Learn to be a skillful photographer

Taking a photo on your phone seems like a relatively simple thing now. Indeed, it’s got this way because phone manufacturers have added a whole heap of artificial intelligence into your smartphone to do the “heavy lifting” for you. As an example, taking an up-close photo will have …

A multi-view phone stand with magnetic ring holder – phonetag

I do like to be hustled some times. Today it’s an email from Barry, who wants us to take a look at his phonetag gadget. The UK inventor has managed to combine a secure ring holder with a portrait and landscape phone stand. It’s got a drink-can-style tag-shaped …

Vodafone Sale – Now on!

It’s sale season already and, while we’re still shopping for Christmas, it’s a chance to get a deal. Vodafone have a Big Winter Sale on, and it covers their Home Broadband, mobile contracts, SIM-only and Pay As You Go deals. They’ve got the Moto G 5G at £30 …

Two cybersecurity apps to protect your smartphone

With the last-minute Christmas shopping scramble in full effect, people are perhaps less worried about those online purchases than they should be. Away from the “big players” such as Amazon and eBay, there’s a range of online stores that look and feel the same but may not necessarily …

iD Mobile – 3 Months half-price deal

The people at iD Mobile (using the Three masts) have some deals on right now if you’re hunting for a SIM-only plan. First of all we’d like to point you to this article about switching networks and the differences between them. It can be a little confusing, so …

Don’t stop shopping! The New Year Sales are ready!

As we stumble towards a very different Christmas Day, the crazed online-shopping might be slowing – but it won’t be for long. Already there’s emails flooding into our inbox about the January and Boxing Day sales, with EE among the first. They’ve unveiled some early-bird January sales offers, …

BingoFit Smartwatch – Review

I’ll be honest, the lovely people at BingoFit Smartwatches sent me through a review unit of this BingoFit smartwatch some months ago but the entire cancer diagnosis has meant that the review has been delayed somewhat. It’s selling, right now, for just £22.31. Yes, a smartwatch, with app …

Don’t moan about 4G or 5G, you guys don’t know you’re born!

I do have to kick myself at times. Sitting in this hospital, I’ve got a gloriously fast 5G connection on Vodafone and unlimited data to enjoy. The speeds massively outclass the WiFi in here and it’s all just so straightforward and worry-free. Back in the late ’90s, phones …

Spotify podcasts now available through Alexa

Got yourself an Alexa speaker? Getting an Echo or Echo Dot for Christmas? Well, good news. You can now listen to the Coolsmartphone Podcast or any other podcast through Spotify on your shiny Echo device. Just link Spotify in the Alexa app and you’re away. Once enabled, you …

The cheap SanDisk microSD card deal we post regularly

This is the post where we’ll no doubt get comments saying, “It’s cheaper somewhere else”, but hey – we try. For a mere £14.49, with free delivery and free returns, this is a 128GB SanDisk microSD card. Ideal for your empty slot. It’ll boost it up good. It’s …

Want a new network? To the Moon Mobile has a plan.

No, I’ve not heard of them either, but they’re a new MVNO sitting on the EE network and seem to have a fairly straightforward set of plans. To The Moon Mobile have a rather interesting proposition for you. First up, all their bundles come with unlimited UK calls …

An update on the cancer thing.

Forgive me for stepping back into the world of “personal blog” for a moment but many of you may remember my cancer diagnosis. The short version is that, in the space of a week, I went from feeling fine to being told that I was about to die. …

OnePlus 8T Concept design revealed

Want to see the OnePlus 8T? Sure, no problem – just read our OnePlus 8T Review. It’s got up-close photos and everything you need to know. However, there’s also a OnePlus 8T Concept phone which we can reveal today. The nice guys at OnePlus have given us some …

Starlink on test.

A few weeks ago even more Starlink satellites were launched. It’s part of an internet connectivity solution provided by the Elon Must SpaceX company. Even though space-delivered internet has been done before, the reduced height of the satellites means a faster and better experience. A recent batch of …

Online shopping hits new highs as Christmas and lockdowns combine

Online shopping has positively exploded in recent months. The imposed lockdowns have forced even the tech-newbies to try out online shopping. It’s resulted in a 74.7% growth in online retail sales and has, according to some, killed the High Street’s revival stone dead. According to the November retail …

EE now connecting 94% of all roads

There’s EE 4G now available on more than 322,000 miles of roads in Great Britain. It’s thanks to 160 new EE 4G sites built this year and a general expansion in the coverage. EE have also extended coverage of UK national parks, with more than two thirds of …

A smartphone for around £45? What’s the X50 Plus?

Well, I spotted this one late last night and had to give my eyes a good old rub. We’ll go through the specs in a minute, but this is crazy cheap. The guys at Gearbest are selling it for £45.30 and the “interesting” people from Wish.com are selling …

Now you can watch Hulu with friends.

If there’s one thing that 2020 has brought us, it’s isolation. Sitting at home, unable to enjoy all the things we’ve been so used to. Meeting with people, talking and shaking hands – it seems like such an alien thing now. Yes, having all these online services is …