Category: General
Why is this a thing worth mentioning? There’s a camera app specifically for Motorola phones (called surprisingly enough, Motorola Camera). It largely depends on whether you have a Motorola phone or not. More precisely, whether you have, or intend to get, one of the 2016 crop of Motorola …
You’ve probably seen those music videos where a pop starlet has a close-up with the camera and is lit beautifully by a circular set of lights attached to the camera. It makes the singer look fresh, clear and they’ll stand out in the resulting video. Now you can …
I was recently on holiday and when I returned I found that this strange contraption was waiting for me in my hallway. Now for those of you who have followed us a for a while, you will no doubt be familiar with what this is. It is, of course, …
Watching your pet from work or anywhere else is pretty simple. Just get a camera or perhaps use a spare smartphone to act as an IP camera. It’s a good way to have a quick look at your dog or cat from afar, but… wouldn’t it be good …
From Monday 20th June you’ll be able to get this, the new branded device from Vodafone. It’ll cost just £300 on Pay as you go, or you can get it on contract. Prices start at £28 per month for unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB of UK data. That’s …
This is video is long overdue, regardless I took a business trip to Malaysia for work reasons and decided to take a road test of a number of gadgets to play with. First up was the BagsByBlack BUDDI bag, then Pump Audio V2, Anker Power Bank 20100, cables from …
Back in January, Leigh looked at the MEEM cable which was in the Kickstarter stage. What is MEEM I hear you ask? Well it is a phone charger cable that automatically backs up personal data on a smartphone to the cable, every time the phone is charged. MEEM is …
This weekend was my tenth wedding anniversary. It really doesn’t seem like a decade. Not at all. I remember being at the church, going on honeymoon and even writing about it here just five minutes ago. What happened eh ? We spent most of the weekend celebrating. On …
Covers. There’s stacks of them. If you want something a little “different” then it usually only extends to having a personalised picture on the back of your device. Meanwhile, other cases are made from wood or leather to give you a small amount of individuality. But.. what if …
If you liked the look of the Glory P1 Mini power bank we reviewed on Saturday, listen up friends. We’ve got a bit of an offer on for you. If you buy it you’ll find that there’s a microUSB cable in the box. However, you can get another …
If you’re a Three customer, or an ex-Three customer, you may have been give a new deal in recent months which didn’t seem so great. So, fancy going back? Or getting an additional deal? Or grinding your teeth while new customers possibly get a better deal than you? …
When I received this press release I honestly thought SEAT had launched a new way of selling their cars. Perhaps, after strapping your phone to your face via Google Cardboard or similar, you could experience a SEAT before you bought one? Well, it’s not quite that – not …
The Bluetooth speaker market is flooded with different devices – if you don’t believe me, just do a quick search on either Amazon or eBay and it will take about a week to trawl though all the offerings. Prices range from just a couple of pounds, through to …
Well, this is awkward. We’ve been given some information about a new offering from Tesco Mobile but their PR team aren’t getting in touch. We’re not totally sure if we’re breaking an embargo or what-not, but here goes anyway. So, word on the street is that Tesco Mobile …
A journey for me to London usually falls into two categories. I either take a “cheap” train which takes a couple of hours, stops at places I’ve never heard of and has no on-board “booster” so the signal on your phone is totally pants. If, however, I pay …
UK network Three have now made their latest exclusive device the ‘dial’ from will.i.am. It’s available on Pay As You Go for anyone wanting to purchase – no need for a contract. The dial is an interesting idea – making a smartphone with voice assistant available on your …
Yeah. It’s a weird idea, but someone in the US decided to make some virtual reality glasses with crackers. Not just any crackers, but Graham Crackers. They’re a bit hard to get hold of here in the UK, which is particularly annoying as my wife finds them to …
The popular remote desktop app TeamViewer has apparently been hacked. However, TeamViewer claim the issue lies with its users reusing the same password across multiple sites which makes sense…. until reports started to surface users with 2FA were also affected. It appears hackers gained control of victims’ TeamViewer …
Well. There I go again. I’ve included the entire post within the title. Now I’ve got to that Daily Mail thing where I basically repeat the contents of that headline, but again and again throughout the article. Hey ho… Three have come up with a new referral scheme. …
Announced yesterday on the Ubuntu site – the Over The Air update 11 for Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition brings the much delayed full Ubuntu PC experience from a mobile phone handset. In addition to this feature, this update also brings overall performance improvements to the M10 tablet …
