Category: Reviews

Backbone iPhone 5s Wireless Charging Case Review

We see a lot of cases here at Coolsmartphone but we’ve been seeing an increasing profile from the people at Dog and Bone. This one is a bit special because it’s a case which makes your phone charge wirelessly and it comes with a clever charging base too. …

Lightning Rabbit phone cable review

This might be a bit of a short review if I’m honest. What can you say about that cable that arrives in the box with your mobile? One ends connects to your phone whilst the other either plugs into your charger or your computer for transferring files. All …

RHA MA 750i Earphones Review

RHA have been producing quality products from their Glasgow headquarters for a number of years now.  From their entry level MA350‘s to the more expensive MA600i’s, every product has so far oozed excellence from start to finish. Prior to the recent launch of the brand new high end …

My coverage of Bart’s Bash 2014

Well the event is done and now it’s time to review how the event went and how once again mobile tech helped me during the event. As those of you who read my previous article will know I was planning on covering the event for the site by …

Gigaset Tablet 8″ Review

I have been sent a new tablet through for review, this being The Gigaset Tablet 8 QV830 ( black version ). Never heard  of Gigaset ? well neither had I prior to hearing from them regarding this review. Gigaset is a German company that is one of the …

Sony Xperia Z3 Compact – Initial Impressions

Sony have carved themselves out a niche in the world of modern day smartphones. A niche for great looking, powerful, waterproof and damn good fun to own smartphones. The latest generation having only just been unveiled at IFA in Berlin a few weeks ago, when I saw the …

FIFA 15 Ultimate Team Launches on smartphones everywhere

With little fanfare, the latest instalment of FIFA has crept onto the app stores a little earlier than expected, bringing with it the usual high expectations. FIFA has much to live up to, but does it live up to the hype? Featuring the Ultimate Team format, FIFA 15 …

Edifier Bric Connect Review

We’ve had a variety of speakers here at Coolsmartphone and there’s a big range in quality. Some are quite small, lightweight and OK for carrying around on holiday. Others are definitely beefier, with some hefty sound and more suitable for sitting at home or the office. This is …

Misfit Shine Review

Well, I have to say, I didn’t think I’d gel with this thing to begin with. I’ve not worn a watch for a good many years and when I saw the rubber strap I presumed that this wouldn’t be my thing. The Misfit Shine is a fitness and …

Inateck BP1002B Bluetooth speaker review.

Following on from my other Inateck speaker  review I have been sent a further bluetooth speaker to review, this one being the entry level BP1002B portable speaker. Features : Bluetooth v2.1 and EDRAux-inBuilt-in-mic for handsfree calling. Charge via micro-USBBuilt in Li-Ion battery1 x 3W speakerDimensions: 61.5 x 61.5 x 71.5 …

Wait! Never mind the iPhone 6, what’s wrong with the iPhone 5s ?

Today we’re due to see the arrival of the iPhone 6. Apple are in the best position possible really. Whatever they produce. Whatever they announce, it’ll sell. It’ll sell incredibly well, and then some. Before I get the almost inevitable criticism, I should point out that I’m usually …

Hannspree CT23H0B Android All In One – Review

The lines between devices are becoming blurred these days, what with phones getting bigger, tablets getting smaller, laptops trying to be tablets, desktop PCs trying to still be relevant and Android and Windows 8 both trying their hardest to work well on all of those devices. I have …

LG G3 Otterbox Symmetry Case – Review

Owning a flagship device is tough sometimes, the constant anguish over potentially smashing your phone into dozens of pieces is a daily problem for me and as such I always try and buy the most rugged and tough case I can find for my lovely phone. With my …

Taking a ride with the READYACTION chest harness

Morning all. How’s your Tuesday? Put your hands up if you remember our piece about the READYACTION chest harness? We showed how it worked in an all-action video of my kitchen. Oh yes. Rock ‘n ROLL! However, there’s a lot more potential in the READYACTION kit, and this …

Travelcard Charger – Review

Back in March I did a small post about a portable battery pack, I was keeping an eye on over on Kickstarter, called the Travelcard Charger (see here), anyway I finally got my unit through, so after popping it on charge I thought I would give it a …

Solar Technology Freeloader Solar Charger – Review

There are many constants within life, one being that the sun will rise every single day, providing us with warmth and energy. The other most important constant in life is that your phone will probably need charging at some point in every single day of your life. Solar …

MiPow PLAYBULB review

The bulb you screw into your light fitting has one simple task – to provide light. It’s a standard and rather boring task but, with the new eco-friendly bulbs costing more than the old-style bulbs, why not add something extra? This, for £59.99 (although I’ve seen them cheaper), …

Reviews – Get Notified of Reviews for your favourite apps

Reviews is an iOS app targeted towards developers. It allows you to monitor reviews for apps from all App Store territories. The creators clearly have an eye for design: leaving out all unnecessary chrome and features. Reviews first opens without any apps added. This is probably for the best …

Going on holiday? Don’t forget to use protection

Some months ago I wrote up a review of this TouchAbility waterproof case. If I remember correctly I splashed it with water, got the hose-pipe on it and gave it some positive feedback. However, it’s rare that reviewers get enough time to do a full-on test. Say, for …

OnePlus Oppo LG and Sony flagship comparison

In the mobile industry the word “flagship” is banded around a lot, it refers to any manufacturers current top end device. With every company out there having one it’s often hard to decide which one you want for yourself. I’m lucky enough to have a few of them …

Which watch should I wear today?

