Gimmick

Turns surfaces into speakers but sounds inconsistent, so he says to just buy a normal Bluetooth speaker.

An exciting phone with a clever rotating camera and a standout screen, held back by durability worries, dull colours and a missing headphon…

A gag gift at best, since a straight line doesn't help with elevation, wind or terrain.

A masterclass in branding with a fan-designed story, but the glow-in-the-dark finish is an underwhelming gimmick, so B tier.

A pointless device that could have been an app, with poor battery life and security problems.

A five-screen pixel display that looks fun from a distance but does nothing a phone can't and has poor quality.

Very loud, but could be handy for signalling the toilet is occupied.

Interesting concept that does release smells, but they don't match the on-screen action closely enough to add a real layer.

A polished but pointless wearable that does nothing a phone can't, costs as much as a high-end phone, and is slow.

A case with built-in dice for board games, which he finds cool but imagines would be noisy with every step.

A LEGO take on the Kanye West glasses that make you stand out but are hard to see through.

Won best mid-range phone as a home run from a new company, with intriguing design, reliable software and attention to detail.

He calls the $55 cracked-glass decal the most bizarre of the lot and says you could just do it yourself for free.

Spectacular hardware with a great screen, undermined by gimmicks, pricey memory cards and weak developer support.

Cool as a piece of art with obvious limits such as 1080p and a picture-versus-transparency paradox; 7/10.

Premium-feeling and good fit, but one earbud failed to connect and the bottle-opener case is daft; 3/10.

Nintendo's biggest misstep: a red-and-black stereoscopic headset on a stand that barely sold.

He expected to love the keyboard feel, but the keys turn out to be glued on and non-functional.

Well marketed, but a portable blender solves no real problem and is small, battery-limited and hard to clean.

A $6,000 food 3D printer that never worked: messy, explosive and unable to hold structure.

A beans-on-toast grip he questions anyone wanting on their phone.

Called the strap-on hands-free mount ridiculous and noted the awkward viewing angle.

Rope-less skipping gadget he called the stupidest gadget he has ever seen.

A fun-looking app-guided stirring glass, but it is cheap-feeling, had Bluetooth issues and he would not use it.