Category: General
Canary is more than a simple surveillance camera for your home. From the very moment you purchase your Canary for £159, you’ll instantly notice the quality. Canary was launched back in July 2013 on crowdfunding site Indiegogo. There was clearly a market demand, as within a month over …
Want to listen to your favourite stations on an iPhone? It’s going to cost you a monthly fee very soon. We can only assume that money must be a bit tight for the company at the moment, as their ad-supported stations will cost $10 each month after January …
I am utterly hopeless at backing stuff up. I’ve held onto my ageing LG G3 because there’s buckets of photos on the internal and external storage. I just can’t bring myself to move to another phone but – even worse – nothing is backed up. If I lose …
Kids now. They don’t know what it’s like to own a record or a CD. They don’t have a proper collection on a shelf. It’s all digital now. Flick through your iPhone and all your music is there, trapped in a digital box. It’s not the same. However, …
Yes, unsurprising, and without any backhanders whatsoever, the, Competition and Markets Authority has rubber-stamped the £12.5bn takeover of EE by BT. The group will now grab EE and create a huge quad-play provider offering home phone, home broadband, TV and mobile solutions. Expect to see more adverts, more packaged …
Back in December, we put up a thorough piece on the future of Digital Pay as it relates to our day-to-day purchasing habits. Much of the discussion was dedicated to online shopping and the habits we form buying goods on the Internet. But the advent of Digital Pay …
Yesterday we took a look at the upcoming Bluboo Xwatch, which is due to go on sale for just £69.39. However, for £89.99 you can grab the Asus Zen Smart Watch, which has been reduced over on ebuyer. We featured this first back in 2014 and has a …
We get a lot of random emails. One company in particular has been pretty incessant, and that’s Chinese manufacturer Bluboo. They make phones (like the pretty powerful and good-looking X9 which is a “monster inside and aesthetic outside”) and watches, like their Uwatch. Next month they’ll be launching …
Here at Coolsmartphone we universally loved the Moto G. It was our go-to phone when we were asked “What’s a decent inexpensive Android phone ?” I think that all of us here have owned at least one. Well yesterday Chen Xudong, Lenovo’s Mobile head honcho, was interviewed and we …
Unusual title, but the new iOS 9.3 has moved with the times and is thinking about you. The latest update incorporates a new mode called “Night Shift”, which helps to reduce the exposure to blue light. The latest reports from health experts have recently stated that looking at …
Pick up your phone and head to into spaaaaace right now. Go on. Go on. NASA are streaming video from the ISS and, well, it’s a bit bloody fantastic. Yes, I know it’s not strictly connected with mobile devices, but being able to see the world live from …
Extreme Fliers gave their first début to the first finished production of its newest drone at CES last week, the Micro Drone 3.0. The new and improved Micro Drone 3.0 has an updated HD camera, an accompanying smartphone app and offers First Person View (FPV) flying. Extreme Fliers exceeded …
Get an iPhone from giffgaff and you get a contract-free and network-free handset. Not only that, but until Wednesday you’ll be getting the iPhone for less than normal too. They’ve reduced prices but, as with any January sale, you’ve got to be quick to get them at this …
When I reviewed the iStick back in June, while the software needed a little refining, I could clearly see the benefit of being able to copy media from an iOS device to a USB-equipped memory stick. However, the recent Apple update to iOS9 stopped the iStick from working with no …
I like to hop on my bike and do some nutty rides when I can. However, when you reach your destination you’ll soon find that your expensive bike can become the target for thieves. A company called Noke have already had experience of creating smart-locks – those clever …
O2 has announced the opening of a new concept store on Manchester’s Market Street, with customer experience taking centre-stage with and digital exploration. At three times the size of O2’s typical stores, the location comprises over 2,300 square feet of floor space and has been designed to revolutionise …
As you’re all aware, I’m a well-cool and dat. I like nothing more than getting a sick skateboard and popping an anchor grind, a hipper and a nose bonk. So when I heard about these speaker-equipped skateboards I was keen to cover them. Designed with alongside Boombotix, this …
The smart home is certainly being pushed by Samsung at this year’s CES. Three new products that were announced, AddWash for all their front loading washing machines (I know not a phone!), POWERbot Turbo and POWERbot Essential Wi-Fi. The POWERbot series are robotic vacuums. “Samsung’s focus is on marrying …
Huawei has been busy at CES this year. They released two new variants of their Watch aimed specifically at the female market, and aficionados of “Mockadile” (this should keep our resident Pixel Density Enthusiast editor Matteo happy). Huawei also unveiled an update to their tablet lineup in the …
With Nest and Hive currently dominating the UK Smart Home market, the Smart home climate control company, tado° announced yesterday its new partnerships with AT&T and UK-based O2 in an attempt improve life at home through connectivity. tado° always ensures that your home is pre-warmed before you even step through …
