Category: Reviews
Here it is then, the magical camera without a viewfinder. Well, not an on-board one at least. Strange thoughts went through my head when I unboxed this. Could I cope without having an onboard viewfinder or some sort of screen to show me instantly what my photo looks …
Have you ever caught yourself trying to hide out of the rain so that you can check something on your mobile? Don’t worry, we have all been there and if you are not lucky enough to own a flagship from Sony, Samsung or indeed Motorola then you will …
I needed a new pack for Mobile World Congress. One that was going to hold a lot of gear. I started looking around online and, after a while, I came across a company called EnerPlex. They are an American company who make charging solutions for mobile devices and …
This is a phone that dares to be different. It’s been years since I saw a phone cross my desktop which DIDN’T have that now-familiar shape and large front screen. Phone designs haven’t really altered for such a long time, and we’ve grown comfortable with buying a phone …
Shifts is a brand new app by the folks at Built by Snowman, the makers behind Checkmark, Super Squares, and Circles. Their latest app is Shifts, a iOS calendar app for those who work shifts. Rather than focusing on a calendar that incorporates todos, emails, GTD, or whatever …
Remember that Boombox iMusic Pillow? We mentioned it last week and we love things like this. For a start it’s not like we’re talking about £600-worth of smartphone that needs to be fully explained in a 2000-word review. Oh no, this is a pillow with speakers in. There …
The Question: How do you make a lightweight and portable tablet productive? Well apart from adding the appropriate software like MS Office or Google Docs, the other way is to add a keyboard case/dock. That is exactly what I have done with the Nexus 9; I have added …
The large oversized phone market is a hugely popular one these days, some call them “Phablets”, some just call phones, I call them the future. I know it sounds a bit cliche, but I really do like a large phone these days. I have been a large phone …
You’ve got your favourite headphones and you don’t want to get rid of them. I understand that. However, you don’t want to constantly be shackled to your smartphone or tablet. It’s a pain isn’t it? Especially if you have a tablet or a phablet. Those things are always …
Headphones or earphones, which are best? Surely that’s one of the big unresolved questions in modern day life, I for one can’t decide which to go with and because of that I have piles of headphones and earphones at home. I’ve been hankering after a pair of Bluetooth …
Headphones, we get a lot of them to review and we’ve had a couple sent in by Rock Jaw already. Here’s our look at the Arcana and the Hydra headphones. These Alfa Genius ones though, are quite different to any you’ve ever seen before because you can… take …
It’s only been a month since we spotted the Karbonn A5S on Amazon. This smartphone, just to set your expectations right here, is around £70 SIM-free, and you can stick two SIM cards in (one standard size, one micro SIM). Wait though, who the heck are Karbonn Mobile? …
HTC have not really been in the tablet business, with the exception to their quite old HTC Flyer. At the time a great piece of hardware let down by a poor software experience. The main reason behind this was tablets running Android were still very new and had very …
It’s case review time again. Now that I have got myself a shiny new Nexus 6 it would be silly not to keep it in a case and protect the phone in some way shape or form. This is where the Encase Flexisheild comes in. The case is …
Got an iPad? You do? What happens when you get a Facetime call? Do you prop it up somewhere only to have it slide down? Yeah. Me too. You can get a clever cover with an in-built stand, but if you want your iPad held securely and firmly …
I thought I was being clever a few years ago when I installed a programmable thermostat into our house. We’d just moved in and there was a number of issues with the heating system at the time. The biggest problem was the fact that the hot water system …
You’re probably pretty familiar with the Sony Xperia styling by now. This E3 model maintains a lot those same design cues but at a more budget price. This puppy is available for just £99 on Vodafone Pay As You Go and you get 4G for that too. Not …
At this time of year we’re probably all thinking of a nice home-cooked meal. Brussel sprouts, turkey, roast potatoes and all the trimmings. Problem is though, this is all a lot of work. So give yourself, your mother or whoever a break and get yourself a takeaway instead. …
I have been sent through the Inateck card reader and hub with USB on the go support, for review. Lets start with the good and bad points. Good Points Small lightweight form factor. Soft plastic feel. loads of ports giving versatility. Powered/None Powered option. Bad Points Attached USB …
In keeping with the theme of Christmas gifts, some more presents have arrived from the elves workshop. This time around it’s a candle that should bring some festive cheer to the cold dark days of winter. We recently reviewed the MiPow Playbulb Rainbow and we liked what we saw. …
