Category: General

Brainwavz B200 – Review

As recently as last week, we covered the launch of the Brainwavz B200 earbuds which retail at a whopping £156. Not long after that post, the review pair arrived at Coolsmartphone Towers for testing. First impressions? The looked the business. They arrive in a nice box, which included …

When phone cases go bad

I’m going to try and explain this one as best as I can, but to be honest it’s still very, very strange indeed. An Amazon Artificial Intelligence bot, seemingly created to create additional products for a phone cases company, seems to have gone very wrong. Presumably the bot …

Making the air ..a bit.. more fair

There’s long been discussion about the share each network has of the mobile spectrum. Three UK, among others, have also started a campaign to stop one or two networks from being able to grab the larger slices. Today Ofcom have revealed that they will indeed put a cap …

Hero Bluetooth earbuds from Winnergear – unboxing and initial thoughts

Fancy yourself as a secret agent or a bodyguard then you will want these Bluetooth earbuds to match your covert activities. Introducing the Hero Bluetooth earbuds from Winnergear.   Just arrived at Coolsmartphone Towers today, the Hero ‘Smallest True Wireless Sports Earbuds’ are gorgeous little beasties and I just had …

RCA tablets – Saturn 10 Pro – Review

  Back in June, we wrote a quick post about some new Android tablets destined for our shores, these being the RCA Saturn 10 Pro and the Mercury 7L. They’re said to be some of the best Android tablets around so I’ve been sent both devices through for …

Efficient office working. Hey, remember when we just covered smartphones?

Things are definitely changing here at Coolsmartphone. Gone are the days when we used to just get emails about the latest smartphone being launched. Now, instead, we’re getting everything connected with smartphones. We’re getting Bluetooth speakers, headphones, VR glasses and everything to do with the Internet of Things. …

Carl Zeiss lenses, back in Nokia devices 

Remember the Nokia devices of old? The ones equipped with the high quality ​Zeiss lenses? Together the two combined their skills to produce devices that could take stunning images. Take the 808 PureView for example, a device that still struggles to be beaten even next to the smartphones …

Brainwavz launch dual balanced armature B200 earbuds

The race for high-quality earphones to use with your favourite media player is hotting up this summer already with numerous releases from brands you may not have heard of. The key factors are no longer how the look but how they deliver that rich sound from your MP3s …

Get your ears tested and get better sound.. with some headphones

The HTC U11 I have on test right now has a very clever system which creates a specially tuned audio profile when you’re using the included headphones. By emitting white noise and then listening for feedback inside your ears, it can augment your listening experience. I’ll be honest, …

Three tells you to “Go Binge”

Getting something delivered via the internet on your phone, but not having to pay for the data it uses? Sounds good yeah? This is what Three have planned today. It’ll mean that you can enjoy some Netflix streaming, watch TV channels on TVPlayer, listen to tunes on either …

PR Photoshoot OVERLOAD. Bluetooth JBL Pulse 3 speakers with LIGHTS

You can imagine the conversation can’t you? HARMAN must’ve called the PR guys and said, “Hey, we’ve made these great new Pulse 3 speakers. They’re £199.99 from Currys and JBL.com. These are really powerful and have a cool LED light show on the top section. Can you do …

1MORE release a new Triple Driver Earbud system

1MORE has been described as China’s equivalent to Beats, which is a big claim but we are always happy to try out new earbuds to go with our mobile phones here at Coolsmartphone HQ. The new earbuds work on a triple driver system which is split into two balanced armatures …

Take a drone, turn everything up to 11, then you get this

Geeez… so, bear with me on this one. Imagine going a little crazy with your credit card one day. Imagine buying about 100 drones, then attaching them all to some scaffolding and putting a deck-chair in the middle of it all and you’ll end up with something like …

A quick update on that bike ride

Yes, we did it. Thanks to everyone who supported us ! We made it all the way from Lichfield to Edinburgh in just 3 days. Amazingly I didn’t use a portable charger once during the entire trip and the HTC U11 I have on test traveled the entire …

Oaxis launches InkCase, an E ink display case for iPhone 7

Remember back in 2014 when the Yotaphone was launched with its innovate design by having an e-ink display on the back of the device? Unfortunately, the device never caught on along with the next iteration – the Yotaphone 2. Well today, Oaxis has announced the latest in its family of E-Ink …

Want to record 6 things at once? Sky says sure, OK

Britsh broadcaster Sky has announced that their Sky Q 2 TB boxes will soon be updated in order to be able to record six shows at once, while you can watch a seventh. Now if by some miracle there is actually seven things on at the same time …

Expansys close up shop… for regular customers

It doesn’t seem so long since we were pretty much mentioning expansys on a weekly basis. It was the place to go if you wanted a smartphone or tablet without having a network tweaked model. Now times have changed and profit margins just aren’t what they once were. …

Zecti Robot Tripod mini – Review

I don’t know about you but I love taking photos with my phone. Today we have phone cameras that are really rather excellent. They’re right up there with the compact cameras that we used to carry around a few years ago. There is, however, still the long-standing issue of …

How to unlock Samsung Galaxy S8

How to Unlock Samsung Galaxy S8 If you’ve got one of these sexy new handsets then you’ll have probably gone with a contract deal that has tied you to one network. Some people, though, don’t necessarily want to use the Galaxy S8 on the network they purchased it …

Three UK are the only network to hold roaming prices post-Brexit

Can our hung parliament and chaotic government really “take back control” from the EU? Who knows, but it does raise an interesting question. What will happen with our newly-acquired EU roaming deal? After Brexit, if we ever get it sorted out, will Brits see a return to the …

Dropped action cam. What happens next will amaze you!

