Is this actually worth the money?

So, I was just scrolling through eBay the other day and stumbled upon these digital TV tuners that supposedly plug right into your phone so you can watch live broadcasts on the go.
Has anyone actually played around with this kind of gear? I'm dying to know if they actually work as advertised, because honestly, I’d really rather not go throwing my money away on some random gadget that ends up being a total dud.

I wouldn't be surprised if the charging port on a phone just couldn't handle the weight of a gadget like that. Those ports are notoriously finicky anyway; they tend to wear out and lose their connection just from regular use. Adding a device like this would probably just accelerate the whole thing breaking down.
Maybe try plugging a cable into the phone first, then connecting the device to that cable instead. It might take some of the physical strain off the port.

You won't know until you actually try it. Besides checking if the device even plays nice with your phone or tablet, you’ve got to make sure the video transmission standards match what we use here. And honestly, you might only pick up a handful of local channels via terrestrial signals, and even then, only if you’re sitting in a sweet spot for reception. Definitely look for one with a detachable antenna—if you end up needing a beefier antenna just to get a decent signal, you're going to have a bad time.

I don't know if you've been following the news, but our terrestrial TV runs on the DVB-T system, and we're supposed to be transitioning to DVB-T2 soon. That requires an entirely different receiver and tuner, meaning all the current DVB-T gear will be obsolete. So, you really want to rush into this?