Category: General

The World Cup – Mobile use on the rise, home broadband use down

Mobile phones, as I’m sure you all know, can be very distracting. Whether you’re watching TV, sat at the bus stop, waiting for a sandwich, ordering coffee or at the park, a quick glance at the screen seems difficult to resist. So what stops us fiddling with our …

Three UK steps up 5G preparation

Three have enhanced their deal with SSE Telecoms to connect their network to local BT exchanges. This will boost network performance and connectivity to customers. The move is a big step towards the 5G launch in the UK, but will also have huge benefits for existing 4G customers …

I choose to go naked, but there’s consequences

Take a look at these two phones. Do you know who they belong to ? Yes, they belong to me. Apart from the cracks and the smashed rear panels, you’ll probably also notice that I don’t have a cover on either of the phones either. This, I’ll admit, …

Booq – Daypack Backpack, Unpacked!

I’ve been using a very tired Mos Backpack that I acquired a few years ago as my regular laptop bag. As it’s in daily use, it has started to show its age. Due to this, I have been on the hunt for a bag that would make for …

Chris – The Digital Assistant for Drivers Announced

It is a proven fact that using for mobile phone whilst driving is a distraction, and is one of the four major causes of fatal accidents on the UK roads today. Not only that if you’re caught using your device, you can be fined £200 and have your …

Quick. I need to buy this. The FlowMotion ONE.

I love gadgets. Well, you know that. I’ve been writing about the things for 16 years now so it’s fair to say that I’m slightly obsessed really. Smartphone camera technology in particular has come a long way recently, but despite the stabilization features you’ll no doubt see in …

Mixcder launches its E8 headphones

We are very much fans if Mixcder headphones at Coolsmartphone HQ, Ian and I enjoy using them when they are released. Imagine our excitement when we received a press release for a £59.99 pair of wireless headphones with active cancellation. Not only that, they boast 40mm drivers, wideband …

Tesco Mobile to dish out free Samsung tech gifts

Operating on the O2 network, Tesco Mobile is offering up the Samsung Galaxy S8, S8+, S9, S9+ and Samsung Note 8. If you buy one of those devices then the network will offer up a free tech gift worth up to £279. There’s something to suit everyone including …

Gemini from Planet computers to get Sailfish 3.0 soon

I recently reviewed the Gemini from Plant Computers and I was on the whole quite impressed with the way it worked. Apart from a few issues with the build (primarily down to the pre-production status of my review device), I was left happy and enthused about the product. …

Discord – Whats it about?

Discord is software primarily used for people to talk while playing games. So you may think well why is this relevant to me? Well Discord is something I use everyday and it is growing to be a social network of sorts to. There is an iOS, macOS, PC …

SOLO 500X-EQ and Primordial Radio app review

We were asked to review the Studio19 London’s SOLO 500X-EQ Bluetooth Speaker, which we covered its release back in February this year. Studio19 successfully crowdfunded the new speaker using the IndieGoGo platform. We have used the Primordial Radio application to test the speaker and we talk about their platform …

Groov-e Wave II Bluetooth Speaker – Review

Summer has finally arrived here in the UK. It’s nearly 32 degrees as I type this and now everyone is moaning that it’s too hot! This all means lots of time outdoors, and as such I’ve been reviewing the Groov-e Wave II Outdoor Bluetooth speaker. Good Points: Price. …

Thinnest Portable Charger – Iceworks 7000

The Iceworks 7000 is a fast charge, ultra slim portable charger with built-in type C cable. More importantly it’s only 8mm thick, 15.5cm length and 7.8cm width. Yup! No longer will you have a massive bulky charger pack in the bottom of your bag. Following in the steps of …

Anchor Premium Charge & Sync Cable – Revew

“The Last Cable You’ll Ever Need “ Good Points: Lifetime Warranty. Build quality. Interchangeability. Allows both fast charging and data syncing. Super strong. Tangle Free. Oh did I mention the build quality. Bad Points: The strong magnets have a mind of there own. The tips have to stay …

EE launch new broadband deals

EE have today announced a new range of home broadband plans which deliver super fast fibre connection with unlimited use. Not only as well as extra data on your smartphone as an added bonus. Fibre Max 1 offers speeds up to 150Mbps with upload speeds of 28Mbps, and …

Syncwire 4-port mains charger – Review

You, my digital friend, look like you need something that will charge four of your things all at the same time. From a wall. This, right here, and for £14.99 as I type from Amazon, is the Syncwire 4-port mains charger. It’s designed to be used in the …

Running low on juice? Strap a brick to your phone!

