One of the biggest flaws with gadget or computer review entities is that they very rarely consider the durability of an object in their reviews.

I’m not saying they should throw the gadgets around, but at least use them for a while, do exhaustive testing with it, try it under various environments. This article is about some of my gadgets and how they work (or not) a year after purchasing them.

First off is my cellphone, the Nokia 6230.

I bought this phone because my old one was dying, it was an old T200. I had it for about a year before it started freezing or switching off, losing connection, etc. I know it was a cheap phone, and at the time I only bought it because my previous phone was stolen and I needed a new one quickly to replace it, but still, I was expecting it to last at least a bit over a year.

So much for background story, onto my cellphone itself. I am happy to say, that after more than a year (actually closer to two now) my cellphone works exactly as well as it did when I bought it, minus one or two days of battery.

The cover lasted very long, and I only replaced it last month because somehow a part near the lettering “Nokia” started peeling off so I bought a silver 6230i cover and it looks as good as if it came off the shelf. The menus are as quick as ever and everything works as fine as ever.

However, there are some flaws. You have no easy way of deleting old SMS messages or any sort of media you have on the device, unless you hook it up to your PC. Another flaw, is that the the wired headset loses contact sometimes with the phone, at the minimum touch (which is quite annoying, specially if you’re listening to MP3s, because when the headset disconnects it enters “Loud” mode and everyone can hear it).

Despite those few things, the screen is as nice as ever, I’ve taken many pictures with it and I think I’ll still continue to for many years to come. My rating for this phone after almost 2 years of use is:

4.5 Stars out of 5

Next stop: Sony MDRE931 headphones

I love these earphones!

I’ve had them for… God knows how long (over a year for certain) and only about a month ago did they start having some contact problems, but still they sound as good as they did when they were bought.

I bought them for about 15$ and they have a small volume control, decent bass, not so decent treble, but hey, they’re good enough to listen your MP3 player and they came with a little box to wind up the wires inside it so they’re always nice and tidy and not in a bird’s nest state when you pick them up.

For value for the money it cost me, it’s accessory (box) and features I give it a stunning:

5 Stars out of 5!

Next stop, my Playstation 2:

I bought my PS2 second hand from a colleague at work. He’d had it for around three months and only ever used it to play a Rally and a Soccer game. I got it off a cheap price, had it chipped and played with it regularly. However, after about two years of use, the console feels worn out.

I’ve never mistreated it, it has never fallen off even once but still, it makes more noise than ever, it refuses to load some games for no apparent reason or just freezes after playing them for a while.

It’s a great console, but, in terms of durability (and considering how well I’ve tried to preserve it) I give it a:

3.5 Stars out of five.

And that’s it for my gadget reviews, how are your one year old gadgets?