Category: General

The KitSound Voice One Smart Speaker – A Review

Ok Google, tell Siri to request that Alexa plays my Comedy Show Tune Playlist Smart, voice-driven devices are becoming commonplace in the modern life, whether it be through our smartphones, watches, connected TVs or smart speakers, they are becoming ever more integrated into our lives. We are at …

Are we doing just a bit too much online?

I’ve been meaning to write this for a while but it kept slipping off my radar. On Saturday, whilst at the local Tesco, it popped up in my head again as I spotted a lengthy queue at the lottery counter. There’s still a fair amount of people who, …

Thinkware F800 Dash Cam – Review

Back in August last year (oh how time flies) I reviewed the amazing Thinkware F770 Dashcam. Since then I’ve been contacted and asked to review the latest iteration – the Thinkware F800 Pro. Good Points: This is a feature-packed device (see main body of the review) 140 degree …

Mobile networks overcharging loyal customers

It’s fairly obvious to many. You go and buy a new mobile phone. It’s on a two year contract. You probably pay about £38 per month for it. As you near the end of the two years, you’re itching to upgrade to the latest handset. Unless you’re with …

Using mobile device management in your business

I remember a time when the Pocket PC was king. It was the device of choice in businesses up and down the land. You could connect it to your Exchange server and, with a small stylus or an on-board slide-out keyboard, you could work anywhere. It was a …

Got a fiver? Grab a SIM-only 1GB plan here.

OK, I’ve got to be quick with this one as iD Mobile have, after pushing out lots of bonkers adverts, gone a bit nuts with this one particular deal and I’m going to make the most of it. If you’re looking for a low-cost SIM-only plan for a …

Avanca D1 Bluetooth 4.0 Earbuds

Recently we covered the new Avanca True Wireless earbuds, and Avanca has launched earbuds for the sporty types out there called the Avanca D1 earbuds. The earbuds have been designed not to fall out of your ears during sweaty exercise because that can drive you mad during an …

Why you should invest in a dash cam

Because I’m a tight-wad, I paid a mere £8.46 for a dash cam. The resulting product, unsurprisingly, is a piece of crap. The low-light performance is appalling, the build quality is flaky, the rear LCD panel doesn’t always illuminate and despite the “HD” promise, the 640×480 video reproduction …

A look at the Porsche Design Huawei Mate 10 Pro

In addition to the main event yesterday, we also saw two more phones being launched by Huawei. One of these is the Porsche Design version. This is the continuation of what Huawei did last year with the Mate 9. I was able to get a very brief hands-on …

Get yourself something that looks a bit like a Nintendo Classic Mini

Back in the day we’d all either owned or played on a NES. Now, if you want to relive those times there’s a miniature version.. Yes, you can travel back to mid-80’s, when the Nintendo Entertainment System first appeared on our shores, and play games like Super Mario …

Huawei Mate 10 Pro Launch

Huawei has always had two mainstream phone lineups, the P series and the Mate Series. We have seen the P series for this year and we were pretty impressed by the offering. The Mate series traditionally launches later in the year and tends to be aimed at the …

Cyngn takes a new road.. literally

Those of you that have ever dabbled in changing the OS on an Android phone will no doubt will have heard of Cyanogenmod. This group of enthusiasts built operating systems for a myriad of Android phones compiled from the base AOSP. At one time things were going well, …

Home on the range: a range of Google Homes

Earlier on, we covered what we think was the most important part of this year’s Google hardware 2017 event – the new Pixel 2 and Pixel 2XL. Next up, we’re covering Mountain View’s home hardware kit – namely, the Google Home range. This Home range wasn’t so much …

EE sticks a mast in the sky to cover biking event

Yesterday things weren’t going so well for EE. They had problems routing calls to other networks all day and it seemed to be causing quite a bit of grief for their customers. They can, however, boast about their coverage. They’re aiming for 95% 4G coverage by 2020, and …

Motorola Moto Z2 Play now available on Vodafone

Just last week we told you that the new Motorola Z2 play was about to arrive on the Vodafone UK network. So, just like clockwork, here it is. If you want to be a bit different or try something that isn’t a Samsung or an iPhone, the modular …

On EE? Having problems today? You’re not the only one

We first heard of EE voice call problems this morning, but problems still seem to exist late into the afternoon, with customers unable to make our receive calls to other networks. EE have told us that.. Some of our customers are reporting problems when trying to make calls …

Online abuse. People think they’re in another world.

I’m always writing about the need to protect kids from their own mobile phones. In the house, when they’re in front of you, you can keep an eye on them. However, when they’re away from you – even in the other room – you could assume that “someone” …

Confused about VPN? Invisbox 2 makes it easy.

We all use the web, and we all see the horror stories associated with data and the privacy of it. Cybercrime is, unfortunately, a real thing these days and keeping you and your family safe online is very important. Here is a quote that sums it all up, …

Fancy a hotel room with gaming PCs inside?

The Autumnal air is here and yes, the Christmas decorations are already in the shops. Wait a minute, weren’t we on holiday just a few minute ago? Weren’t we sitting on a foreign beach, enjoying the sunshine? Well yes, we were. If, however, you still fancy a break …

Avanca introduce the True Wireless Minim Earbuds

Avanca is a Dutch manufacturer of a wide range of earbud systems and they have announced today the UK launch of the True Wireless Minim Earbuds which cost a very reasonable £89. The earbuds use CSR Bluetooth 4.2 which is part of the design to drive better sound …

Introducing the Freefly FF3

Last year, we managed to get hold the Freefly VR headset from the Gadget Show. Well, those lovely people at Proteus VR have announced the next headset called Freefly FF3 which is a hybrid mix between augmented reality and virtual reality in one device. Mixed Reality is expected …

MadeByGoogle event is streaming now.

