Author: Peter Jones

devolo dLAN 550 Starter Kit – Review

Back in January, Leigh reviewed devolo’s dLAN 1200+ WiFi ac Powerline adapter and now I got the chance to review the 550 starter pack. The dLAN 500 WiFi is an upgrade of devolo’s current mid-high range offering, the dLAN 500 WiFi. While continuing to offer Powerline transmission speeds of …

New SIM Only deals from Vodafone and EE

With inexpensive handsets entering the market from the likes of OnePlus, WileyFox and co, the proposition of entering a SIM only contract is far more appealing to your pocket as oppose to signing up to 24-month handset contracts. Recently my 24-month contract ended on EE but I have …

Adaptable Universal Docking Station from udoq

When I read the press release for this Kickstarter campaign for udoq it was hard to get excited about a docking station. However, I was impressed (from the video at least) of the build quality and it didn’t look like just another Chinese plastic stand. The docking station is designed …

iPhone got your FLAVR?

Another set of new cases! FLAVR, by STRAX GmbH, launched a brand new range yesterday of “hot, bold and eclectic” (according to the press release!) phones cases for iPhone 5/5SE, 6/6S, 7, 7 Plus and Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. The new cases will be available for £9.99 from …

Dog & Bone releases cases for the iPhone 7 surfer

I love the Dog & Bone brand, there is something stereotypically Austrailian about them and their products. We have covered their products before and typically aimed at the adventurous person, in particular, a surfer person (dude or dudette!). Splash44 case This sleek and fashionable case features a military certified …

Cygnett debuts iPhone 7 cases and accessories

Cygnett wasted no time in their press releases: As soon as the new iPhone 7 was announced, they followed up with their new cases range. “We’ve created a line of cases that perfectly compliment Apple’s latest products in design and versatility while still providing the highest quality products …

OnePlus Two gets updates

OnePlus has rolled out updates for their edition of Android, called Oxygen to version 3.1.0. The update includes fixes for the Quadrooter vulnerabilities and Google security patches. To get the update, simply go into settings then system updates. What’s new: Fixed some notification issues Improved Doze Mode performance …

X-Doria’s new protective range of cases for the iPhone 7

Hot on the tails of Cygnett are X-Doria, but this time, they are concentrating on the protective element of the iPhone 7 series, which according to another article about the Jet-Black series – this case will be a life saver! (Not literally!) Defense Gear is a full body, …

LockSmart and LockSmart Mini – Review

Back in March at Gadget Show live, I met up with the guys from Dog & Bone, who had an array of convenient accessories for those who like adventure and technology. Well, the lovely people at Dog & Bone sent us two of their Bluetooth locks, namely LockSmart …

Don’t want your WhatsApp sharing with Facebook? Here’s what you need to do..

Since Facebook’s huge purchase of the WhatsApp platform in 2014 and getting rid of the 99p annual fee, they’ve introduced a voice call facility, a desktop application and end-to-end encryption since. However, they never capitalised on any new revenue streams. Well, as you saw yesterday, Facebook-owned WhatsApp announced upcoming …

Google Duo is now out!

Not too long ago, we noticed that Google launched early registrations for the new Duo application. This seems to be an independent app for video calling, separate to Hangouts. What the future holds for Hangouts, we don’t know yet. There is nothing technical about the application, anyone using the …

Urbanista – Video review

Over the past month, Swedish outfit launched two new products called Seattle and San Francisco. The Seattle series are a range of headphones in different colours whilst the San Francisco range are earbuds in a unique mosaic pattern. Well, we (the wife and I) have been testing both …

Bored? Like Doctor Who? Wanna be an artist?

Yes? well, you are in luck! Scary Beasties have launched an application aimed at adults who are wanting to colour in everything from Daleks to Cybermen. Out now for Android devices and iOS devices. The application has 45 images ready to be coloured in regardless of your sense …

Another day, Another Android Vulnerability

These types of news stories are starting to become a regular feature. In short, someone finds a vulnerability in the Android Operating System which happens to affect every single phone – IN THEORY! No different to all the vulnerabilities that could destroy Microsoft Windows OS! Anyhow, this time, …

BBC go 360 for Rio 2016

Tonight is the opening ceremony for the Olympics in Rio, Brazil, which promises lots of excitement just like London 2012. BBC have embraced the modern era of VR technology by bringing various key events over the course of the Olympics in glorious 360 degrees. The coverage can be streamed …

If you can’t beat them join them. BlackBerry launch Hub+

Recently BlackBerry (once RIM) launched the PRIV and soon the DTEK50 on a secure version of the Android platform. BlackBerry was once one of the leading smartphone companies but have lost out to Android vendors and Apple over the past couple of years with excessive losses. Well as part …

Urbanista launches on-ear Seattle headphones

Back in June, we covered the new Urbanista mosaic earbuds, now the Swedish firm are back with their latest release. This time, Urbanista have released on-ear headphones called the Seattle range which will be launched in four different colours and will be available for £49.99 The Seattle headphones …

The Beast is out!

Last week we told you about the fantastic Iron Maiden game, Legacy of the Beast. The wait is over! The game now be download from Google Play and Apple iTunes official from now (5th July, 4pm BST). James Hursthouse, CEO of Roadhouse Interactive comments, “As a lifelong Maiden fan, I …

666 is the Legacy of the Beast!

