Budget gadget reviewer
Cheap gadgets, tested the same way every time
I’m Dhruv. I test cheap earbuds, power banks, watches and phones and write up what each is worth, and I sell test sheets, a monthly review and two video courses.
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The map
- Earbuds
- Power banks
- Watches
- Phones
- Dropped since
- Best at its price
- 1Phone EPhones · $300, the third in the camera testBest at its price8.5
- 2Buds EEarbuds · $22, clear calls, best at its priceBest at its price8
- 3Phone DPhones · $190, the winner under $2008
- 4Phone CPhones · $1757.5
- 5Buds GEarbuds · $29, a point lower than E7
- 6Bank CPower banks · $30, best of the four7
- 7Bank DPower banks · $38, same score as C7
- 8Phone BPhones · $1607
- 9Buds FEarbuds · $25, hinge broke in a bag · Dropped since6.5
- 10Buds DEarbuds · $17, good fitBest at its price6
- 11Bank BPower banks · $22, close to the box6
- 12Watch DWatches · $24, best of the four6
- 13Watch EWatches · $40, I would wait for a sale · Dropped since6
- 14Phone APhones · $120, first night6
- 15Buds CEarbuds · $13, loses signal in a pocketBest at its price5
- 16Bank APower banks · $16, less than the box says5
- 17Watch CWatches · $21, short battery5
- 18Buds BEarbuds · $11, a little betterBest at its price4.5
- 19Watch BWatches · $19, strap is stiff4.5
- 20Buds AEarbuds · $9, sounds thinBest at its price4
- 21Watch AWatches · $16, dim screen4
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Seven earbuds under thirty dollars
Seven pairs, ten tasks each. The best at its price cost twenty-two dollars and scored eight out of ten.
Four power banks, one afternoon of tests
The number on the box against the number I measured. The best value was thirty dollars and scored seven out of ten.
A cheap smartwatch in a bowl of water
A forty-dollar watch with a splash-proof claim, tested for ten minutes. It scored six out of ten and I would wait for a sale.
Downloads, a course and merch
Shop
Downloads arrive by email. Merch is printed to order and shipped by Printful.
- PDF · 3 pages$5
Gadget Test Checklist
The ten tasks I run on every gadget, laid out to print, with a box for each score.
- Spreadsheet · 3 tabs$6
Scoring Sheet
A spreadsheet that turns your ten task scores into one score out of ten and puts it beside the price.
- PDF · 6 pages$5
Earbud Test Sheet
Eight tests for earbuds, from fit and calls to the bag test, with space for every pair.
- Spreadsheet · 4 tabs$6
Power Bank Test Log
A log for measuring capacity, charging speed and heat, with a worked example.
About
About me
I started reviewing gadgets because I was tired of paying too much and finding out later. I buy everything myself, I test it on the same list of tasks and I give it a score out of ten. Then I put the score next to the price, because that is the only comparison I care about: what did it cost, and was it worth it?
I work in a tidy corner of my flat with a light tent, a tripod and a stack of printed checklists. Some tests happen on a bench in the park, some on a rooftop and one, for watches, in a glass bowl of water. Everything is written down, so you can run the same tests on your own gadgets.
What I sell are the sheets I use for testing, a monthly review in PDF and two video courses, one on testing gadgets fairly and one on starting a review channel. I do not take gadgets from makers to review, and I do not sell gadgets. The reviews are free, in the letter and on the site.
Newsletter
Worth the Money
A short letter every Sunday from my review corner: what I tested, what it cost and whether it was worth it.