Some people call these things “MiFi” units. Basically they’re tiny gadgets that you can pop in your pocket which will fire out a WiFi hotspot for you to connect to. Share the hotspot or keep it secure, it’s up to you, but it can be a life saver …
I for one always have some sort of headphones stuck around my head, to be honest, I can’t even walk to the shop without popping a set on and listening to a podcast or two (the fantastic coolsmartphone podcast is one I happen to listen to). I have been …
Cables! Cables! Cables everywhere! At Coolsmartphone HQ we are starting to get quite a lot of requests to review cables, not the most exciting subject matter but it is nice to have good alternatives to the usual high priced branded versions. Typically if you purchase a cheaper cable, …
We all want better coverage. In a perfect world we’d stop building offices and houses that play havoc with mobile signals. We’d live in a completely flat country without hills or valleys. We’d have planning regulations that allow for networks to deploy masts easier. But we don’t live …
Global mega starlet Adele gets the same treatment that most musicians do on stage. As she looks out across the crowd there’s thousands of arms held aloft…. filming everything on their phone. Indeed, the same can be said for DJ’s, and a live set by Avicii or Fatboy …
How do you cover a phone which effectively comes apart? Well, it is possible. The boys from MobileFun.co.uk sent us a few to try and, with the aid of video and some lovely photos, we’re going to have a look at them. First, for those of you who …
My gym bag stinks. There’s no getting around that. Here it is above and yes, it does. As much as I try to separate the wet towel and smelly shoes from the other items, it quickly becomes very whiffy indeed. Then, if you try and stick your tablet …
Well, we knew it was coming and, on a day between June 13th and 20th, it’ll be happening. UK network Three will be blocking advertising. Three state that this is because they’re effectively having to pay for the ads to be displayed on your mobile device, and that …
There is a new Sony hitting the shelves today, it is the much awaited Xperia X that was announced at MWC 16. This is slightly scaled down version of what went before in the form of the Xperia Z5 range. It shares a lot of features of its …
I get a lot of these portable battery packs sent in. Reviewing them isn’t a big deal, but I do find it hard to write more than a couple sentences about it. What can you say really? It’s a device which is about as slim as your smartphone …
It’s a sad day for hard-working smartphone employees, especially in Finland. Microsoft has just announced that 1,850 jobs will go as they “restructure” their smartphone hardware business. 1,350 of the staff affected will be from the Microsoft Mobile division in Oy, Finland. The remaining 500 will be from …
Hello Coolsmartphoners. At home I’ve got that “FTTC” gubbins that most people either know as “BT Infinity” or, when it’s sold through other providers, “Fibre broadband” ..which it isn’t quite, not all the way. Anyhoo. I’m pretty lucky. However, if you’re not, you can try this. The idea …
We get a lot of review kit here at Coolsmartphone. What we try and do now is, after reviewing something, get a nice discount code for you guys to use. So, here’s another one. This is for the Lumsin 5-port wall charger that we reviewed just the other …
A new website has just launched which compares SIM-free and network-free phone deals. It should, according to the people behind it, ensure that you get the best deal on your next mobile and / or talk plan. They estimate that the average consumer will save £330 buying from …
If typing on your screen isn’t your “thing” and you’re not a fan of modern Bluetooth keyboards. Perhaps try this, the QWERKYWRITER. It’ll bring you all the fun and memories of using an old-school typewriter, plus it acts as a stand for your device. The keyboard connects via …
My experience of streaming TV at the weekend was, let me tell you, thoroughly disappointing. My son wanted to watch Iron Man 2 and so I set off trying to find a streaming service offering it. That bit alone was tricky. We couldn’t find a page detailing what …
Smartphone photography is increasing at a rapid speed. Just take a look at the number of smartphone apps available to help you capture the perfect shot. In order to utilise the features of your smartphone or app, you first need to start with a quality photograph. That’s where …
A few years back most people will have perhaps ignored USB ports. They weren’t for charging at one point. They were for peripherals – scanners, webcams and more. Sure, we still have mice, keyboards and other kit plugging into USB ports now but – more than ever – …
Drones. They’re a hot topic at the moment. You can go down to Aldi and get yourself a fairly cheap drone right now. Trouble is, they’re big, sometimes difficult to master and you’ll need to make sure you don’t fly it in the wrong places. Outside a neighbour’s …
Here at Coolsmartphone a number of writers use a Chromebook as their primary device. I’m one of them (I’m writing this very article on the fantastic Asus Chromebook Flip). Despite being cracking devices Chromebooks have never really hit the limelight… until now. It appears that the Google low-cost …