If you want to get the latest info on what Google have in store for us then you can now tune into their live stream below. We will be keeping our eyes peeled to see what they have instore and we will report back to you once we …

Hello Nest Hello

If you’ve bought into the Nest gadgets, this next big gadget from Google is definitely going to be on your shopping list. This is a doorbell, and like all doorbells it’ll sit right alongside your knockers to alert you to visitors. Called the “Hello”, it is a bit …

The era of the PC is rapidly ending

Reading this on a PC? Well, there’s not many of you left. The PC now seems to be more widely seen in the workplace, whilst at home and everywhere else, the smartphone is becoming king. Verto Analytics, a research company that tracks the devices used by 5,000 UK …

Three – Free in-store sign language for customers.

UK mobile provider Three have launched an innovative service to for deaf customers thanks to a partnership with Sign Solutions. The company will now be able to provide sign language to deaf and hard of hearing customers to who seek in-store support. This is something that is initially …

nCube – Making your Smart Home, Simple!

The nCube hub, is a very simple looking hub which can help control all your smart devices in your home including heating, lighting, security, entertainment and other smart devices into just one App using ZWave, Wi-Fi, LAN and Bluetooth communication. It also fully compatible with Alexa, but no …

Need a 3.5mm audio port in that iPhone 8 Sir?

We all knew that this problem was coming the minute that the 3.5mm audio port got dropped on the iPhone 7. Of course, despite our cool Bluetooth headphones, we have to admit that battery life will always fail just when you need it. So, how about using traditional …

NTONPOWER Charging station and organiser – Review

Having lots of gadgets is seemingly the norm nowadays. Likewise, we’re seeing more and more solutions for charging them. Most of you will probably have one charger per device, which is great until you start getting a second phone, a tablet or you’ve got other members of your …

Voda to carry the Moto Z2 Play

Yes, that’s pretty much the entire content of this story, right there in the title. Still, I’ve read the Daily Mail website and, if we now throw in 40 very similar photos with 4 paragraphs of text, it will apparently constitute a story. The Moto Z2 Play, which …

Coolsmartphone Update!

In recent months we’ve seen a significant uptick in traffic. This has left us with a problem. We needed more funding to pay for better, faster and more powerful infrastructure. Last week I tried a quick-fix solution to this, which was to add some full-page website banners. You …

Modobag – Motorized, Rideable … err… luggage

I don’t know about you, but having a small carry-on suitcase with wheels on, one that glides effortlessly around an airport, can be a very, very, very, very .. minor irritation. So, welcome to crowdfunded item number 25251613. The Modobag. A motorized suitcase that’ll make you look like …

Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact now available on Vodafone

Fancy a new handset with the Sony design skills and a 5.2″ 1080×1920 pixel screen? Want it to be dust and waterproof? Want it to measure 148 x 73.4 x 7.4 mm and weigh in at 155 g? Sorry. I can’t help you with that. ONLY KIDDING! Coming …

Twitter full of big, fat tweets…. thoughts?

So we all live in a socail media age, and one of the main protagonists of this age is Twitter. Since its inception many years ago, Twitter users have been restricted to getting their musings across in 140 characters. This was both a blessing and a curse. It …

AmpliFi – The unboxing

Well, I don’t normally get excited about wireless extension system, but there was something cool and futuristic about AmpliFi that certainly caught our interest at Coolsmartphone Towers. We covered the unit’s release not so long ago, and now we have one to review. The box was huge and …

Oh happy days! Self-serve beer!

I’m overflowing with emails at the minute. However, when one pops up with a trigger word, I suddenly sit up and take notice. This time, the word is “beer”, and when I took a look at the email it actually tells me about a “self-serve beer” system. This …

Belkin BoostUp Wireless Charging Pad

Belkin continues to embrace the iPhone moves towards wireless charging with the BoostUp Wireless Charging Pad, which will support the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X (probably other products that were not included in the press release!). “Customers around the world love iPhone and we believe wireless …

Charge Rockstar for all your charging iPhone needs

Got a shiny new iPhone? Still missing your 3.5mm connector? You want to charge the phone and listen to music through a 3.5mm jack? Well, you are in luck dear reader! Belkin has launched the Charge Rockstar, the 3.5 mm Audio + Charge RockStar adapter for the iPhone …

EE launches Enhanced HD Voice

There’s a lot of technical gobbledegook behind this particular story, so if (like me) your eyes glaze over, the take-home message is basically that you’re going to be getting a really clear and high quality line when using EE. For the more technically minded, it goes a bit …

Quick Friday offer for SIM only data junkies

I’ll keep this brief, because I’m hopefully talking to those who want a massive slice of data on a network with great coverage. This one is with Virgin Mobile, who use EE. Their SIM-only offer will give you a massive 20GB of data plus 5000 minutes and unlimited …

giffgaff iPhone 8 pricing announced

OK, as you know giffgaff are a bit different. They run on the O2 network and you can either pay outright and pay for a phone or pay monthly via their peer-to-peer lending system. You should therefore remember that the pricing below is without an airtime contract. With …