Category: Gadgets & Tech

The mobile ZX Spectrum is to become a reality

Sadly I’m old enough to give you several paragraphs of memories revolving around the rubber-keyed Spectrum 48k. It’s quite an old computer but helped to kick-start the idea of having a machine in every home. Back then we would plug “the Speccy” into the a big hefty TV …

Linx 1010 Leather Edition – The Review

The first Linx tablets shook up the market place when they were first released, they were available in 3 screen sizes, offering good Windows performance at a very reasonable price, they were also easily upgradable to Windows 10. Consumers no longer had to spend a fortune on Windows …

Wait, we have to even make this a thing?

When my local police force retweeted it, I honestly thought this was a joke. Do people actually do this? Would anybody be so stupid? Sadly it seems that yes, there are people who do this. It’s not just watching movies or TV shows – something I see truck-drivers …

Centriphone – The olloclip gets dizzy

The boys at olloclip have been trying to get our attention for a while now. First they sent a video showing how “Chelsea Bell” promotes her swimwear line using the clip-on lens, but we said, “No, that’s just gratuitous, our readers won’t be interested in that, even if …

Smartphone app now used to check Ford car quality

Manually checking cars at a highly advanced car factory in Valencia might sound old-fashioned, but this is how Ford maintains quality at the plant. Until fairly recently, these checks were recorded on a bit of paper, and then workers had to walk to a central point to record …

What is your dog saying? Find out with WhatsYapp

First up, that’s an obvious click-bait headline, but sadly – that’s the way the internet works. I could’ve made it a bit better by adding, “Listen to your dog, you will be shocked!” Anyways, let me give you an insight into running a website like this. See, we …

Ubuntu on a tablet? Yes please, I will have some of that!

You may remember I tested a few Ubuntu phones last year and I was a little underwhelmed with it. I felt that the software needed a bit more work to give it enough pizazz to take on the likes of Android and iOS in what is already a very …

The Connected Sleeve – Charge your phone in the case!

De Rigueur have launched a new product on Kickstarter called the Connected Sleeve, which is a wireless charger embedded inside a handmade leather case for your phone. The cases have been designed specifically by the French designer De Rigueur. The Connected Sleeve received a CES Innovation Award at Las …

Kingston Digital announces two new versions of MobileLite Wireless

When you think memory card solutions, Kingston Digital will no doubt be on your list. Today, Kingston Digital announce two additions to its Wireless family with MobileLite Wireless G3 and MobileLite Wireless Pro. The MobileLite Wireless G3 provides users an extra power boost whilst out and about with its …

Zentree – Fixing your cabling nightmare

Yeah. This is me. This is my problem in a nutshell. We have a “place” in our kitchen where we charge the gadgets during the day. In this “place” you’ll find a USB charging station and random cables dangling all over the shop. Then, just to add to …

A Review of the Kitsound Trail Wireless Earbuds 

Here’s a neat option of those who like to listen their music whilst they exercise; the Trail Sports Wireless Earbuds from KitSound. The Age Old Problem I was cautious when approaching this review as I generally don’t get on well with earbuds, but in for a penny, in for a …

PK K1 USB 3.0 drive review

Here at Coolsmartphone towers, a number of us use Chromebooks. I’m writing this from my Asus Chromebook Flip, which is a gorgeous device with its flip screen and brushed aluminium body. But the main problem with Chromebook is their lack of internal storage. It’s generally limited to a paltry …

ORSTO Smartwatch with 7 month’s battery life revealed.

I have always worn a watch. I have a weakness where watches are concerned. Tie that in with my love of technology and the smartwatch is my perfect device. However, I love the classic watches. There’s just just something about a mechanical time piece.. watch lovers will understand… …

iClever FM Transmitter IC-F40 – Review

Imagine the scene. You’re driving along and you put the radio on. You tune around, but every station is either pumping out the same tune or there’s a never-ending barrage of adverts for local window companies and the like. You dig around your CD’s but they’re either scratched …

devolo dLAN 1200+ WiFi ac Powerline Adaptor – review

Powerline adaptors that allow you to extend your network have been around for a while, and potentially provide the perfect way to extend your network range. When these first launched on the consumer market, I purchased a pair to extend my extremely poor WiFi coverage. My home WiFi …

Heard it on the grapevine. The Huawei P9, won’t you be mine.

Chinese phone manufacturer Huawei (which is the parent company of the Honor brand) continues its stride and for world dominance (in the phone world that it is), with the company’s latest device – the P9. Leaks now contain further detail, including pictures and information on a “Lite” and …

RHA S500i earbuds – review

These are the S500i earbuds. They’re quite nice actually. Surprisingly nice. My very first foray into using RHA was from the very base version of their earbuds, say about 4 or 5 years back (FYI, they were called MA150’s. To put it in context, they’re no longer sold …

Canary – Smart home security for everyone – Review

Canary is more than a simple surveillance camera for your home. From the very moment you purchase your Canary for £159, you’ll instantly notice the quality. Canary was launched back in July 2013 on crowdfunding site Indiegogo. There was clearly a market demand, as within a month over …

An old CD player that is actually .. oh wait… just that.

Kids now. They don’t know what it’s like to own a record or a CD. They don’t have a proper collection on a shelf. It’s all digital now. Flick through your iPhone and all your music is there, trapped in a digital box. It’s not the same. However, …

Asus Zen Watch now cheap as chips

Yesterday we took a look at the upcoming Bluboo Xwatch, which is due to go on sale for just £69.39. However, for £89.99 you can grab the Asus Zen Smart Watch, which has been reduced over on ebuyer. We featured this first back in 2014 and has a …

Bluboo Xwatch approaching – Android Wear for not that much at all

We get a lot of random emails. One company in particular has been pretty incessant, and that’s Chinese manufacturer Bluboo. They make phones (like the pretty powerful and good-looking X9 which is a “monster inside and aesthetic outside”) and watches, like their Uwatch. Next month they’ll be launching …

Further smart-locks announced to Noke range

I like to hop on my bike and do some nutty rides when I can. However, when you reach your destination you’ll soon find that your expensive bike can become the target for thieves. A company called Noke have already had experience of creating smart-locks – those clever …

CES 2016 – Samsung want you to be clean.

The smart home is certainly being pushed by Samsung at this year’s CES. Three new products that were announced, AddWash for all their front loading washing machines (I know not a phone!), POWERbot Turbo and POWERbot Essential Wi-Fi. The POWERbot series are robotic vacuums. “Samsung’s focus is on marrying …

tado° signs partnership agreement with O2

With Nest and Hive currently dominating the UK Smart Home market, the Smart home climate control company, tado° announced yesterday its new partnerships with AT&T and UK-based O2 in an attempt improve life at home through connectivity. tado° always ensures that your home is pre-warmed before you even step through …

An intelligent bra. Yes, I said that.

We’re used to seeing wearables here at Coolsmartphone, but intelligent underwear isn’t something we’ve seen or, errr, handled as yet. This a bra. A ladies bra which will track your breathing, your steps, the amount of calories you’ve burned up and your heart rate. Whether it would work …

Nexus 6P now in gold

Cast your mind back dear reader to last year. To a time when the pre-release leaks of Google’s next flagship device(s) were hitting the interwebs. Included in those pictures was a Nexus 6P in an awful gold option. Luckily though it wasn’t among the colour options offered when …

Pre-orders for Oculus Rift begin

In more CES news, the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset will be available to pre-order from today, the 6th of January. You’ll be glad to hear that you can order one from 4PM UK time, but we have no idea regarding price or when we will get our …

Ford and Fiat Chrysler to support Android Auto

Las Vegas isn’t filled with just gamblers and drinkers this week, oh no. It’s a tech-fest as the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) kicks off and the very latest gadgets get shown off. Two big car manufacturers are there too – Ford and Fiat Chrysler. They’ve announced that Android …

Remix Mini – Review

Mini PC’s are quite the thing at the moment and seem to be popping up everywhere. Now for a while, these were nothing more than Netbook components being shoved into a small box. However, with the recent developments in Android and, to a lesser extent Chrome, there has …

Pebble Smartwatch back down to crazy-cheap price

I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas break and you’re all now ready to go back out to the shops in a frenzy of retail craziness. Today we’ve got a few of the mobile gadget bargains that you’ll be seeing, including this rather cheap Pebble Smartwatch. It’s …

Coolsmartphone Awards 2015 and Podcast

Welcome to the Coolsmartphone Award Ceremony and Podcast, coming to you, prerecorded from Coolsmartphone Towers. Our team of experts got together yesterday and decided on the best and worst bits of 2015 in order to entertain you and reward/shame those responsible. As with all good awards ceremonies we’re …

Oppo Digital Unboxing HA-2 and PM-3

Christmas is coming and you need that knock-out present – well we’re here to save the day. Back in November, we looked at Oppo Digital’s new HA-2 portable amplifier and PM-3 headphones (Come in Major Tom? New Christmas Presents from Oppo), which boasted some great specifications. We have …

“Alexa book me a flight please?” Wait who is Alexa?

Have you ever found yourself talking to yourself out loud and thinking it would be nice if I didn’t need to then dig out the laptop to do what you just said? Weirdly I have. Now, take this concept one stage further and make it useful. Say for …

TVPlayer launches on Apple TV

TVPlayer has just announced it has joined Apple TV with two of its services. The first will be giving Apple users the opportunity to watch over 85 of the UK’s top TV channels within a single app for free called TVPlayer Basic. The other is TVPlayer Plus, the low-cost pay …