Good morning you good people. How’s things eh? Good? Great. Now, we’ve had an email from “Joe”. He’s from a company called Brickspower. They do these wireless charging bricks which attach to the back of your phone. Then it’ll wirelessly charge your phone. Magic eh? No need to …

Offline translator now hits the UK. Meet ili

The whole premise of this product, which is £199 from Selfridges, is the fact that you can do quick one-way translations without the need for an internet connection. It’s already proved successful in Japan and the US, with 10,000 orders received in the first three days. It’s a …

Vodafone kicking off 5G trials already

Seven cities will become 5G test areas for Vodafone. Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, London and Manchester will then see deployments beginning in October. Vodafone will be pushing “Gigabit UK”, where customers can enjoy ultra-fast connection speeds of one gigabit per second via 5G. Across those cities, engineers …

A soothing music mask

So, England won the other night. It’s all going well so far, but, after the edge-of-the-seat action, you might need a lie down. This sleep mask could be just the ticket. You can whack it on during a flight or after a long day at work. It’ll not …

BBC Virtual Reality World Cup App – An Impressive Immersive Experience

The World Cup is great, 4 weeks of footy heaven, beer snacks and England related stress injuries. Over recent years  the BBC have used the World Cup to showcase it’s latest technologies, from HD, to multiple audio streams and  in this case VR presentation of matches…….yes I’ve just …

Oh, unbridled joy. We did win another thing. Yay.

Following our award for Top 10 UK Mobile Blog from Feedspot, we’ve won another award. Yes. Get in. Again, I’m going to have to suspend my negative attitude towards these awards, which are usually given out to as many sites as possible in the hope that the company …

Solving subscription issues on the Sky Sports Mobile TV App

We are big fans of the Sky Sports Mobile TV App here at Coolsmartphone.com. It provides a way of legally watching 8 Sky Sports Channels and Sky News on your iOS or Android Device for a great price. However, on occasion, some users experience issues with subscriptions not …

Nintendo E3 2018 as it happened

Welcome, So the rules for this coverage are: I won’t talk about Pre/Post shows in detail only mention what they are doing for them No event screenshots, Not because I can’t but because the stream quality isn’t great and I wouldn’t want to force that on you but …

Smoking is bad for you, but this.. this is still cool

In my head, I’m James Bond. I walk with a confident swagger and drive luxury cars. In reality, I wear strange socks and I’ve only just got rid of the Audi that had started pumping Diesel fumes inside the car. So I want to spend £22.99 on this …

Gemini from Planet Computers – Review

A few months ago I got a little bit excited about a device that I had seen on Indiegogo. It wasn’t because it was the fastest or the most powerful device. It didn’t have the best camera either. It also wasn’t designed to be a gaming monolith. So, …

Sony E3 2018 as it happened

Welcome, So the rules for this coverage are: I won’t talk about Pre/Post shows in detail only mention what they are doing for them No event screenshots, Not because I can’t but because the stream quality isn’t great and I wouldn’t want to force that on you but …

Ubisoft E3 2018 as it happened

Welcome, So the rules for this coverage are: I won’t talk about Pre/Post shows in detail only mention what they are doing for them No event screenshots, Not because I can’t but because the stream quality isn’t great and I wouldn’t want to force that on you but …

Square Enix E3 2018 as it happened

Welcome, So the rules for this coverage are: I won’t talk about Pre/Post shows in detail only mention what they are doing for them No event screenshots, Not because I can’t but because the stream quality isn’t great and I wouldn’t want to force that on you but …

EE launches smart number technology

This one is definitely aimed at those using an iPhone or iPad. It’s a clever technology, and EE is the first to roll-out in the UK. EE smart number lets you make and receive calls and texts using the same number across multiple devices. It won’t cost you …

Bethesda E3 Briefing as it happened

Welcome, So the rules for this coverage are: I won’t talk about Pre/Post shows in detail only mention what they are doing for them No event screenshots, Not because I can’t but because the stream quality isn’t great and I wouldn’t want to force that on you but …

Xbox E3 2018 Briefing as it Happened

Welcome, So the rules for this coverage are: I won’t talk about Pre/Post shows in detail only mention what they are doing for them No event screenshots, Not because I can’t but because the stream quality isn’t great and I wouldn’t want to force that on you but …

EA Play – As it happened

Welcome. So the rules for this coverage are: I won’t talk about Pre/Post shows in detail only mention what they are doing for them No event screenshots, Not because I can’t but because the stream quality isn’t great and I wouldn’t want to force that on you but …

Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) Times, Dates, Predictions

Lights, Camera, Action… a car descends from the ceiling… a car slides out a wall… an awkward demo begins. Yes! It’s that time again, E3. For those who do not know or who don’t understand what E3 is here is a quick rundown. A long time ago, being …

Buy a phone, run a speed test, give to charity!

Wanna donate some cash easily? Well, there’s a couple of ways we’ve found of doing it. First, the Tesco Mobile guys are donating a crisp £5 for every single pink phone which is sold until June 26th. The money goes direct to Cancer Research UK and ties in …

Speck World Cup Cases now available

The World Cup is just around the corner now, so if you want to show your support, check out the new range of cases from Speck. Sure, we’re showing you the England one here, but they’ve also got the Presido GRIP World Edition available for France, Spain, Germany, …

Filofax eniTAB360 Tablet Stand – Review

Getting your tablet to stand on its own normally requires some sort of folio type case. You know the sort – those ones that fold back onto themselves. However, they only hold your device at one angle, which typically isn’t “just right” to view content. Plus, if you …

We won some award or something

One day we might win a really big award. After all, I’ve invested a full 16 entire years of my life writing posts for this website and we’ve got a team of crazed smartphone nutters travelling all over the place to bring you the latest chunks of smartphone …