SimCity is one of those classic iconic games that has help to shape the video game industry through its many incarnations. There have been mobile versions of SimCity released previously although they have never quite managed to recapture the magic of the big screen original. This may be …
HTC have been around for many years now. They’ve produced some really top end devices such as the HTC Sensation, HTC One X and even back to the HTC Desire which at the time was a specification powerhouse. The problem seems to be so many people still walk …
Large screen devices have a lot to answer for these days, they force me to wear trousers with large pockets, they force me to carry a man bag whilst I’m out and about and most of all they force my thumbs to stretch way beyond what they were …
This is less than £30 my friends, and inside there’s a fat 8000 mAh battery. I say “fat” because of the capacity, not necessarily the size, although it is about as chunky as my wallet used to be before I had a house and child. It’s another one …
It’s that time of year where you start to panic about what to get for the slightly tech savvy people in your inner circle of family or friends. You have trawelled through all the usual shops. You’ve already emptied your wallet/purse and your credit card has melted from …
It’s here. The latest generation of the Nexus lineup, the Nexus 6. We have finally managed to get hold of one of these unobtainable devices by buying our own review unit. The device we have here is the 32GB model in blue. There has been much said about …
This particular review has taken quite some time because I was kinda confused by the idea to start with. The VBox I have here will basically take the input from your TV aerial or your satellite dish and squirt in onto your tablet, smartphone or smart TV. I …
We’ve got a Nexus 6 into the testbed here at Coolsmartphone and whilst the review is ongoing we thought we would let you have a sneak peak. Well, it is the season of giving and all that jazz. 🙂 The game we have chosen is the old classic …
It’s been a few days since I told you about ZAGGkeys Universal Bluetooth keyboard. The official site has it on sale for nearly £50 but eBuyer are doing it for £40. Anyhow, I’ve started to use it more and more and I’m currently using it to type this …
The latest wearable to come out of the Sony machine has now launched in O2 stores up and down the country. The price is £129.99, however if you get it with a new Android phone then it will cost you just £99.99. The Smartband Talk is the evolution …
Using your phone for writing tweets, Facebook updates and brief emails is easy enough. There’s a variety of keyboards available and you can use Swype-style keyboards to improve the speed of your data entry if you wish. You can even use these on-screen keyboards for writing more wordy …
There is no doubt about it, children are becoming more tech savvy than ever before, even from a very young age. My four year old son certainly knows his way around a tablet and enjoys watching films or listening to music on his iPad, iPod and Hudl. This has …
You’ll have probably noticed the Acer content this past weekend. We were lucky enough to get a hands on with a number of their devices and you’ll no doubt have read our overview of the Liquid Jade and the fitness band, the Liquid Leap. Whilst in Edinburgh I …
I’m still sitting on the fence with smart watches and smart bands if I’m honest. There’s a piece of me that wants a “normal” watch that I don’t have to tap or faff with to check the time and date. However, there’s another part of me that secretly …
Acer have sent us to Edinburgh and have loaned us a number of devices – the Acer Liquid Leap (a fitness band), the Acer Liquid Jade (a shockingly slender smartphone), the Iconia Tab 8 and the device I’m using to type this out – the Aspire Switch 10. …
Xiaomi are a big name, a big name across the world, they are the third largest phone manufacturer at the moment, behind only Apple and Samsung. They are from China and along with companies like Oppo, OnePlus and Huawei they are starting to show people you don’t have …
For so long Samsung fans have hoped to see a new phone with metal design instead of the traditional plastic material used on so many high value devices. And as if by magic we now have two – the Galaxy Alpha and the much larger Galaxy Note 4 …
This is a pretty decent idea if you think about it. Having a Bluetooth speaker is good, but you’ll find that your phone is usually placed on a worktop somewhere. Listening to podcasts, streaming media or internet radio is a little better if your phone is propped up, …
Do you use your iPad naked (ooooo missus, the iPad, not you) or do hide all of the Apple design inside a case ? I recently took my iPad mini out of its case and instantly remembered how thin and light the device was. I decided that’s how …
A lot of mobile games have a problem to resolve, most of us are used to playing games with a physical control pad, and most Tables and Smartphones can’t provide that option. Games designers obviously provide different control mechanics to get around the lack of buttons on mobile …
