Author: Leigh Geary

Firefox OS dies off

Way back in 2013 (was it really that long?!) we got our first look at the ZTE Open, a smartphone running on a whole new operating system from Mozilla – Firefox OS. Today, just four years later, the entire connected devices division have been laid off and the …

aLLreLi 4-port Travel Wall Adapter – Review

You’re about to go on holiday, you’ve got everything – the sun lotion, the wet wipes (is that just me?) and your gadgets. Wait though, what about those travel adapters you bought? You put them in that “special place” didn’t you? Are they in the bottom of the …

The Nintendo Switch – It’s coming!

My son and, to be fair, my wife, are both big Nintendo fans. My wife used to have a Game Boy Color and my son has gone through the Nintendo 2DS, 3DS, Wii and the Wii U. Even though he’s now moved onto the big world of Playstation, …

EU Shock-free roaming now just months away. But..

Let’s put aside the “Trump” business and all the #Brexit news shall we? I’m here to tell you that being part of Europe is a good thing.. for your phone bill. Whilst we in the UK are part of it, roaming charges are no longer a problem. From …

More SIM only deals – 30GB on Three for not that much

Yesterday we offered up some Vodafone deals for you big data users, but over on Three UK there’s yet more SIM only and contract plans for data hogs. Plus, when you use cashback sites like Quidco, things get even better. As an example, £22 per month gets you …

Fancy a ZTE Blade A512 ? It’s now available on Vodafone

Got £79 and fancy a ZTE device with Android 6.0 and a 13 megapixel camera? Powered by a quad-core 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 425, this is the ZTE A512 and it’s now available on Vodafone Pay As You Go. It features a 720×1280 pixel screen, Android 6.0, 16GB of …

Sky TV and Discovery do a last minute deal. Channels to remain.

Was it a strange advertising campaign to get us all talking about the 13 Discovery channels on Sky? Was it all planned? Well, we’ll never actually know, but what we can say is that, late last night, a deal was reached between Sky and Discovery. The Discovery channels, …

Vodafone SIM only offers are back

Look, I don’t need 20GB of data a month. You probably don’t need 20GB of monthly data either. But got £20 for 20GB on a SIM only plan? That’s too good to miss. Wait a moment. Let’s work that one out shall we? Yes, you’ve got to get …

iClever BoostSound BTS07 Bluetooth Speaker – Review

Remember our BTS08 review from the other day? Well, this is the smaller brother. It’s definitely easier to carry around and is a lot lighter. Likewise, it’s thinner at both ends and I found it pretty easy to fit into a coat pocket. This one, unlike the BTS08, …

The new Kyocera rafre KYV40 – A phone you can wash

Let’s be honest, there’s a few places where we use our smartphones quite a bit, and it’s always where we’ve got some “down time”. The smoking shelter outside of work (which has now changed from a horribly smelly place into a huge air freshener thanks to the vape …

Tesco Mobile slash the price of the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge

With Mobile World Congress just around the corner and a raft of new handsets about to be announced, it’s a good time to check for deals on the handsets that are out there now. Tesco Mobile have just been in touch and they’re offering a pretty good deal …

UMI-BTA8 Bluetooth Runner Earbuds – Review

The people from UMI have sent us these UMI-BTA8 Bluetooth in-ear headphones. They’re designed to be used if you’re out running or at the gym, but you can wear them if you’re sat on the sofa eating crisps too I guess 🙂 First up, I should perhaps mention …

Fancy a flying tripod?

We’re all aware of drones. They float around and, based on my experience, seem to fly off into neighbours gardens so that I have to sheepishly ask for it back. Here we have a new idea. It’s a smartphone case which houses a drone. Just snap it out …

First look – The EBox T8 V Streaming TV Box – Version 5

We’ve received another Android TV box to test today so I thought I’d give you a quick overview as it’s an improved version of an already very popular box. This is from EntertainmentBox – it’s the EBox T8 V and is powered by an Amlogic S912 64bit octa-core …

Selling a fully loaded Kodi box – It’s a grey area

Wait, I know what you’re going to say.. Of course it’s not a grey area! If you’re selling a “Fully Loaded Kodi Box” then it’s going to be illegal, end of. Well no, not necessarily, and I’ll tell you why. For most of us, “Fully Loaded” means that …

Fancy a cheap iPhone ?

