Author: Leigh Geary
EE slipped an interesting little nugget into their recent press release. We almost missed it, but if you check this page on their website you can sign up for a new product called EE Pet Pal. The company tell us that it’s … A new connected device that …
Oh no. We’ve had OUKITEL contact us again. They’re taking an interesting approach to selling their phones. Yesterday they were using a phone as a chopping board and now they’re hacking away at the OUKITEL K6000 with a blinkin’ angle grinder. Obviously this is something we’d advise against. …
So, while I was slightly poking fun at the whole chopping-board madness of the OUKITEL U7 Pro this morning, I stumbled across their smartwatch. Now, stick with me for a bit because this OUKITEL A28 smartwatch actually doesn’t look that bad. Like a lot of these strangely cheap …
When you’re looking for a new smartphone, just what is it that appeals? What is it that draws you in and makes you want to buy it? Is it the quality of the screen? The construction? The camera quality? Just what is it that you’re looking for from …
You’ve read the HTC One A9 review we posted last week and now HTC are cranking up the advertising machine for their shiny, skinny handset. Gone are those … ermm… “interesting” Robert Downey Jr adverts and now we’ve got something very different indeed. Here’s the ad, and see …
I know Christmas is around the corner, but do you have £111.52 kicking around? Fancy yourself a Lenovo K80M? It looks like this and packs a quad-core 1.8GHz CPU with 32GB of storage, 2GB RAM and a microSD card slot.. The screen is a 5.5″ 1280×1920 pixel unit …
Meet the Huawei Watch. It’s a watch that…actually looks like a watch. This measures 42mm across and has a circular 1.4″ touch-sensitive AMOLED (400×400 pixel, 286ppi) screen behind scratch-proof sapphire crystal and encased in a stainless steel frame. That screen also has a 10,000:1 high contrast ratio, making …
If I look deep, deep down into my blackened heart – a heart broken by embargoed information, PR spin and endless emails about Kickstarter campaigns – I’d say that this is just a PR stunt dreamt up by Orchard Pig Cider. I don’t even like cider. I like …
Monitoring a phone might sound like a slightly strange idea, especially when people talk of “spy software”. However, there’s perfectly legitimate reasons for doing it, such as keeping an eye on your kids. XNSPY, which is available for both Android and iPhone, will let you know where your …
It’s a story we’ve seen repeated many times here at Coolsmartphone. First, a company offers something that’s unlimited. Then a small selection of customers heavily abuse that “unlimited” thing and the company starts to switch things around so that “unlimited” isn’t really “unlimited”. Here, Windows SkyDrive (sorry, OneDrive) …
The ZTE handsets are, I’ll confess, getting better and better now. Have a read of our Mobile World Congress coverage of the company and you’ll see some of the changes they’re making. Their new ZTE Axon Mini is now available for $349.99, which is £227.04. For that you’re …
Apps like WhatsApp and iMessage are great because they have a level of encryption which cannot be “sniffed” or decrypted. Indeed, if you drink lots of tea and have a read of the Apple security guide, it clearly states the following… Now – according to The Telegraph, this …
When you think of the most successful and the most popular Android manufacturer, you invariably think of Samsung. Their Galaxy handsets are usually lined up against the iPhones when newspapers and magazines do comparisons between Android and iOS as they’ve become so well known. Many other Android smartphone …
This one was sent to us by Peter. Thanks fella. Don’t forget, you can send in your tips to us right here. To be honest we’re not totally sure if this is a marketing stunt or a real, actual service. It’s a miniature ambulance that comes to your …
The Boomtube speaker is definitely larger than the majority of units we get here at Coolsmartphone, although it does pack a 4″ subwoofer and looks like a proper piece of camping equipment. Inside there’s actually a few speakers, including a “horn” which kicks out 2W and the …
As we get towards the festive season you’ll see us cranking up the number of reviews and gift ideas, all ready for those presents around the Christmas tree. Also, as you may have noticed this last week, we’ve had more traffic than usual and it’s resulted in the …
What? Another article about EE? Twice in one day. I think they’re going to have to send me more chocolate. Today they’ve launched some new international call packs and add-ons. Both pay-monthly and SIM-only customers can get these and they’ll let you make calls abroad from the UK …
Hmm.. that title was a little promotional wasn’t it? Almost as if I’m trying to sell it. Honestly, it’s got absolutely nothing to do with the free EE contracts that our entire housing estate enjoys. * If your contract just isn’t enough, have a look at a new …
If you’ve ever wanted to completely destroy your data allowance and find out how fast your mobile network is, you could download the Ookla Speedtest or browse to Speedtest.net. It will, if you do it enough, give you a rough idea of just how quick your connection is. …
