Of all the pages produced on internet, the daily publication of auto and semi-auto blogs and pure product review sites probably makes up the vast majority. The rest is news and social applications.
So is this good or bad? While autoblogs have gotten a shady reputation (after all, their main purpose is to automate backlinking or micro affiliate revenue) the niche product review sites tend to be ok and many actually deliver what the visitor is looking for: either a review of a product, or information on how and where to buy it. The quicker the better.
An example of such a site is Humidor Gift Set that presents alternatives for those shopping for a gift suitable for a cigar enthusiast. I expect this site may grow over time but the bare essentials are there: a couple of presentations about cigar humidors and some examples of gifts.
The bottom line is – yes, you can combine simplicity with functionality. Position your blogs and sites with respect to who will use them and what they want. It is easy to make the mistake of developing big sites for users who only seek immediate, simple and short information. In this as in many other Web matter – use the KISS filisophy (keep it simple stupid).
Related posts:

