Category: Gadgets & Tech

iFit Announce Integration with the Sony SmartWatch 3

iFit is one of the most popular fitness brands, and today they have formally announced that their services will be integrated into the Sony SmartWatch 3. iFit provides a complete fitness ecosystem to try and mentor you to a healthier lifestyle  and they partner with well-known companies such as …

Kickstarter mess up, Jide to the rescue

Some of you may be aware that I have been harping on about a Kickstarter project called Remix Ultra Tablet,  well it has been a huge success on Kickstarter so much that the actually sold out the entry level tier of $39 in seconds and the next one …

The Online Gaming Service OnLive is Shutting Down.

I’ve always been a fan of the OnLive service with its ability to stream cloud hosted PC games to mobile devices, computers and smart TVs. It seemed like a natural progression in gaming technology. So it was with a little sadness that I heard that it was announced …

Valedo Wearable unboxing

This is not an April Fool Those of you who were following our MWC coverage will already be familiar with Valedo. for those of you who wern’t following our exploits at MWC here is a recap1, Valedo is a wearable that will help you improve your back health …

KitSound Clash, Bluetooth Headphones Review.

Usually, headphones are a difficult item to review and at the end of the day,  you the reader have to take my word for it. We’ve had the KitSound Clash Bluetooth Headphones in for review recently and we’ll start the review off with my good and bad points. …

Oppo’s bezel free device leaked.

Chinese smartphone manufacturer, Oppo looks set to release a handset with  jaw dropping bezel free display. The new smartphone has been anonymously leaked online, flaunting almost no bezels on either side of the screen and Running Oppo’s own operating system ColorOS. The only other handset without a curve that …

More HTC One M9 Plus images leaked.

  HTC has sent out invites in which it clearly teased a new HTC One M9 variant with the One M8 Duo camera set up. Tie this in with the leaked images from the normally spot on @Upleaks on twitter, and could this be the rumoured HTC M9+? From viewing …

Oxygen OS & CM12 Delayed Say OnePlus

On the 18th March I posted an article about fledgling phone manufacturer OnePlus stating that by the 27th of March this year, their very own Oxygen OS would be available and the CM12 update would be available by 30th March, which you can read here. Since the beginnings …

128GB Internal storage coming to mid range devices say Samsung.

High capacity internal storage is the realm of top-of-the-range flagship devices, which in turn commands a top price. Today Samsung announced a 3-bits-per-cell flash memory chip that promises 128GB of storage for “mass market” (read: more affordable) mobile devices. The 128GB storage solution is built using the more prevalent …

Kit: Powerbank Review.

It won’t be long till all the main manufacturers go along the sealed battery route. I have no problem with this provided they innovated in battery technology, rather than the most megapixels in the camera or the most pixels per inch in the screen. The way forward, however, …

OnePlus increase the price of the One.

OnePlus – the company famous for their purchase invite system and high spec, low price devices – have announced that due to the declining Euro they will be increasing the price of the OnePlus One in Europe. Currently the 16GB Silk White and 64GB Sandstone Black OnePlus One retail …

March Markdown – A gadget-lovers paradise.

As you’ll know, I have a weakness for looking at the handsets and gadgets that you can’t get on the high street. A perfect example is the Atongm W008 watch that I reviewed this morning. At the moment Gearbest are knocking down prices even further with their “March …

One Plus One Lollipop update coming by end of March.

Today One Plus announced that the long awaited Lollipop update will be available by the end of March. They’re so confident of hitting this deadline that they’ll give away five 64GB devices if they miss it. By March 27th OnePlus plans to release their own Lollipop-based ROM, using …

A Look at the KitSound Glow Bluetooth Speaker

Music plays such a varied role in our lives, it can be fun, it can be serious, it evokes emotion, we listen to it alone and we listen to it to be sociable and often the environment we are dictates how we consume our media.  Of course and …

Dyson to help boost your smartphone battery life

You probably know about James Dyson. He’s a British guy who struggled to sell his bagless vacuum cleaner to the major manufacturers. After being told that the “bags make us money” and “you’re basically bonkers”, he went on to create a solid British brand, making products for Britain …

Sony Xperia Z4 image leaked

Online serial “leaker”, @Onleaks, has provided the interwebs with what is to be believed to be the next flagship device from Sony – the Xperia Z4. Measuring in at 146.3×71.9×7.2mm, the Z4’s measurements are very similar to the current Z3, as is the actual look of the device. There’s …

Vaio announce their first smartphone – the VA-10J

Following on from it’s sale by Sony to a local investigative firm, VAIO Corporation has launched the VAIO Phone (VA-10J). It is the company’s first dabble in to the smartphone world, made in partnership with Japan communication. When it was first seen, comments were made that the phone shares …

LuguLake II Bluetooth speaker and charge stand – Review

Some time ago, our very own Leigh carried out a review of the Lugulake Bluetooth speaker, which he was thoroughly impressed with, and you can catch up with the review here. Well the company have contacted CoolSmartPhone towers, asking us if we would like to look at the new improved version …

2015 Chromebook Pixel Announced.

A number of us here at CoolSmartPhone towers use Chromebooks. I for one am currently writing this post from my HP 11 Chromebook which I absolutely love. Chromebooks are usually inexpensive, with a good battery life, but not that highly specced in terms of RAM or onboard storage, …

Leaked renders of the LG G4 published.

Rumoured for a next quarter anouncement, (which fingers crossed is April not May) more leaked renders LG’s next flagship device the G4 are hitting the internet. It’s said to be powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor, having a 20 MP rear camera, a 5MP front-facing camera and …

MWC – A look at the ZTE smartwatches

Around the side of the ZTE stand there were some ordinary-looking watches. I only say “ordinary” in the sense that they didn’t immediately scream “smartwatch” at me. They were neither chunky or “techy” in appearance and the design was both understated and stylish. None of these are on …

MWC – Piper NV Home Automation

One of the most intriguing things I came across at MWC was Piper NV, Piper NV is a product from icontrol Networks in the US, it basically is a network attached device that allows you to create a home automation or home security system to suit your needs. …

MWC – Metaio – Augmented Reality continues to amaze

We’ve seen AR before. Displaying images over the a live image that your phone is seeing. It’s all very cool. However, things have moved on a little since then and Metaio look to be pushing things on pretty quickly. Already they have companies like IKEA using their solution, …

Deal of the day? 16GB microSD card for £3.99

It looks like eBuyer are off-loading this Lexar 16GB microSD card today for less than half the normal price. If you still have a microSD slot in your phone then count yourself lucky my friend, as this 16GB Class 10 card is a quick way to boost your …

MWC – MadCatz

Are you a gamer on mobile devices? Do you get frustrated with having fiddly controls on the phone? If you have answered yes to either of these questions then you may want to point your browser to Madcatz. They have got some really good-looking gaming controllers which are …

MWC – IKEA build wireless charging into your furniture

Think IKEA and you think of a weekend spent touring the store, navigating other couples who are as equally stressed, annoyed and argumentative as you and your wife or girlfriend are. You’ve probably experienced the 14 mile walk around the predefined pathway around the store. You may have …

MWC – Ford looking to solve your city transport problems

In London our underground system works very well considering the age and complexity of it. People commute in and out of the city and leave their cars in expensive car-parks or, if you run a business servicing the city, you have to try and get your big diesel …

MWC – Valedo Therapy wearables

While I was down seeing the shiny shiny tech at Lenovo yesterday I encountered something that looked like it had been made with me in mind. I will need to give you a bit of a story to explain this so here goes. Back when I was still …

MWC – Ubuntu Hands on With BQ Aquarius and Meizu MX4

It is really inspiring to see a new OS enter into the crowded Mobile market space. With this in mind I went out to the far reaches of the Fira to track down Canonical. They’re the guys behind Ubuntu. Now, for those of you who have been long …

MWC – Your next smartphone could have a sense of smell

Each year I come to Mobile World Congress with the same thought. “Where else can smartphones go?” Yes, there’s better cameras, faster processors and sharper screens, but it’s just quicker with incremental changes. It’s not always new technology and new ideas. After meeting Elliptic Labs, who have created …

MWC – GUESS who do smartwatches

If you think about it, watchmakers are probably breathing a huge sigh of relief. There was a moment when lots of people thought.. “Hey, I don’t need a watch, I’ve got me a phone. This thing tells me the time, the date, the weather and it does Facebook …

MWC – Kronoz. Can a watch maker create a smartwatch?

We’ve already seen how smartphone manufacturers like LG create smartwatches. However, we should perhaps consider how an existing watchmaker approaches the problem. MyKronoz have designed watches since 2013 and I was interested in their ZeTel and ZePhone watches, which have SIM cards in, and the ZeFit, ZeCircle, ZeBracelet, …

MWC – Orange Ub-y brings people to you. Virtually.

I’ve seen some weird tech items before, but these things totally freaked me out today. Meet the Orange Ub-y (short for “ubiquity”), which roams around the Orange stand here in Barcelona. There’s actually two as I write this, and the girls controlling the devices are chatting to each …

MWC – Slimport demo the Nano Console

The other day I attended an event where Slimport were in attendance, Slimport are the company who make your Micro USB port if you own an Nexus 5, LG G2, LG G3 or LG G Pad 8.3. Slimport is an alternative to MHL, but Slimport has taken things …

MWC – Elliptic Labs. Ready to be the next big thing

When you arrive home from Mobile World Congress people tend to ask the same question. What impressed you most? What’s the next big thing? It’s always a tricky one, but last year there was one definite winner for me – Elliptic Labs. I actually used the words “The …

MWC – The LG Watch Urbane hands-on

I’ve got to tell you, I’ve never really considered a smartwatch until now. Heck, I’ve not even considered a watch full stop for a while. James has given me a Pebble on loan and, I’ll admit, my attitude is changing somewhat. Here, it’s Android Wear powering the show …

Huawei Ascend G7 4G review

Following on from their announcement of the New Huawei Ascend G7 4G (which I covered here), I was lucky enough to get sent a device for review. Device Specs. 5.5 inch HD IPS display, 720p resolution. Measuring in at 7.6 mm thick. 1.2 GHz quad core processor capable of …

Pebble Time launches on Kickstarter

Today was a big day for Pebble. Just in case you have been living under a rock and dont know who Pebble are, they made the first truly usable Smartwatch that could work on both iOS and Android. That one was also funded through a Kickstarter project and …

What’s in my bag (Garry) – MWC 2015

Well that came around quick didn’t it? MWC 2015 is here and, in preparation of the team arriving in Barcelona, we have decided to share an insight into the kit we are taking with us. I have tried to go relatively lightweight with my gear as I’m going …