Category: Reviews
There’s a lot said about the HTC U11. Some have called it a “return to form” or perhaps the greatest HTC handset for many years. Me? Well, I don’t totally agree, but I do need to explain why. I’m already impressed by the existing HTC U Play and …
Last year we had a play with the flic buttons for the first time, now we take another look to see how they have changed. The conversation went something like this Ian, would you like to review a button? A button? Yes but it’s a smart-button. Oooo a …
I tell you what you need on a Monday morning. What you need is a Bluetooth speaker review. Oh yes. Straight off, you should forget about those lightweight and small Bluetooth speakers that you see in stores. This badger weighs in at nearly 1.7 kg. That’s almost a …
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 …
I’ll admit that I’d not heard of Fresh ‘n Rebel until I reviewed their speaker recently but, after testing these headphones, they seem to be a good manufacturer. These are £20 from the Vodafone store but you can get them elsewhere too. The headphones come with three …
Available in three colours (concrete, peppermint or this indigo one), this is a mini Bluetooth speaker with a fabric finish. It’s a cube which is 5.9 cm wide, tall and long and kicks out 3 watts of power. It should keep your music blasting out (depending on how …
When I was a lad we used to go and meet girls at the park or maybe at the local nightclub. Now, with powerful smartphones, you simply swipe your finger across the screen. In a way it can be a little disheartening to see everyone communicating via a …
At just 8.5mm, this is as thin as some smartphones. It sits in your pocket and is easy to carry around in your jeans without any unsightly bulges, measuring in at just 13 x 7 x 0.85 cm. Inside the aluminium casing there’s a 5,150mAh battery and it’ll …
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 …
I find myself doing something that I’ve not done for a long, long time. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a flip phone. The last time I reviewed a flip phone might have been the Motorola MPx200. That was a smartphone and, given that it was launched 2003, a …
Samsung definitely needed to do something big with the S8 and the larger-screened S8+. They’ve not had the best time of it recently, and there’s been widespread coverage of the infamous exploding battery issue. The S8 needed to be good, and indeed, it is. The popularity of the …
I like Kitsound products and I always have, I find that their bassy sound and value for money hits a sweet spot for me. Normally I tend to use their Bluetooth speakers or headphones, but as you may have read I’ve recently discovered eSports on the iPhone and …
Head to Tech21.com and you’ll find a range of cases for the iPhone plus LG, Sony, HTC and Motorola handsets. There’s lots of designs and types to choose from, but one thing in common you’ll find is the fact that they’re properly drop tested. Today we’re looking at …
I’ve been sent through the latest sports designed headphones from iClever, the BTH20 in ear headphones. Good Points: Incredibly light. Very comfortable. Excellent value for money. Good sound quality. Well designed. Water resistant. Bad Points: Controls on the right side. Wire routed to the front rather than the …
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 …
Last time I went to the airport, I was properly obsessed with some big over-ear headphones which had noise cancelling technology built in. I put them on, pressed the switch on the side and – instantly – the noise of the airport vanished. It’s all down to something …
Yes, I’m being sent drones to review now. What I know about drones can be written on the back of a stamp. I’ve had a play with some cheaper ones in the past and, usually, they take off and then crash. The end. My flying skills aren’t the …
OK, first things you need to know. This, the Wileyfox Swift 2 Plus, is £189 on the Wileyfox website or (as I type) £164.99 on Amazon. SIM free in both places of course. It has a 5″ 1280×720 screen at 296 PPI with 2.5d Corning Gorilla Glass 3. …
I’ve gone through some phases with my smartphones. I switched over to Android with the HTC Hero. It was then a succession of HTC handsets before I switched to a Samsung Galaxy device, but since then I’ve been firmly glued to an LG device. The LG G3 was …
Remember me mentioning Huawei P10 cases?. The people at Terrapin got in touch to highlight their P10 cases, and we have a couple here today. They’ve got a range of P10 cases and some for the P10 Plus too. There’s wallet cases, shock-resistant cases and gel cases, and …
Last year I carried out a review of a new Android TV streaming box called the Probox 2 Air. You can view it here, which in summary, I was truly impressed with. Well, I’ve been asked if I wanted to review the latest version of this streaming box – …
