Category: Gadgets & Tech
Spring is coming and as such it is time for us to get out into the wild and explore our beautiful countryside. Now that is fine if it is just you and some friends or family. However, if you have small children, then you may find it somewhat …
Following the Brexit vote last year, it appears that Microsoft has jumped on the “Let’s hike the prices in the UK and blame Brexit bandwagon“. It always intrigued me that in the past when we had a strong pound, we had the 1 dollar = 1 pound pricing. …
Our house was built in 1975. Heating back then was fairly straightforward, if a little inefficient. For years though, things stayed pretty much the same. Sure, boilers got a bit better, but you’d still have the same pipework and the same radiators. In recent years things have really …
A long five months after initially being announced at the iPhone 7 launch, Apple’s Beats X are now available in the UK. The new Beats X, designed by Dr. Dre of course, earphones are priced at £129.99 and are on sale now in white and black, although the black …
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, …
Let me set the scene for you. As I mentioned just a short while ago, I’ve got an Audi A4. It’s an entire decade old and I’ve absolutely nailed it into the ground. I’ve not taken a great deal of care of it and have failed to service …
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 …
It’s not that often that a device comes along that is truly a game changer. That is until now. Today I had the pleasure of unboxing an item that in my opinion is truly groundbreaking, and could potentially change the game in its field. I am, of course, …
Despite it being law for a number of years, people are still continuing to use their phone whilst driving. The RAC has released some rather worrying statistics from a recently commissioned survey. There’s been an increase in drivers owning up to using a handheld mobile phone – from …
Remember some time ago we brought you the news that finally, Netflix was allowing customers to download some of their content and store it to the device? The good news is that the latest update to the media streaming app allows content to be stored on the SD …
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 …
My brain works in strange ways. Last night, as is usual, I put my phone into “Airplane mode” before going to sleep. It’s a little habit I’ve fallen into because, deep down, I don’t trust that “silent mode” won’t silent my morning alarm too. So, I put it …
At Christmas my nephew had a drone. Just a few days later it seemingly latched onto another signal and, whilst he was flying it across a large local park, it decided to fly in one particular direction – never to be seen again. Part of me can understand …
Yes, bike lights. Welcome to the never-ending list of stuff that we’re reviewing here on Coolsmartphone. I’m hoping that we’ll have some sports cars in next. These are LED lights. Back when I was a kid I’d have a huge battery in each of my bike lights and …
Over the last few days I’ve been faffing about with the voice-controlled Amazon Echo Dot. It’s got an invisible lady inside called “Alexa” which will do your bidding. The device itself is a magical disc-shaped unit which will wake up and then answer your questions. It’ll also play …
Over three years ago now we reviewed these Hyundai sunglasses. They had a “hidden” camera up front which meant that you could secretly record “stuff”. I tried it on a summers evening whilst cycling and the results were a little low-quality and bumpy. However, fast forward to CES …
Think your microSD card is big enough? Think again. Over in Las Vegas, SanDisk have just revealed their new 256GB Ultra microSD card. It boasts transfer speeds of up to 95MB/s and you can have the additional storage it provides presented as preferred or adoptable storage on Android. …
Christmas is over for yet another year but, over the New Year too, you’ll probably be keeping in touch with friends and relatives. The modern way to do this, even for those who aren’t technically familiar, is via a video call. On Android you’ll probably be using Skype …
Back in March at the Gadget Show Live event, I got to meet the Gamevice team where they introduced me to their Gamevice Live adapter for the iPad. At the time, they didn’t have an adapter for the iPad Air until the past couple of months. The adapter …
Having a security camera on your house can be a good and bad thing. Sure, you can keep an eye on things, but it’s also a sign that you want to keep something protected, and thieves might target your house because it’s got cameras hanging off it. So …
Yesterday we mentioned the new high-speed internet which has arrived in Hebron, courtesy of Three UK. The network gave away free “Home-Fi” routers to residents so that they could at last get the fast broadband they’ve long needed. We didn’t know at the time what make the routers …
