Three to block advertising as part of one-day trial

Well, we knew it was coming and, on a day between June 13th and 20th, it’ll be happening. UK network Three will be blocking advertising. Three state that this is because they’re effectively having to pay for the ads to be displayed on your mobile device, and that …

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 …

Huawei P9 Plus available at Vodafone

It’s Friday. The Bank Holiday weekend is just hours away and Vodafone have just started selling the Huawei P9 Plus. It’s available in the Quartz Grey colour exclusively from Vodafone. You can get it for £37 per month for a 1GB plan with a £60 up-front cost and …

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 …

Honor to honour a 60 day return policy

Buying a smartphone is always a bit of a risk. If I’m honest, there’s a risk of them all looking a bit “samey” and you might not know if the phone is really going to suit your needs or not. Buying online is something else to consider, and …

Yes, there was a time before smartphones

After all the years of writing this site I’ve realised that I’ve not really mentioned how I got into phones. Sure, I can tell you that the phone which kick-started this site was the original Orange SPV, but what was before that? Well, get set for some time-travelling …

Microsoft off-load nearly 2000 staff as the smartphone adventure ends

It’s a sad day for hard-working smartphone employees, especially in Finland. Microsoft has just announced that 1,850 jobs will go as they “restructure” their smartphone hardware business. 1,350 of the staff affected will be from the Microsoft Mobile division in Oy, Finland. The remaining 500 will be from …

Don’t want Windows 10 force fed? Give this a spin

Microsoft are playing a very dangerous game. It might not seem a big deal to many, but the company is under pressure. Sure, their desktop OS and Office offerings are performing well, but in the home there’s more iPads and mobile gadgets now. There’s less PC’s being sold …

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 …

OnePlus 3 virtually upon us

Pardon the dreadful pun, OnePlus arguably the loudest and most popular of the smaller smartphone players in the market. Two members of the Coolsmartphone team even have a OnePlus handset each! The OnePlus 3 is set to be their next “Flagship Killer” and is looking to be launched …

Amazon Fire 7 down to £39 at Tesco

The sun is out, the sky is blue.. Time for another great gadget deal! This time it’s from Tesco and it’s the 7″ Amazon Fire tablet. It’s now reduced to a pretty unbelievable £39 and you can get it in black, blue or magenta. There’s free delivery or …

Lumsing 5-port Wall Charger – Discount code

We get a lot of review kit here at Coolsmartphone. What we try and do now is, after reviewing something, get a nice discount code for you guys to use. So, here’s another one. This is for the Lumsin 5-port wall charger that we reviewed just the other …

Unshackled.com launches. Find the best SIM and phone combo

A new website has just launched which compares SIM-free and network-free phone deals. It should, according to the people behind it, ensure that you get the best deal on your next mobile and / or talk plan. They estimate that the average consumer will save £330 buying from …

Surprise Pebble announcement later today

Whilst I love the rumours associated with the mobile and tech industry, sometimes it’s really nice just to be surprised! Pebble was the original darling of both the crowdfunding and smartwatch worlds, but it’s fair to say that their second-generation devices – the three ‘Time’ variants, have hardly …

Use a typewriter on your iPad

If typing on your screen isn’t your “thing” and you’re not a fan of modern Bluetooth keyboards. Perhaps try this, the QWERKYWRITER. It’ll bring you all the fun and memories of using an old-school typewriter, plus it acts as a stand for your device. The keyboard connects via …

Microsoft sees their mobile market share drop below 1%

It’s the same sad story for Microsoft. Without specifically stating it, they’ve effectively left Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile to die on the vine. Mobile efforts now appear to be concentrated on mobile software for Android and iOS. Meanwhile, their smartphone OS is dropping off the charts …

Amazon Fire TV stick reduced

My experience of streaming TV at the weekend was, let me tell you, thoroughly disappointing. My son wanted to watch Iron Man 2 and so I set off trying to find a streaming service offering it. That bit alone was tricky. We couldn’t find a page detailing what …

Evernote Labs opens to general public

Evernote Labs, the beta community that tests improvements to the Android Evernote application, has opened its doors to anyone who wants to become a beta tester. I have been part of the Evernote beta programme for a while now, and I would recommend anyone who is a regular …