We’re used to seeing wearables here at Coolsmartphone, but intelligent underwear isn’t something we’ve seen or, errr, handled as yet. This a bra. A ladies bra which will track your breathing, your steps, the amount of calories you’ve burned up and your heart rate. Whether it would work …
Cast your mind back dear reader to last year. To a time when the pre-release leaks of Google’s next flagship device(s) were hitting the interwebs. Included in those pictures was a Nexus 6P in an awful gold option. Luckily though it wasn’t among the colour options offered when …
In more CES news, the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset will be available to pre-order from today, the 6th of January. You’ll be glad to hear that you can order one from 4PM UK time, but we have no idea regarding price or when we will get our …
With the start of every new year comes a time for reflection, so a number of the Coolsmartphone team and a couple of friends of the site have taken this opportunity to provide a personal insight into their favourite technology of 2015. So the Camera Apps came out and we each …
Haier have announced at the upcoming CES 2016, they will be revealing three new TVs. What has this got to do with a phone site, well two out of the three will contain Android built-in. As such, giving a better Android experience within your home. As part of this …
Last year at CES 2015 Asus announced a new smartphone that will “redefine your expectations of smartphone photography”. The ZenFone Zoom ran Android 5.X Lollipop and should offer some great photo capabilities. The closest the Coolsmartphone team came to it was the device in a glass display case, and it wasn’t powered …
Las Vegas isn’t filled with just gamblers and drinkers this week, oh no. It’s a tech-fest as the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) kicks off and the very latest gadgets get shown off. Two big car manufacturers are there too – Ford and Fiat Chrysler. They’ve announced that Android …
I had to paint our hallway recently. Trying to choose paint is always a difficult process. There’s usually a thousand different versions of “beige” with crazy names like “harvest dawn”, “straw mocha” or “Oxford stone”. Now, in 2016, I’m getting information about a phone which is “Deep Garnet”. …
I’ve got to admit, on a personal level, I’m dreading BT getting hold of EE. Any and every involvement I’ve had with British Telecom has been a disaster, but when they get hold of EE they will have the largest UK’s biggest, fastest and most reliable network (at …
Remember that awkward moment when you’d ask the people in your office whether they had a “Nokia charger” or a “Samsung charger” ? There were so many different types of plug that it became a strange game to find the right one. Was it the tiny round plug …
I’ll be honest, we’ve been having a few problems with the new Lumia 950 XL. We’ve seen stability issues, random reboots and a generally buggy experience. Then, via Gavins Gadgets, we’re hearing that – although it’s still on the website – Carphone Warehouse have removed the handset from …
Mini PC’s are quite the thing at the moment and seem to be popping up everywhere. Now for a while, these were nothing more than Netbook components being shoved into a small box. However, with the recent developments in Android and, to a lesser extent Chrome, there has …
I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas break and you’re all now ready to go back out to the shops in a frenzy of retail craziness. Today we’ve got a few of the mobile gadget bargains that you’ll be seeing, including this rather cheap Pebble Smartwatch. It’s …
Welcome to the Coolsmartphone Award Ceremony and Podcast, coming to you, prerecorded from Coolsmartphone Towers. Our team of experts got together yesterday and decided on the best and worst bits of 2015 in order to entertain you and reward/shame those responsible. As with all good awards ceremonies we’re …
Yes, we’re getting emails from PR agencies telling us about January sales already. This one is from Three, who are launching their “biggest SIM sale ever”. They’re offering half price SIM-only deals for as little as £4 for the first three months of a 12 month plan. Not …
I need you to tick some boxes for me. – Have you got a Samsung Galaxy S6 or an Samsung Galaxy S6 edge? – Are you on Vodafone? Good news my friend, you can now start using WiFi Calling. Opt into the service by texting CALLING to 97888 …
I’m conscious that, as my kids hit their teenage years, it becomes a pretty complicated phase in life. As parents we didn’t really have many of the problems that children have today. They’re now connected to the web and a lot of interaction is done online. We didn’t …
This is a cable which is going to solve that daily charging problem. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a massive problem, but it’s one of those repetitive and annoying little niggles. You’re about to plug in your phone and… doah… the micro USB cable is upside down. …
If you fancy getting some last minute stocking fillers and also want to save a bit of cash, have a look at the Vodafone Accessories website. At the moment they have half off selected headphones and speakers, including these three devices below. First up are the iFrogz Freerein …
Yes, it’s that time of year again and we’re all a little bit short on cash right now. I think this year I’ve been a little too sensible and I’ve actually bought all my gifts already, meaning that my bank balance – and any cash set aside for …