Yes, I’m trying a click-bait headline. Let’s get it pushed all over Facebook by some faceless SEO company and then earn stacks of cash from it, then I might be able to fix the massive hole in my kitchen ceiling shall we? I hate plumbing problems. Anyhow, there’s …

Philips EverPlay Bluetooth speakers. Let’s have a look

I’m sitting in the sunshine and it’s about 30 degrees Celsius right now. To be honest I’m going a bit delirious and moving the “Coolsmartphone office” to a bench outside was perhaps not my best idea. Anyway, with summer here I picked out one message from my 5.4 …

RCA Android tablets launch in the UK

Following the successful launch of its 2-in-1 affordable Windows notebooks here in the UK, premium audio and video manufacturer Venturer (both of which I have reviewed here and here) have announced a new range of Android tablets under the RCA branding. RCA is a name new to us …

Return of retro gaming!

Right, I will come right and say this I am old. I can remember a time before the internet, before mobile phones and before the home computer had been invented ! I remember when gaming well that was something you did outside with your mates. I have been …

Going on holiday? Yes, USE your phone!

Today is June 15th 2017. This article, though, will be ignored by many. For reasons I can’t quite understand, it’s difficult to get clear and concise information across to some. I noticed this at the airport recently. We’d just landing at BHX (Birmingham Airport) and, despite standing next …

Tesco Mobile cut roaming charges in 48 destinations

Here in the UK we’ve had our fair share of elections and referendums. Nobody seems to be in control and #Brexit is slowly turning into a bit of a mess. No worries though, because we’re still part of the EU, and the good thing about that is that, …

Good morning all. Yes, it’s that time of year again.

My day job involves a lot of sitting down. A lot of tea drinking and a lot of mouse moving. It is not, let me tell you, the most strenuous job in the world. A few years ago I had to register with a new doctor. He wanted …

EE get the exclusive on the silver Galaxy S8 and S8+

We’ve seen both the Galaxy S8 and the S8+ side-by-side and we’ve covered both in great detail here. If you’re after either, but you want the Arctic Silver one, only EE will be selling it. There’s a bit of a wait if you want this particular shade though, …

Peli Case for your​ S8/S8+

The new Galaxy S8 and the S8+ handsets are gorgeous. There is no denying that. There are countless blogs and reviews attesting to this. However, this beauty does come at a cost. In testing by the fine people over at SquareTrade it was discovered that the S8 and …

Vodafone to stop advertising on hate speech and fake news outlets

We’re currently trying to get a list of the outlets involved in this press announcement. Whether it’ll involve tabloid websites is unclear at the moment, however the network has stated that new global rules are now in operation to stop Vodafone adverts appearing “within outlets focused on creating …

EE offer dedicated Welsh customer services

EE have become the first network to offer customers dedicated Welsh customer service support in their language. Customers will be able to request a call from a Welsh speaking adviser to help with any issues they may have and help resolve with ease. Marc Allera, EE CEO, states… …

HTC U11 now available on giffgaff

Want the squeezy HTC U11 network unlocked, on the giffgaff where you can adjust your monthly cost as you require? Head to giffgaff where they’re stocking the “Amazing Silver” or “Sapphire Blue” version right now. We’ve got full details on the HTC U11 so, when you’ve checked the …

2021 – EE and BT to get beefy

We spoke to EE CEO Marc Allegra back in March and we were intrigued to know whether the recent BT acquisition would mean any EE branding changes. At the time, it was a definite no, and BT seemed content to run EE as a separate brand. After all, …

Roaming – It’s all about to change

Unbelievably, it’s nearly June. That means that big sporting events like Wimbledon are now only a month away. Before that though, there’s the Epsom Derby, the Champions League final, a couple of World Cup qualifiers, Argentina v England in the Rugby Union, the US Open, Royal Ascot and …

VR – Will it succeed or suffer the same fate as 3D TV’s?

Somebody mentioned eSports to me recently and, whilst I write about smartphones daily, I’ll confess to not knowing a great deal about it. Last week, in Copenhagen, the Unibet Copenhagen Open gave visitors the chance to play against these eSports stars. VR played a big role, with the evolution …

The evolution of bunny rabbit ears

During my twelve years of using smartphones, I’ve never felt the need to use a case. I’ve instead kept my phone in good condition by ensuring that it gets a pocket to itself alongside nothing else such as keys to scratch it. I also ensure that I handle …

Sony Xperia XZ Premium now on pre-order with Three

Want to get a shiny new Qualcomm 835-powered Sony Xperia XZ Premium? If you’re looking to get one with Three, you can pre-order it right now. It’s available to buy from June 2nd. Three are offering the handset on their  “Advanced Plans”, which means that you can get the …