My neighbor's kid made me see my phone review habit in a new light

I was showing him my new phone, going on about the screen and battery like I always do. He just looked at it and asked 'But does it help you build a cool fort?' It was such a simple, weird question. I realized all my reviews focus on specs, but never on what a gadget actually lets you *do* or *make*. For the past week, I've been trying to write about how a tablet helps my friend's kid draw, not just its processor speed. Has anyone else had a moment that made them change how they think about reviewing stuff?

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jadew636mo ago

Wait, so you're telling me the real test of a phone is its fort building support? I mean, I guess my old brick phone would have scored high on that one. Maybe we should all start rating stuff based on how well it works for dumb kid projects.

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grant_hart6mo ago

Totally get where you're coming from.

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ruby4506mo ago

You joked about rating stuff for dumb kid projects, but honestly, that's kind of the point. It's not about forts, it's about use. If we only talk about specs, aren't we just reviewing a box of parts instead of the actual experience? What's a spec you used to care about that you now realize means nothing for how you really use a thing?

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