It may be that I’m that sort of person, but I’ve always had cables hanging around. Even before I was messing about with computers or mobile phones, there were scart leads and coax cables, RCA cables, speaker cable and the list would probably go on if I …
Here’s something we haven’t reviewed in a while. A phone holder, for your car. For a long time I’ve had one of those that hangs from the air vents, but (as all men know) after a bit of use it goes a bit floppy and gets worn out. …
Last November I reviewed the Kitvision Immerse 360 Action Camera for Coolsmartphone.com, and whilst generally my experience was positive, there was still plenty of room for improvement. The Kitvision Immerse 360 Duo is the latest version in the Duo range but does it improve on the original?? Let’s …
Welcome people. Welcome to yet another very random review. Years ago I started reviewing smartphones and now, now I’m getting LED lights and all sorts of other random gadgets. Today we’ve got a sound level meter and, well, it does just what you’d expect it to really. On …
Remember recently when I reviewed the Lenovo P2? I received some excellent feedback and it’s definitely a fantastic phone for an amazing price. However, there is another range of phones from the same company. Lenovo also have the Motorola brand is their cupboard, and for the past few …
Something is happening in your home. We’re already totally lost without the internet inside the house, and we fully expect the same connectivity out of the home too. Trouble is, we’re all turning into phone zombies. We’re staring down at our screens and there’s lots of dangerous driving …
I got me a USB 3.0 Hard Drive, baby. It’s red. It looks cool and it’s got bucket loads of space for your stuff. Got lots of pictures and videos on your smartphone? Got a full laptop? How’s a big field with 3TB greenery for you eh? Included …
Today I’ve been using the LG G6. Matteo has already taken a look at the handset up close but I wanted to bring you a full review. Before all that, here’s a look at that camera and how it compares to the Huawei P10 that I’ve got with …
We all need convenience in our lives. After all, this is one of the reasons that we use mobile phones as much as we do. However, it’s a real pain when the piece of tech that we rely on so much falls flat on its shiny face due …
You remember when we were just a smartphone site, right? Now we’re getting asked to review lots of gadgets and this time it’s this, a set of remote control sockets. Why would you want these? Well, there’s a number of reasons really. First of all, they’re just £26.99 …
Author’s Note: I apologise for the lateness of this article, since the product under discussion was released several weeks ago. To blame is my unfortunate visual impairment. I happen to be colour blind. If you’re wondering what this is all about, head to the product page for the …
I’ll be brutally honest. I mean brutal. I wasn’t expecting much from this. If you go out and try and buy one then you might struggle a little. The 5″ version is available on Carphone Warehouse and at Tesco for less than £100. This, though, is the 6″ …
You may remember my trip down memory lane when Microsoft launched their classic Solitaire app for both iPhone and Android devices. It was true to the original Windows desktop version, and Microsoft took great pride in promoting the “classic” feel of it, with the same graphics and te …
Yes, I’ve got me another headlamp. I look a bit like a miner in the photos (albeit one who has only just woken up) but, if you’re working on your car, cycling at night, repairing a puncture, walking the dog or out camping; this is the ideal bit …
If you’re travelling then you’ll no doubt need to charge your phone pretty often, sometimes in places which aren’t overly secure. In a coffee shop, in an airport or on a plane. Thing is, after you’ve charged up and unplugged your phone, you might remember the phone but …
Have you ever picked up your Bluetooth headphones, then pocketed a pair of wired headphones in case they run out of juice when you’re out? Do you carry a spare pair of backup earphones as you’ve no real idea of the battery level of your Bluetooth earphones? BatON …
Going for a bike ride? Taking a shower? A bath? Perhaps you’re on a boat or you’re taking a holiday? Want some music for your travels? Well, check this new speaker out from Polk Audio. It’s the Swimmer Duo speaker and, although it’ll work fine on it’s own, …
OK, normal-looking Bluetooth speaker, right? Pretty standard, right? Well no. Not at all my digital friend. Dangle the Edifier MP280 off your back-pack, stick it in the middle of your camp site, put it in the bathroom while you take a shower and .. woah.. there’s a fine …
The thing with Bluetooth headphones, usually, is that the battery life isn’t all that great. People want a light in-ear heaphone but they also don’t want a hefty battery hanging off their head. Here, that’s solved as the battery equipment is stored in a neckband. This slips around …
