Category: Reviews

NatualRays Bluetooth Speaker – Review

Well, this is small. I’ll give it that. You can bag one on eBay for $28.99 in the US or £21.99 in the UK. There’s a blue one or this green one. In the box you’ll get a USB-to-microUSB cable for charging and a 3.5mm-to-microUSB cable should you …

Noke Smart Padlock – Review

On first impressions you have to wonder why. Is this a product that didn’t need inventing? What was wrong with the way we do it now? Noke was founded in 2014 after a very successful Kickstarter campaign when it launched its ‘Smart Padlock’ product rating over $652,828 in …

HTC 10 – Review

I write this shortly after reviewing the Huawei P9 and, I have to say, the first thing I noticed is how much heavier the HTC 10 is. The P9 is 144g and the HTC 10 is 161g. It might not sound much, but boy – I noticed it …

XQISIT iE 200 Bluetooth headset – review.

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 …

Sudio VASA Headphones – Review

These are £55. I thought I’d tell you the price up-front because for that price you expect some quality kit. Indeed they are. The ones we have here are the rose gold and white ones which come with multiple ear buds. I’m always losing the ear buds and …

TechElec SP-X Bluetooth Sports Headphones – Review

You know that moment don’t you? When you’re out running or even walking to the shops and, for some inexplicable reason, your headphones start to slide out of your ears. You start to wonder whether you’ve got dirty greasy ears or perhaps you’re sweating somehow. How does sweat …

LG G5 Case Special

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 …

KitBrix CityBrix Bag Review – The gym and the office in one

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 …

Stop buying replacement iPhone cables

Are you an Apple iPhone user who keeps on having to buy replacement charging cables because they keep fraying? STOP! Did you know Apple offer a 1 year limited warranty on the cables? I bet you threw away that little bit of paper in the packaging. Don’t worry …

Xperia X – Unboxing and first impressions

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 …

Parkman H1 4000mAh Portable Charger – Review

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 …

Boosty on test – When your broadband just isn’t enough

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 …

olloclip Studio Review

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 …

Lumsing 40W 8A 5-Port USB wall charger – Review

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 – …

Acer Jade Primo – Unboxing and first impressions

Acer’s newest Windows phone is about to hit the prime time, and I have been able to have a bit of a play around with it. First off lets have a look at the unboxing video.. The phone feels good in the hand due to its slightly curved …

Kitvision 4-in-1 Lens Set – A Review

Camera phones are great, they allow us to capture, digitise and preserve memories at will, and the quality of inbuilt cameras has reached the level where for most of us we don’t require a dedicated camera. However there is one limitation on most camera phones, the lens type …

ZUS Kevlar Cable – The strongest cable of them all

Ever imagined a battle-royal to find the king of the cable, a USB with a killer USP? Well if such a position / device existed then Nonda, a manufacturer of smart hardware products based in Palo Alto California, believe they have it. It arrived in the post this morning and seems …

MediaPad M2 10.0 – Review

I’m going to take a slightly different approach to this review and note down everything as I unbox the device. First, the specs. This is the Huawei MediaPad M2 10.0 and it’s available in either “Luxurious Gold” or in this fine shade – “Moonlight Silver”. It weighs in …

Acer Predator 8 tablet – Hands on & Gaming demo

The Acer Predator 8 is a device we have seen a few times now, but up until now I have not really had a good chance to have a play with it. That all changes today as I am in Belfast with #acerliveblog2016 and they have let me …

Status Audio CB-1 Closed Back Studio Monitor Headphones – Review

Wowser. That’s a long title for a review isn’t it? Well, we’ve been sent lots of headphones here at Coolsmartphone. These are those big chunky ones that actually sit over your ears and fully cover them up. They produce a very nice all-encompassing sound and the closed back …

Huawei P9 – Review

Although they’ve probably made dongles that you’ve used, Huawei is a name that relatively few people are properly aware of. This, though, is a company that I’ve spent some time with recently and they’re eager for that to change. They’re already pushing aggressively with their Honor brand, and …

RIVA S Bluetooth speaker review

Bluetooth speakers? Where do you start? The market is currently awash with speakers which fill every part of the price point spectrum. I was recently contacted by Say it Loud to ask if I wished to review one of their latest Bluetooth speakers, the Riva S. At first …

BravoWin 10KT MiniPC – Review

About a week ago I unboxed a new 2-in-1 PC that had a retail value of £150, and I posed the question of ‘can a machine this cheap be any good’? I also mentioned that I was going to be able to compare this to a more standard-priced …

