Category: General
Some time ago, our very own Leigh carried out a review of the Lugulake Bluetooth speaker, which he was thoroughly impressed with, and you can catch up with the review here. Well the company have contacted CoolSmartPhone towers, asking us if we would like to look at the new improved version …
Last night I stumbled across an old video from 1979 which showed something that was pretty amazing at the time. A truly portable phone. It started me on a bit of a journey into the history of mobile phones, so here’s what I’ve dug out of the archives. …
A number of us here at CoolSmartPhone towers use Chromebooks. I for one am currently writing this post from my HP 11 Chromebook which I absolutely love. Chromebooks are usually inexpensive, with a good battery life, but not that highly specced in terms of RAM or onboard storage, …
Samsung have announced four new battery packs, available in two different capacities and four different designs. They are called the Animal Edition Battery Packs, they feature illustrations of four species of endangered animals as part of the company’s ‘Charge the Life’ campaign, which aims to raise awareness about …
Can’t download an App? You’re not on your own. It’s all Jeremy Clarksons’ fault. Earlier today the Apple iTunes and App Stores for both Mac and iOS went down for many users across the world. Only after a good few hours did Apple acknowledge there was a fault. …
EE have today announced popular entertainment service NOW TV is coming to it’s EE TV box here in the UK. NOW TV allows customers to subscribe to a range of packs containing either entertainment, sports or movies so you get the most suited content for your viewing. The …
Rumoured for a next quarter anouncement, (which fingers crossed is April not May) more leaked renders LG’s next flagship device the G4 are hitting the internet. It’s said to be powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor, having a 20 MP rear camera, a 5MP front-facing camera and …
So with MWC 15 having drawn to a close last Thursday, I have recovered enough to get my thought rallied into some sort of order. I want to have a look back and have a think about my top 3 things that I saw at Congress. The list …
Fancy a bit of network-branded phone action? The Vodafone Smart 4 Max is on sale right now for a cool £200 on Pay As You Go. For the money you’ll get yourself a big 6″ 720×1280 pixel screen (245 ppi) and a Qualcomm MSM8926 Snapdragon 400 quad-core 1.2GHz …
2015 was my first year of attending MWC. I really had no idea what to expect, Leigh and Dan have spent years going and covering a huge range of devices. This year was going to be no different, Garry, Leigh and I all arrived on the Saturday ready …
If you’ve watched our full hands-on with the HTC One M9 then you’ll probably also be aware that it’s going to arrive here in the UK on pretty much every network. Already we’ve seen Vodafone, giffgaff and Three and O2 put their hands up. Today you can start …
Around the side of the ZTE stand there were some ordinary-looking watches. I only say “ordinary” in the sense that they didn’t immediately scream “smartwatch” at me. They were neither chunky or “techy” in appearance and the design was both understated and stylish. None of these are on …
We’ve heard these rumours before about waterproofing but this time they come with a little weight. Apple have applied for a new patent that allows the coating of components with a silicone based substance something called “hydrophobic coating.” From what I understand, it’s basically a way to coat everything …
We’ve just got back from a week in Spain, you may have noticed our coverage of MWC in Barcelona. Our coverage was made easier thanks to Cellhire, who lent us a Huawei MiFi unit with a data SIM and some Spanish data. Cellhire offer a range of …
One of the most intriguing things I came across at MWC was Piper NV, Piper NV is a product from icontrol Networks in the US, it basically is a network attached device that allows you to create a home automation or home security system to suit your needs. …
This past year I’ve travelled around Europe quite a bit and the data roaming and connectivity costs are just insane. We were promised by the European Commission that this would all be sorted out soon enough. Now I don’t care who I upset, this is a massive cash …
We’ve seen AR before. Displaying images over the a live image that your phone is seeing. It’s all very cool. However, things have moved on a little since then and Metaio look to be pushing things on pretty quickly. Already they have companies like IKEA using their solution, …
It looks like eBuyer are off-loading this Lexar 16GB microSD card today for less than half the normal price. If you still have a microSD slot in your phone then count yourself lucky my friend, as this 16GB Class 10 card is a quick way to boost your …
Got a phone? Happy with it? Just want a SIM? Vodafone look to have tweaked their SIM only deals with their Red 12-month plans dropping in price. The base Red deal is now £15.30 (down from £17) and you’ll get unlimited texts and calls with 1GB of 4GB …
Are you a gamer on mobile devices? Do you get frustrated with having fiddly controls on the phone? If you have answered yes to either of these questions then you may want to point your browser to Madcatz. They have got some really good-looking gaming controllers which are …
