It’s 2020, so Chad & I take a peek back at some of the gadgets we picked as losers of the past year.

Yes, gadget sucks, but not in the way that picks up dust. It’s the Viatek Cordless Battery Powered Pocket Vacuum.

I bought this device as “deal of the day” from the pulseTV website. The copy says “Dust and dirt doesn’t stand a chance when you have the Viatek Cordless Battery Powered Pocket Vacuum Pro in hand!” I think a more realistic line (at least for me) would be: “Dust and dirt don’t budge very much when you have the Viatek Cordless Battery Powered Pocket Vacuum in hand!” You’ll see how effective it was in my video. (Link below.) It doesn’t include 4 AA batteries which you need for power, but it come with a carry storage bag. Although mine was just about $5 as a ‘deal’, shipping & tax brought it about $11.00. It’s still available for $9.99 — but wait — You can get four for $31.96!! Plus shipping. I personality didn’t think it was worth even $5.

Giz Wiz Video: https://youtu.be/DSCnD3e3MQY

PulseTV link: https://www.pulsetv.com/Viatek-Cordless-Battery-Powered-Pocket-Vacuum-Pro/productinfo/8911/

See or hear this show: www.gizwiz.tv/episode/1760

At CES 2019 Chad & I thought this was a digital take on the ‘piggy-bank’. Well, it’s a heck of a lot more complicated than that! Here’s info from the company: “In our increasingly cashless world, it’s more and more difficult for children to understand the value of money. Pigzbe is a (very) smart device and educational app that teaches kids 6+ great saving, spending and earning habits through play. It’s one of the first ever family products built using the blockchain.  Digital money, contactless payments, in-app purchases and cryptocurrency are all things they need help to understand. It’s hard to get to grips with money if you can’t touch the notes or feel the coins! We wanted to find a way to make digital money physical, so children can touch, play and experiment with it. The same way we did with the coins in our piggy-banks.

From the Giz Wiz: In checking their website for this show it seems they’ve added new currency. It’s very bewildering. But perhaps a six year old would understand better than we did. And it’s almost $70!

It was featured on this Giz Wiz Show: www.gizwiz.tv/episode/1712

http://www.pigzbe.com/

See or hear this show: www.gizwiz.tv/episode/1760

Here’s what Amazon says it. The Nostalgia Retro Series Pop-Up Hot Dog Toaster is great for entertaining and as a fast meal solution for the whole family. The large hot dog cage fits two regular-size or extra-plump hot dogs. Adjust the heat setting to cook hot dogs to your preference. Easily remove the hot dog cage and use the included mini tongs for removing the hot dogs. Color: Retro Red.

And the Giz Wiz says: Well, I thought this was sort of a good idea at first. But you’ll see in the video buns really are not toasted, but burned on the edges. Also it includes a metal tong to remove stuff from the toaster. (MAKE SURE THE TOASTER IS OFF, OR YOU COULD GET ELECTROCUTED if you touch the elements while it’s on.) I think  that while adults might think this is crappy, kids would probably love this thing. But no matter what, you need to like the idea of buying an appliance that only does one thing: make franks & toast buns, sometimes unevenly. It does get some points for it’s looks. It looks smart on the counter, but may end up as a smart-looking dust collector. The price is low! I paid $19.67 for mine, but as of 1/4/20 is was under $18.00. You can also buy a bigger version that cooks four franks and four hot dog rolls at the same time  for under $40.

Giz Wiz Video: https://youtu.be/PENmlLw9w5c

Amazon link: https://amzn.to/2QmAsOT   – As an Amazon Associate Giz Wiz Biz earns from qualifying Amazon purchases.

This never affects how we rate Amazon gadgets since we mostly buy everything we review.

Cook twice as many dogs & buns for $39.99: https://amzn.to/39HJJsP –  As an Amazon Associate Giz Wiz Biz earns from qualifying Amazon purchases.

“cheap gadgets from Alibaba!”