For those lucky few who caught our live broadcast last week, you will know we have had a copy of Legacy of the Beast. This is a game dedicated to the British music legends, Iron Maiden. The game celebrates every single album by taking you through worlds based on …

Google changing the smartphone game

The Telegraph in the UK have reported that Google are looking in producing their own smartphone. This is different to what we have been used to as the Android creators previously left the manufacturing to other huge names like Samsung, HTC and so on. We also have the Google …

Urbanista new earbuds to appeal to young urban folk

Last week, Swedish designers Urbanista launched a new design of earbud with a new mosaic pastel colour design from a very cheap £19. Perfect for music lovers that want a patterned earphone that complements their summer style, the Urbanista San Francisco’s graphic print is reminiscent of the beautiful …

WhatsApp have hit 100 million calls a day

After scrapping the annual fee for WhatsApp, the application has gone from strength to strength. Most recently the Facebook-owned WhatsApp has launched desktop versions of the popular phone application for Windows and Macs. Last week on the WhatsApp blog, they announced that users were making 100 million calls …

COMPETITION TIME: Win Pump Audio V2 Earbuds

Recently we posted a review from Gadget Show Live of the Pump Audio V2 earbuds and posted a video from my trip to Malaysia. Now you have a chance to win a pair of Pump Audio V2 earbuds, not the ones I tested – so don’t worry! The …

Euro 2016 causes a network data spike

Unless you live under a rock, you may have noticed that there is a little football tournament happening in France. Last week England were playing Wales during traditional working hours with a kick-off of 2pm. In previous years, businesses would get a high amount of “sickness” during tournaments, …

iFit Classic Review

iFit introduced a huge array of new gadgets at the Gadget Show Live event last March for keeping tabs on your world of fitness and sleep. We reported directly from the event here and specifically about this watch we have to review the iFit Classic. Here is a video of …

Gadget Review for an International Trip

This is video is long overdue, regardless I took a business trip to Malaysia for work reasons and decided to take a road test of a number of gadgets to play with. First up was the BagsByBlack BUDDI bag, then Pump Audio V2, Anker Power Bank 20100, cables from …

MEEM is now out!

Back in January, Leigh looked at the MEEM cable which was in the Kickstarter stage. What is MEEM I hear you ask? Well it is a phone charger cable that automatically backs up personal data on a smartphone to the cable, every time the phone is charged. MEEM is …

Introducing – Syncwire

Cables! Cables! Cables everywhere! At Coolsmartphone HQ we are starting to get quite a lot of requests to review cables, not the most exciting subject matter but it is nice to have good alternatives to the usual high priced branded versions. Typically if you purchase a cheaper cable, …

OnePlus 3 virtually upon us

Pardon the dreadful pun, OnePlus arguably the loudest and most popular of the smaller smartphone players in the market. Two members of the Coolsmartphone team even have a OnePlus handset each! The OnePlus 3 is set to be their next “Flagship Killer” and is looking to be launched …

System and Security Info – Apple love to hate

“System and Security Info” has risen to being of the one of the top paid-for applications in the iTunes charts since its release last week (14th May 2016) however in that time frame Apple got upset about the application and decided to ban it. The reason Apple got …

Who is that calling? Metal, that’s who!

Ringtones have changed quite a lot since the days of polyphonic and monophonic but yet there are certain ringtones we automatically associate with certain brands. Well ToxixEternity, aka Jack Fliegler from YouTube, and a death metal band called Singularity has taken the Apple iPhone ringtone we have grown to …

SyncMate

SyncMate is a powerful sync tool that allows syncing data on Mac with Android devices (phones and tablets running Android 4 and newer). Free edition of SyncMate will sync contacts and calendars while Expert edition allows syncing images, videos, folders, music and lot’s more; with Expert edition you …

FreeFly VR Review

This was arguably the most fun I have had doing a review in a long time. The Freefly VR (not Firefly as I say twice in the video!) was so fun and compatible with numerous smartphones, great purchase for any gadget geek and can be bought from here. …

BagsByBlack Review

Yesterday we did our first live broadcast on Periscope of the BagsbyBlack BUDDI bag. We first saw this bag at Gadget Show 2016 with LEXI bag, the article can be read here. If you like our podcasts, please follow us on Periscope and YouTube for more of these …

iFit Classic has hit the UK market!

Last week we got to see the iFit Duo and Exec which are out Summer 2016 and Summer 2017 respectively, however we did see a glimpse of the iFit Classic. This is the first iFit smartwatch in the UK with the fashion and fitness blend as well as …

D3O range exclusive at Carphone Warehouse

D3O have created a new GEAR4 Black range of ultra tough phone cases. This is the first case with injection mouldable D3O and is specialist grade with no holes. This type of D3O has not apparently been seen before and is the strongest on the market. GEAR4 are …

Venturer enter the affordable mini Windows Notebook arena

Venturer have launched the ‘BravoWin 10KT’ and the ‘EliteWin 11KT’ mini notebooks, equipped with Windows 10 and Office 365 or Office Mobile. The Venturer convertible tablets are equipped with a detachable smart keyboard that has a pressure sensing trackpad which clips on magnetically so it can be used as …

GSL 2016: eFoldi wins British Inventors’ Project 2016

Over the last month or so, we have been talking about the British Inventor’s Project and the famous inventions that came out of Birmingham. All the nominees were exhibiting at the recent Gadget Show Live event. I got to meet the fantastic Sumi Wang and experience a ride …

GSL 2016: HTC Vive – Face-smackingly good!

This week I managed to briefly get my hands on a HTC Vive at the Gadget Show Live event at Birmingham, UK. Sadly ten minutes was not long enough but wow, what a ten minutes! The HTC stand was right in-front of the entrance and was the “go …