KitSound Malmö Bluetooth Sound System – A Review

I’ve become a bit of an evangelist for KitSound over the last couple of years, their pragmatic approach to providing good sound quality at a high value for money has struck a chord with me, and I really like the KitSound ‘sound’. Currently my ‘goto’ Headphones are my KitSound Manhattans, …

1byone Portable Bluetooth Speaker – Review

When you’re young and full of beans you really enjoy writing about tech. Mobile phones, gadgets, gizmos – it lights your fire. Then, after several years of looking a Bluetooth speakers, you start to wane a little. You get sent dozens and dozens of the things. Some are …

Tech Armor Privacy Screen Protector – Review

First, a big hello to Lawrence Daniels. He’s the PR guy for Tech Armor. Now, apart from their company name obviously being incorrect (it should, of course, be Tech Armour), they’re pretty good as a company. I partially have to say that because they sent this particular screen …

Samsung Galaxy S7 edge – Case reviews

Choosing your next smartphone is a big decision. With different storage options, colours and sizes now available it can be no easy choice to make. However, protecting your phone can be just as important, and this gets even more complicated with the hundreds of options available to keep …

ChatSim Review

I saw these guys at Mobile World Congress and their offering is certainly an interesting one, and remarkably simple too.. Start with the ChatSim chat plan. It’s €10 a year and this will let you send unlimited and free text messages and emoji anywhere in the world. Wait …

Spy Watch – Review

Check me out ladies. I got me a spy watch. I’m just like James Bond, but with an added belly and some questionable reasons for actually owning one. This, it has to be said, does exactly what it says on the tin. There’s two batteries inside – one …

Netatmo Weather Station Review

The Netatmo Weather Station was reviewed back in early 2013. As technology improves I thought it would be a good time to look at the latest version of the Netatmo Weather Station to see how the product has developed. Especially as being British the start of every conversation …

Annke SP3 960P HD Wireless IP Camera – Review

We’ve head quite a few security cameras cropping up here at Coolsmartphone. This one is from Annke and you can control and move it from anywhere via your smartphone. First up, the plus points. Although you’ll spot an ethernet port on this, it connects very easily via WiFi …

BravoWin 10KT Mini PC unboxing

We live in an amazing age where you can buy a reasonable spec computer for less than £300. However, this price usually gets you a non-touch-screen laptop tloaded with compromises and inferior components. The BravoWin 10KT is looking to challenge that perception and show that you can get a …

Syllable D700 Bluetooth Sports Headphones – Review

We recently took a look at the Syllable A6 Bluetooth headphones and now we’ve got the sportier D700 ones. They’re available on Amazon USA for $19.99 and here in the UK for £13.99. Initial impressions are very good. I tried these on at the gym and they hooked …

aLLreLi KA150 Wireless Keyboard – Review

This is just £12.99 on Amazon and, I have to say, I quite like this. It’s definitely my preference when compared to the gaming keyboard we looked at fairly recently. This is the aLLreLi KA150G Wireless Keyboard and it comes with 18 multimedia function keys too. Out of …

aLLreLi 8GB USB Voice Recorder – Review

If you want to carry around a device which is no bigger than your standard USB pen drive but want to record audio, listen up. You need this thing. The Allreli USB voice recorder arrives in a slim unassuming box and has a snug top to cover the …

Allreli K9500 Gaming Keyboard Review

So, this is how the conversation went on this one.. “Hello, Coolsmartphone HQ?” “Yes, this is Allreli. We make gadgets and things. Can we send you a gaming keyboard?” “Err.. well, we don’t really cover PC gaming ?” “It’s really good though, it has a really cool design …

Titan – The toughest charging cable in the world. Review.

Cables can get frayed and worn out pretty quickly when you use them regularly. It could be you, your kids or your dog doing the damage, and it usually means a broken plug or a torn cable. My wife is pretty skilled at wearing out the connection on …

CHOETECH USB Type C Charger – Review

Two weeks, I finally caved in and accepted that my Nexus 4 wasn’t just a little old and creaky; it was beginning to malfunction. I replaced it with another Nexus because there are few models I could point to and be impressed by their reliability… and naturally that brought …

HTC Desire 530 – Review

HTC have had a pretty tough time of it recently, and their range of handsets has definitely throttled back compared to years gone by. Remember the HTC Wildfire, ChaCha, Sensation, Rhyme and Butterfly ? The Desire series has outlasted all of them. If memory serves, we first saw …

Samsung Gear VR Review

Every few years, it seems that certain trends become the “in” thing in the mobile and computing space. For the last few years, it was “wearables”, smartwatches etc. Starting last year, and really taking off this year is Virtual Reality. HTC announced their Vive last year, and this …