You won’t believe how cheap a reading light can be on Taobao. I recently bought this one for 65.80 Yuan (S$12.80). During the upcoming Singles day sale, it would cost only 58.90 Yuan (S$11.50). Like many Chinese products, it goes by a lame brand name – “Staycation”, but thankfully the branding isn’t imprinted anywhere on the actual product.
OnePlus phones used to be the de-facto flagship-killer, with flagship level specs at a fraction of the cost of true flagship phones. However, Redmi just killed their flagship-killer with the release of the K20 Pro. It boasts flagship level specs at a price point that is lower than OnePlus’.
The K20 Pro 6GB + 128GB cost CNY 2239 (S$432) at present. For me, 6GB RAM and 128GB storage is the entry level specs anyone should get. There is also the option to get 6GB + 64GB at CNY 1999 (S$386), which is dirt cheap, but i think one will run out of storage in less than a year. In my opinion, it’s worth paying $46 more to save the trouble. I don’t think you can find any other device that has a lower price for a flagship level phone (only the Vivo iQoo comes close, but i suspect software updates for Vivo phones are less frequent than Xiaomi).
Continue reading Taobao product recommendation – Redmi K20 Pro: the flagship-killer killerMy mum requested for a mobile phone holder for watching videos. There are many products available on Taobao, but most of them either stand on a table, or has to be clipped onto a frame (e.g. bed frame), and these don’t work for her case. There is just one product that i found that is completely stand alone – it literally stands on the floor.
For some old folks, this might be just the thing that they need.
Portable fans are quite popular these days. It’s even more practical here where it’s above 30 degrees Celsius all year round. To a person who perspires a lot like myself, a portable fan is something that does a lot for very little money. Just a little breeze and perspiration can be avoided. The undesirable sweaty smell too.
Continue reading Taobao product recommendation – portable fanIt’s almost unbelievable that an electric kitchen gadget can cost just $6.60 (33 Yuan). So cheap that there’s no need to think before grabbing – the Crepes machine that I first saw in a Facebook video.
Continue reading Taobao product recommendation – Crepes machineThese pancake machines are wildly popular in China because the Chinese eat pancakes regularly. Chinese pancakes that is, and there are so many varieties throughout China.
As with most kitchen gadgets, this one claims it is one size fits all – you could make pancakes of course, and also grill meat and cook all sorts of things. Well, it is shaped like a cooking pan, so obviously you can cook anything that you otherwise also can do with a normal cooking pan.
I bought this gadget mainly because it is cheap (70 Yuan or S$14) and because i wanted to see if i could make a better pizza out of it than using an oven – to get slightly burnt crust. To jump to the conclusion, it does work well for that purpose. Well, heat is applied directly onto the dough, so it is sure to get burnt crust.
Continue reading Taobao product recommendation – Pancake machineIf you have a PS/2 keyboard or mouse, don’t throw them away yet. You may still find motherboards that support PS/2 today. Also, a PS/2 to USB adapter costs merely 5.5 Yuan (S$1.10), and that’s definitely cheaper than buying a new keyboard or mouse.
Continue reading Taobao product recommendation – PS/2 to USB adapterI bought this for use as decorating lights for a special event. Depending on the projected distance, the lights may be quite dim, since it uses only small LED lights. The effects produced is not bad though, and it costs very little, at only 46 Yuan (S$9.10) including delivery. It can be powered by battery, and even has a built-in speaker (but you have to attach your own media player).
Continue reading Taobao product recommendation – projection decorating lightThe built-in Wifi adapter of a laptop doesn’t usually have strong signal transmission capability. In my case, it can’t even connect to my router and i need to rely on an external adapter. Again, in my case, even the existing adapter i had on hand (ipTime N150UA) wasn’t good enough. I needed something with a really long antenna.
Continue reading Taobao product recommendation – USB Wifi adapterIt never occurred to me before, but a monitor arm is a fantastic way to save desktop (the physical one) space and save your neck.
The stand that normally comes with a monitor hardly gives you sufficient height so you can look at the monitor at eye level, as well as closer to you so you don’t have to squint (the alternative remedy is to use an ultra large monitor). With a monitor arm, you can quickly adjust the height to suit the user, be it an adult or a child.
Continue reading Taobao product recommendation – monitor arm