Think IKEA and you think of a weekend spent touring the store, navigating other couples who are as equally stressed, annoyed and argumentative as you and your wife or girlfriend are. You’ve probably experienced the 14 mile walk around the predefined pathway around the store. You may have …
In London our underground system works very well considering the age and complexity of it. People commute in and out of the city and leave their cars in expensive car-parks or, if you run a business servicing the city, you have to try and get your big diesel …
While I was down seeing the shiny shiny tech at Lenovo yesterday I encountered something that looked like it had been made with me in mind. I will need to give you a bit of a story to explain this so here goes. Back when I was still …
It is really inspiring to see a new OS enter into the crowded Mobile market space. With this in mind I went out to the far reaches of the Fira to track down Canonical. They’re the guys behind Ubuntu. Now, for those of you who have been long …
Each year I come to Mobile World Congress with the same thought. “Where else can smartphones go?” Yes, there’s better cameras, faster processors and sharper screens, but it’s just quicker with incremental changes. It’s not always new technology and new ideas. After meeting Elliptic Labs, who have created …
If you think about it, watchmakers are probably breathing a huge sigh of relief. There was a moment when lots of people thought.. “Hey, I don’t need a watch, I’ve got me a phone. This thing tells me the time, the date, the weather and it does Facebook …
Some hours ago, or possibly days (I’m not totally sure as Mobile World Congress week is always pretty insane at the best of time), we mentioned that giffgaff are to offer the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge. Now they’ve announced that the HTC One M9 will be …
Three have just announced they will exclusively offer the Honor 6+ on a monthly contract here in the UK, away from having to purchase the phone outright. We’ve already had a hands-on with this thanks to the guys in Barcelona. The Honor 6+ is a device not many …
Believe it or not, it’s the 20th Global Mobile Awards ceremony this year. Hosted by John Cleese there were no awards for HTC this year and instead the “Best Smartphone” award went to joint winners – the Apple iPhone 6 and the LG G3. Why those two? Well, …
On Sunday we announced that Lenovo were launching a Pocket Projector. I wasn’t overly enthused about it, if I am going to be totally honest with you. However that has changed now that I have had a chance to get some hands on time with one of them. …
We’ve already seen how smartphone manufacturers like LG create smartwatches. However, we should perhaps consider how an existing watchmaker approaches the problem. MyKronoz have designed watches since 2013 and I was interested in their ZeTel and ZePhone watches, which have SIM cards in, and the ZeFit, ZeCircle, ZeBracelet, …
I’ve seen some weird tech items before, but these things totally freaked me out today. Meet the Orange Ub-y (short for “ubiquity”), which roams around the Orange stand here in Barcelona. There’s actually two as I write this, and the girls controlling the devices are chatting to each …
Some of you are lucky enough to have an IR blaster in your phone. You’re lucky enough to be able to control your TV, stereo and more – direct from your phone. It’s a neat trick, if you’ve got the necessary hardware. What if you haven’t? Last week …
The other day I attended an event where Slimport were in attendance, Slimport are the company who make your Micro USB port if you own an Nexus 5, LG G2, LG G3 or LG G Pad 8.3. Slimport is an alternative to MHL, but Slimport has taken things …
When you arrive home from Mobile World Congress people tend to ask the same question. What impressed you most? What’s the next big thing? It’s always a tricky one, but last year there was one definite winner for me – Elliptic Labs. I actually used the words “The …
Tesco Mobile? giffgaff? How about switching your mobile to Google as a provider? It’s another step into your life for the company, who last night announced here at Mobile World Congress that they would be launching an MVNO in the USA. It’ll be arriving in the “coming months” …
We did mention it in passing, but Sony also announced a mid-range phone called the Xperia M4 Aqua. The Aqua moniker is because not only is it waterproof (IP65/8 rated, but it also doesn’t need a cap to be put on the MicroUSB charger. Before you rush off …
Now for a launch from one of the up and coming Chinese manufacturers Gionee. They are selling products under rebranded names in the UK so in time we will see these devices land on our shores.
When a new and rather popular device (like the HTC One M9 or the two Samsung Galaxy S6 devices) appears, you almost expect every UK network to be ranging the device. What you don’t expect, at least not straight away, is for the MVNO’s to say they’re getting …
I’ve got to tell you, I’ve never really considered a smartwatch until now. Heck, I’ve not even considered a watch full stop for a while. James has given me a Pebble on loan and, I’ll admit, my attitude is changing somewhat. Here, it’s Android Wear powering the show …