Chad’s first of two (a bonus cheap gadget this week!) Alababa gadgets is the: Creative Stainless Steel Boiled Egg Slicer Egg Cutter Knocker Raw Shell Egg Cracker Separator Egg Opener Tool Kitchen Gadgets. Here’s the online description: Open any egg with precision and avoid the hassle of broken shells; Versatile convenient design allows you to break open soft and hard eggs with ease. Cleanly cracks the top of the egg shell so that it’s easily lifted off by hand or with a knife. Works on soft boiled, hard boiled or raw eggs. The Ultimate Egg Topper, Cracker, Opener, Separator and Cutter. Simply drop steel ball and gravity causes shock vibration so sharp edge in dome perfectly cuts the egg shell. $3.09 as of 10/3/19. — UPDATE: STILL ABOUT THE SAME PRICE AS OF 1/4/20, but a long shipping time.

And Chad’s take? OMG, watch this show to see just how (un)easy it is to try to use thing!

www.gizwiz.biz/episode/1747

Chad bought his here: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32843352189.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.46154c4dBEwuci

Or watch Chad try it again on this show! www.gizwiz.tv/episode/1760

High on Chad’s worst of list is the CRAFTSMAN Bin System 39-Compartment Plastic Small Parts Organizer. While it looks okay on a shelf, Chad showed us that if you accidentally tip it a bit too forward ALL the drawers coming sliding out fast! When you consider that you probably bought this to store screws, nuts & bolts, nails, and lots of small parts, this is not good thing to happen. We both thought the name Craftsman would mean someone had thought the design through carefully, but that seems not to be the case here. You can still buy one at Lowes for about $28.00

https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-Bin-System-39-Compartment-Plastic-Small-Parts-Organizer/1000578341

The show with Chad’s demo of that device is here:

http://gizwiz.tv/episode/1716

How Big A Roll Can Your Toilet Paper Holder Hold? This looks like a toilet paper holder, but it’s not an ordinary toilet paper holder. It’s designed to hold those Mega-rolls of toilet paper that are so fat they don’t fit into many built in toilet paper holders. So instead of leaving the roll on the tank and using it until the roll gets small enough to fit into the toilet paper holder, Charmin has come up with a toilet roll extender and it’s free from Charmin. Turns out it fit fine in my spouse’s bathroom, but not mine. So I’m back to buying normal size rolls of toilet paper.

Giz Wiz Video:  https://youtu.be/TTmXnKEe5zI

You can still get on by clicking “Request Extender” on this page: https://www.charmin.com/en-us/about-charmin/faq

See or hear this show: www.gizwiz.tv/episode/1760

It doesn’t look bad, but folding it wasn’t very easy.

The EVO Folding Electric Bike was another ‘buy this and I think you’ll be sorry’. But as far as I know you don’t have to worry about being stuck with one, because it never made it to the marketplace. I think this video will show you the reason why. The salesman was doing his best, but folding the the Evo Electric Bike isn’t very easy. And it looks heavy and kind of clunky, at least to me. Also their website never went online.

Giz Wiz Video with the demo I saw: https://youtu.be/kgr-1l4oDeY  

And Our Final ‘Worst Of’ Gadget:

On both our ‘worst of’ lists is the HydraLight Flashlight.They HydraLight is still for sale on Amazon, and the page still says you get “2 fuel Cells”. I bought this device twice & both times I received only one fuel cell. I returned them both for a refund. If you have space and want one for a ‘black-out’ emergency, it’s was still on Amazon on 1/3/20 for under $30.

One of the reasons we don’t like it is because the thing is huge, not very convenient to store or carry. But the real downer is the ‘hundred hours of use’ claim. They don’t tell you that once you activate the fuel cell by soaking it in water, you get 100 hours of use whether you use it or not. So you can have it ‘on’ or even ‘off’ for about 4 days after which you need to buy a new fuel cell. (I learned this from Chad, who I believe learned it from Padre when he has working over at TWiT).

There’s more info about this device and a Giz Wiz Video about it here: http://gizwizbiz.squarespace.com/daily_giz_wiz_gadgets/month/september-2019?currentPage=4

Still available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Qp0gtT  – As an Amazon Associate Giz Wiz Biz earns from qualifying Amazon purchases.

This never affects how we rate Amazon gadgets since we mostly buy everything we review.

See or hear this show: www.gizwiz.tv/episode/1760