I think that the iPhone 5c was a great idea. A lot of kids seem to carry one around and my mother-in-law has one. It wasn’t badly priced and it gave the whole iPhone experience you expect. So, if you’re looking for one of those then head to …

A cure for the printing syndrome

Just recently I had to admit to something. Somebody asked me to scan a document at work and email it. I was confronted by a very hi-tech printer, plumbed into our network and equipped with a keypad to navigate around the control panel. After a lot of random …

iClever BoostSound BTS08 Bluetooth Speaker – Review

Available from Amazon US for $49.99, this definitely isn’t one of those speakers you pop into your coat pocket. Measuring in ay 25.15 x 11.18 x 13.21 cm it’s definitely got some “meat” to it, and I mean that in a good way. Up top, four touch-control keys …

Buying a phone through eBay? Try giffgaff Marketplace instead

If you want to bag yourself a great smartphone for less cash, you’ll probably know that O2 do their “Like New” handsets. They’re fully checked and you get an accurate description of the condition before you buy the thing. Now O2’s owners, Telefónica, are their other network – …

Telecoms in the modern world – as seen from 1969

I’m sure I’ve posted this video before, but it really is interesting. It was filmed way back in 1969 by the GPO (the General Post Office) and shows some of the ideas and expectations of communications in the 1990’s. The Post Office Research Station at Dollis Hill shows …

LG Profits fall again. That G5 wasn’t a monster hit

Somebody recently asked what my main phone was. To be honest I have two – an iPhone 6s and an LG G5. The Android handset tends to win in the daily battle for my trouser pocket, and even though I’ve not made any use of the modular G5 …

Android Wear 2.0 LG-made Google watches pop up

The all-new Android Wear 2.0 is set to launch on two new smartwatches. Those watches, it seems, will look like this. This low-resolution photo is said to show the LG-made watches, which have been created alongside Google. One looks more “sporty” than the other but both come with …

BlackBerry Mercury appears ahead of MWC

This is your first look at the new BlackBerry handset which is heading to Barcelona next week. The traditional QWERTY BlackBerry keyboard is at the bottom and this device, known simply as the “Mercury” right now, will appear on February 25th. It’s expected to run Android and was …

How much is the app marketplace actually worth?

Apps. The ones I download are mostly free because, deep down in my heart, I’m tighter than a gnats backside. How do these apps make money then? How do the developers get paid? How do those big TV advertisements appear on TV if we never actually click “Buy” …

The Coolsmartphone Mobile Video Studio

OK. Slightly off-topic today, but the regular readers will no doubt be aware that I film a lot of our product reviews in my car. As an example, my SanDisk iXpand overview or this FM transmitter review. I was even doing this some 10 years ago in glorious …

How app pricing seems to impact app types

If you follow us on Twitter then you may have seen me mention the fact that Kodi is riding high in the Google Play apps charts. It’s not overly surprising though, especially when you consider how many people are buying Android TV boxes or attempting to get around …

BeeLine – Cycle navigation made easy

I like the sound of this little doo-hickey. Just strap it to your bike and it’ll provide a simple guide to your destination. An arrow shows you the direction you need to be heading and below it’ll show how many miles remain. You can then make the best …

VPN. Here’s how I do it anyway.

There’s no end of VPN solutions on t’interweb. Likewise, if you have a look on iTunes or Google Play there’s a big list of VPN apps for you. However, with the increasing popularity of Kodi TV boxes and the streams and programmes they deliver, it’s worth getting protected. …

aLLreLi F5 Bluetooth Headphones – Review

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s been a reoccurring theme whenever we review Bluetooth headphones. There’s definitely two types of headphones that I’ve found over the years. The first type will last for ages and they’re usually in-ear, but the sound quality just isn’t that brilliant. …

Bozlun B15P Fitness Tracker – Review

  Well doesn’t this look familiar? Indeed it should. This looks a lot like the Xiaomi Mi Band 2 we reviewed last year. Remember that? Here it is.. Indeed, this Bozlun B15P Fitness Tracker could probably fit in the same charging connector. It’s a similar size and has …

EE – The sale is still on!

The sales are still on, and EE have got in touch about their January sale. Like the many furniture stores, they’ve extended the items in their sale. The highlights are the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Google Pixel, which will now become free on selected monthly plans. Not only …

Huawei Mate 9 available on Three UK

In my opinion it’s one of the best phones to have been announced last year. Now it’s available on the high street for the buying public. Three and Huawei have just announced that the Mate 9 is going on sale in some of the Three stores and also …

Galaxy S7 edge on Vodafone – New Blue for you

My wife has the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge and, quite frankly, I’m surprised that it’s still in one piece. You may remember what happened with her Samsung Galaxy S5, and the plastic construction seemed to cope with the constant drops very well. So, if you’ve had a look …

HTC U Ultra and HTC U Play announced

Fancy a handset that will help you through your day? With artificial intelligence and voice assistants becoming a big thing in tech, HTC have chosen to deliver a new helper in their two new handsets. Called “Sense Companion”, it can advise you to charge up if you’ve got …