological leaps.
There are products that make old versions feel genuinely outdated.
But sometimes the new model merely moves the numbers around and changes the shade of blue.
We’ll try to distinguish between the two.
The Subscription Problem
Once upon a time, you bought something.
Then you owned it.
Quaint, isn’t it?
Modern gadgets increasingly arrive accompanied by optional or required services, cloud storage, premium features, memberships, expanded functionality, or some other method of continuing the financial relationship long after you’ve left the store.
Subscriptions aren’t automatically bad.
A service that continuously provides something valuable costs money to operate.
Fair enough.
But the ongoing cost needs to be considered as part of the product.
A $99 gadget accompanied by years of recurring fees isn’t necessarily a $99 gadget.
That’s why we’ll consider the whole ownership experience, not merely the number printed on the shelf.
Expensive Tech Is Still Crap If It Doesn’t Work
Price creates expectations.
A cheap gadget that performs surprisingly well can be an excellent buy.
An expensive gadget needs a better excuse for existing.
Premium materials?
Exceptional performance?
Long support?
Excellent software?
Better repairability?
A genuinely innovative feature?
Fantastic.
But there is no price threshold at which we’re obligated to become impressed.
A $1,500 piece of technology that regularly pisses you off is simply premium-priced crap.
Possibly aluminum crap.
But still crap.
So… Should You Buy This Tech Crap?
That’s what we’re here to figure out.
We’ll look at things like:
- Build quality
- Features
- Real-world performance
- Ease of setup
- Software
- Connectivity
- Battery life
- Durability
- Privacy and account requirements when relevant
- Compatibility
- Repairability when practical
- Long-term ownership
- Manufacturer support
- Price
- Competing gadgets
- Whether upgrading actually makes sense
- Whether the damn thing solves a genuine problem
Sometimes the answer will be:
Absolutely. This thing is genuinely useful.
Sometimes:
It’s excellent, but keep what you already own.
And occasionally:
No. Somebody put Bluetooth in an object that was doing perfectly fine without it.
Welcome to Tech & Gadgets
Below you’ll find our growing collection of tech reviews, electronics, phones, accessories, smart-home devices, peripherals, networking equipment, chargers, gadgets, and miscellaneous electronic crap that didn’t belong anywhere else.
Some technology genuinely changes how we live.
Some makes everyday life slightly easier.
Some is enthusiastically solving problems nobody remembers having.
And some will work beautifully until the manufacturer updates the app.
We’ll test what we can.
We’ll research the crap out of it.
We’ll live with it when possible.
And we’ll try to answer the only technology question that really matters:
Should you buy this crap, or is the crap you already own perfectly fine?
Welcome to Tech & Gadgets.