These days I find myself in a daily predicament, not only do I have to work out which phone to take with me to work I also now have to choose which watch I wear as well and by watch I mean Smartwatch. I’ve been a smartwatch user …

Nokia Lumia 930 – Review

The Nokia Lumia 930 is possibly one of the last phones to be released under the Nokia banner, with future devices coming under the Microsoft banner. So it doesn’t come as a surprise that the Lumia 930 is the highest spec’d phone they’ve ever released. But is it …

Rocomo GT-I9500 Review

This is a phone which really does look the part. The last time I had an imported copy like this, the screen was low resolution and spongy. The build quality was pretty terrible and the OS was slow. This, though, is really rather good. First impressions are…well, impressive. …

The Snugg iPhone 5 case review

If I’m honest, it’s sometimes tricky to write a great deal about a case. This one is from Snugg and the blue ultra thin case we have here is £9.99. For that you get a case with a non-slip, durable finish which, if anything, adds to the style …

LG G Watch – Review

A watch fundamentally is foolproof, you look at it wanting answers and it duly obliges, although for many years this has been a rather simple transaction. i.e what is the time? It is 5am. Simple. This idea hasn’t been played about with for a long time. With a …

Nokia Lumia 635.. 4G for under £120

  I have been lucky enough to borrow Lumia 635 to use for a few weeks to see how it fares up as one of the cheapest 4G phones around. I ditched my current and only 2-day-old LG G3 to spend a few days with the Lumia 635 …

My time with Google Glass

I have been a big fan of Google Glass for a while, pretty much ever since I saw the demo at Google I/O back in 2012. At the time it was tested jumping out of a plane whilst streaming via Hangouts. Now, whilst that is not something everyone …

Qcktag – Android app review

Qcktag is the solution to a problem you probably didn’t realise you had. Once used it becomes a bit addictive and can be damn handy as well. What is it about and what does it do? Read on… Contact lists on mobile phones. They grow and grow as …

Tracking your Activity using Endomondo

In this article I looked at how it’s possible to manage your fitness using your smartphone and the My Fitness Pal App. My Fitness Pal is used to track your food intake against the amount of exercise you perform, which is great but to give you maximum control …

The Standeazy Review

Has it really been two years since we took a look at the original Standeazy ? Apparently it has. Luckily some things haven’t changed. The new version is still the size of a credit card and I’m still dashingly handsome, which is good. The older version of the …

Watch out, I have a Ninja in my pocket

This is an £8.99 metal credit-card-sized ..err.. card which has 18 different uses. A lot of those 18 are screwdrivering and nut tightening. In our tests it screws and tightens my nuts fine. Not a problem there. It’ll also open letters, which is probably ideal for those people …

Bayan Audio Soundbook X3 Review

Well, this is a weighty thing. You may remember our review of the original Soundbook we looked at about a year ago. The first thing I noticed with this particular model was the weight of it. It’s something that isn’t mentioned in the specs, but after sticking it …

Inateck Bluetooth speaker review

The Bluetooth speaker market is flooded with different devices, if you don’t believe me, just do a quick search on either Amazon or eBay and it will take about a week to trawl though all the offerings. Prices range from just a couple of pounds through to the …

BT Smart Home Cam review

Things must be going well here at Coolsmartphone. People don’t just want to send us phones to review any more, they want to send us security camera kit too. This one is clever (and we agreed to review it) because it works with your smartphone or tablet. There’s …

Fields of Battle – Paintball without the Pain

Fields of Battle is a FPS with a slight twist, rather then being a simulation of modern warfare of a historic battlefield it’s a simulation of everyone’s favourite ‘knee deep in mud’ pass time activity – Paintball. Paintball has always enjoyed immense popularity, combining pseudo battle tactics, teamwork …

Vodafone Smart 4 Review

Made by a company called “Yulong” (no, we’ve never heard of them either), this is the rather cheap (£75 on Pay As You Go) Vodafone Smart 4. Inside there’s a dual core 1.2GHz CPU and just 512MB RAM. It has a pretty decent amount of on board storage …

Inateck 4 port USB Desktop Charger – Review

My night time ritual goes something like this, put the cat out lock the doors make sure all the windows are closed and then walk around the house looking like Mr T from the A-Team with a multitude of charger leads and plugs round my neck, as I …

Motorola Moto G 4G – Review

The Motorola Moto G will go down in history as a genre redefining phone. It was designed to be as fluid and functional as a flagship device and yet cost a portion of one. I’ve owned mine since about last November and absolutely loved it, the review is …

Blacksmith Labs leather case review

A little while back I was emailed asking if I would like to review a leather case for a company. My initial reaction was a bit “Meh”, but then I got sent pictures and I suddenly changed my tune. I jumped at the chance. The Blacksmith Labs cases are beautiful. …