You may have noticed a bit of a “theme” developing on Coolsmartphone this week, and it’s all to do with movie watching. Yes, you can watch TV and sports events too, but there’s a definite battle going on for your eyeballs right now. If you pay for cable …
So. I’m not totally sure where to begin with this one. I’ll sum it up in one sentence if I can. It’s a camera that you stick fairly low down on your wall that will let you video call your dog. Yeah. Not only that, but if you …
Back in the “old days” we used to have photos on film. We then sent them off to get processed and we’d get them back on nice paper and we’d put them into albums. Now, we have smartphones and we have our photos stored either in a “cloud” …
Unless you’re trying to use the M6 Toll, a lot of places will now let you pay for stuff using your phone. With 1 in 5 payments now made via contactless, it seems to be the future. Transactions of up to £30 can be “tapped” and won’t need …
Remember about three years ago when retail giant Amazon announced that it was going to deliver your parcels by air, using drones? Oh how we giggled. Well, that day has just drawn a step closer. Following a trial in Cambridge, the company has completed the first Amazon Prime …
Our smartphones are like our own personal assistants. They help remind us of the things we usually forget. They help us record beautiful memories we experience every single day. And of course, they help us get in touch and stay connected with our loved ones. Your smartphone helps …
These guys at a great little startup from here in the UK. Their product came after a trip to a farm and a little boy became lost. Staff at the farm were searching for the parents, and the parents were searching for their son. Colleen, the founder of …
Every now and again, a press release will be sent to Coolsmartphone Towers and we will all cheer! Well, today I was the one cheering with the launch of Wireless versions of the Seattle on-ear headphones from Urbanista. We covered the wired version earlier this year, and they …
It’s the season to be jolly, but not everyone gets to be at home with their family. If you’re in a different country, whether it be because of work, holiday or you just don’t like your family very much, you’ll probably be huddled around a WiFi access point …
Traveling with bulky power adaptors and chargers is a complete nightmare. Each company wants to use it’s own connection, Micro USB, Mini USB, Lighting Adaptor etc etc. The only thing that seems to follow any form is the fact they all require a USB plug. In the UK …
About 14 years ago I started reviewing phones. Now I’m reviewing Christmas tree decorations and, if I’m honest, I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. Either way, it’s the time to get festive. If you’ve just been up to the loft and grabbed your decorations …
Of all the smartwatches on the market, Pebble is my favourite. I backed the original pebble on Kickstarter and have bought every one since, including the latest Pebble 2 with heart rate. You can have a look at my review here. I have backed the newest Pebble Time 2 …
OK, this one might need a bit of explaining because, due to my lack of coffee this morning, it took a full 5 minutes before I understood what these did. Basically, if you look at your phone wall charger at home, it’ll either have a cable dangling out …
I saw this particular item appear on a promoted tweet this morning and had to check I wasn’t going mad. For just over £126, it’ll capture your tap-to-pay card information and will then clone it. The result, after just a few minutes carrying the thing on the tube, …
Fancy a coffee mug that can display pictures on the side? No batteries required? Well, that’s what you’ve got here and they’ve decided to call it a “Muki”. They even pronounce it “mucky” too. Available online from PauligShop.com, this has an e-ink which lets you “communicate with your …
Another day and yet another driver being a complete melon with a smartphone. This time it’s a full lesson on what not to do at the wheel. Holding a phone, filming yourself, speeding at around 116mph and switching between the front and back camera for added effect. Not …
A while ago, I carried a review of the Smanos Wireless home alarm which you can view here. Well smart home security experts, Smanos, launched their quirky UFO Panoramic Wi-Fi HD Camera today as a new addition to its comprehensive range of easy-to-use smart home security products. The …
Traditional shops have a bit of a problem, and it was brought into sharp focus during the Black Friday sales. People are, unfortunately, a bit lazy and a bit time poor. Shopping online, via a smartphone, is an easy solution. There’s cash-back deals and vouchers which help to …
Urbanista, the very popular Swedish brand here at Coolsmartphone towers are at it again. Their latest series which was launched in October called the Berlin, is coming to Coolsmartphone for video review. In the meantime, they are available in white, black, rose gold and blue petroleum, the Berlin …