A bit of history first, and perhaps a personal viewpoint from myself. Back in 2002 I handled my first HTC smartphone. It was branded up as an Orange SPV and it kick-started this entire website. HTC had a meteoric rise in the years following, releasing phones under their …
The Leo privacy guard for mobile devices is built for individuals who want to keep their mobile use private. Some of us don’t mind sharing our phones, but there’s probably a number of you who’d rather keep those personal photos and messages away from prying eyes. Sure, a …
Hopefully it’ll actually definitely happen this time, because we’ve been promised an end to roaming charges before. Now, we hope, the European Parliament will stick to the decision. First, from April 30th next year, an interim cap on roaming charges in Europe will kick in. This will mean …
The all-new HTC One A9, which we covered in full last week is definitely becoming one of my favourite HTC devices. I’ve got one right here and, let me tell you, it’s very impressive indeed. However, what’s not so impressive is the pricing. Last week we pointed out …
I know what you’re after a random smartphone that you’ve never heard of for less than £65. Well, we already know that the network-locked Vodafone Smart speed 6 is just £50, but how about an unlocked smartphone for £64.42 ($98.92)? Meet the good ‘ole iNew U5. Nope, we’ve …
So, the restaurant emailed me and asked me to promote their app. They didn’t give me the link to the UK version, so accidentally found the American version of the apps first (iPhone one here and Android one here). Trouble is, what bothered me was the fact that …
The developer of this game asked me to review it. However, you’ll notice that I don’t often review apps here on Coolsmartphone. Developer Divyesh Dungrani wants to tell you about his free Musical Drum Loops app. What he tells us is that it’ll let you “make your own …
I need to go out this afternoon and buy a sander. A sander. Sheesh. What happened to me eh? If I didn’t have to get one of those, I’d probably upgrade my rather battered LG G3 for an LG G4 because, well, just check out these prices. At …
I love my wife. She’s a little bit bonkers in all the right ways. If you live near us then you’ll probably already know of my wife through her singing. Now, whilst I don’t think she’ll end up on X-Factor anytime soon, she does love a good singalong …
I’ve got to be honest, it’s Monday morning and here in the UK the clocks have gone back so it’ll be getting dark in about 5 hours. Bagghh .. rubbish. It’s that time of year when we’ve got to properly start saving for Christmas, so I’m (as usual) …
I’ve decided, after receiving quite a lot of “random” email, to start a new feature which includes some of the strange, slightly confusing and usually part-Chinese emails that I receive. What exactly I’m going to call this feature, I’m not sure, so for now it’s, “Weird Weekend”. It …
I’m currently spending quite a lot of my evening helping my son with his homework. Part of that is maths, and things have either changed a lot since I was at school or I’m just incredibly rusty. I’m perhaps the lazy one, not my son. I pick up …
We all know about Three and how well received their “Feel At Home” offering is. It allows customers to use their phone in America and a range of other countries just as if they were back in the UK for no additional cost. There’s 18 destinations in total. …
During Mobile World Congress we paid a visit to the KAZAM stand. The UK company had grown quite substantially, and had a rather grand display of handsets plus a much larger presence at the exhibition. We attended just a few days after reviewing their super-slim (and rather nice) …
In the USA, Tesla have recently upgraded some of their vehicles to include a self-driving mechanism. From what I’ve seen of the videos online, it can struggle somewhat with roads with worn-out lane markers or lots of curves but.. it’s still very interesting to watch. Here’s a bit …
Today the BBC has decided to start clamping down on VPNs accessing the iPlayer service. What that basically means, for a lot of the ex-pats out there, is a drop in TV viewing choice. The BBC here in the UK probably has quite a unique setup. Residents have …
If you bought a tablet from Tesco then chances are, it could’ve been the Hudl. We reviewed the original Hudl and the Hudl 2. They were good, well-priced tablets. The last one was … Yes. I used the word “was”. Sadly, after spotting it on MoDaCo we’ve had …
You’ve seen the launch, you’ve heard the rumours and now it’s here – the very latest member of the HTC One family. Meet the HTC One A9.. Boasting an “evolution” of the original HTC One design, there’s a new “metalmorphics” approach to the design and finish of the …
There had been a fair amount of leaks for the HTC One A9. Orange France gave us our most recent and clearest look at the new HTC handset, as you can see here.. Today we’re not in London or even New York (where the feed below seems to …
Most kids, unfortunately, end up sat in front of a tablet for a portion of their day. Hopefully it isn’t for that long but, with Christmas on the horizon and more kids wanting to play games and apps, EE have release a child-friendly device called “The Robin” to …
You’ve really got to mention the price in the introductory paragraph for this particular device. For just £50 on Vodafone Pay As You Go it’s insanely cheap. Some of you probably pay more than that per month on a contract. This is the Vodafone Smart speed 6, a …
