Get a personal coach in your pocket

Cross-training? Out for a run? What you need is a bit of encouragement. Something that’ll make you break out into a sweat. You need to get worn out, and quick. You need to go harder and faster. You need to build your stamina. So how’s about…. Yes, the …

Podcast 146 – A very special interview

Welcome to the Coolsmartphone Podcast episode 146. Yes, it’s Monday. In this very special episode of the Podcast we have a chat with a very special guest – James Pearce. James has performed a fantastic job as the regular CoolSmartPhone podcast host for a such a long time …

Android 7″ Tablet. Nice price. Asda price. You buy?

Let’s face it, this isn’t going to be the greatest thing in the world. Quad-core it may be, but in all honesty it’s going to be about as terrible as most of the 7″ Android tablets you see on eBay direct from China. It’s called the “Q8″, even …

Enhance your stick, strap a microphone onto it.

We get SO MANY Indiegogo and Kickstarter campaigns here at Coolsmartphone. If you want to invest in something, I’d personally suggest having a dabble on the Coolsmartphone competition. You could win a phone ! Anyhow, this is a selfie stick with a microphone on one end. I assume …

Jide Remix Mini PC coming soon to Kickstarter

Just when you thought that I couldn’t talk about Jide Technology any more, this little gem appears. Remix OS is an adaptable OS that can be used on a variety of platforms, with one example being a Mini PC. This is a very active market right now so …

Xperia Z4 Tablet missing USB OTG support – UPDATE

News is starting to trickle in that the new Xperia Z4 Tablet is missing a very important productivity tool. It seems like Sony have made the omission of USB OTG support. It also seems to be that this is the case on the M4 Aqua and the Z3+. …

Is that a PC in your pocket? Or are you just pleased to see me?

Archos are the latest company to enter into the pocketable PC craze. Intel got the ball rolling with their Compute Stick built around their Quad-core Atom processor and then Lenovo threw their hat into the ring to follow Intel’s lead. Well now Archos have built their own and, …

MONTAR 360 degree car mount – Review

I’ll admit to jumping in my car and generally throwing my phone onto the passenger seat. There it’ll be, sliding around and then falling off the side of the seat as I go around a corner. After I arrive at my destination I then get to play the …

A touchless smartwatch… it’s happening

Deus Ex Technology have had a good week. They launched their project on Kickstarter on the 18th and within 6 days they have achieved their goal of $100k. Awesome. But why should I care? If you own a smartwatch then this will be very interesting. They have made …

XiaoMi mi4i drops in price

Another week, another handset from Gearbest, and this time it’s the XiaoMi mi4i, which I’ve been having a nose at because they’ve dropped the price from $485.62 (£308.23) to $237.67 (£150.85). It supports dual SIM and is powered by Android 5.0. Specs include a 5″ 1920×1080 pixel screen, …

LG G4 – Review

Most phones look the same. Big screen? Check. One button up front maybe? Check. Manufacturers struggle to achieve differentiation. LG have tried to stand out from the crowd by keeping the screen large and reducing the bezel, which means a better one-handed experience. It also means that the …

Podcast 145 – it is time for a change

Welcome to the Coolsmartphone Podcast episode 144, joining me this week were Dan, Ian and John. This weeks topics revolved around Dan about to go on his travels with the LG G4, the Meizu MX4 Ubuntu Phone, the Amazon Fire Phone, the rumoured new Motorola Moto G and …

Teen Developers – Peter Soboyejo

Sorry it’s out a little later today, folks! But do not worry, today’s teen developer interview is here! As for why we didn’t have one last week, I was at WWDC and nobody had time to do an interview, including myself! But rest assured, I was still hard …

Vodafone change excess call and text charges

Due to Ofcom changing the way service numbers (0845, 0870 etc) Vodafone are simplifying their excess charges. These out of bundle charges are what you pay if you exceed your monthly allowance or if you don’t have one. From the 10th August 2015 there will be a single …

Amazon drop Fire Phone to £99

Right now over on Amazon.co.uk the company is selling off its Fire Phone device which is still exclusive to O2 here in the UK. Since its launch the branded device has failed to capture mainstream attention and has been a little bit of a flop, with a high …

Lynktec 360 degree Tablet Kickstand – Review

This thing is pretty straightforward really. It sticks onto the back of any tablet and gives you a kickstand. Not only that, but it’ll rotate around by 360 degrees so you can set it up just how you want. It sticks on using special microsuction technology. Sure, it …

Meizu unveil MX4 Pro Ubuntu Edition

Today Meizu are unveiling the brand new Meizu MX4 Pro Ubuntu edition. No those eagle eyed readers will no doubt be thinking this isn’t new and you would be in part correct. The reason that you are is that this is the European launch. The phone has been …

Google Music, now free, with some hefty caveats

Google Music is great, but you need to pay for it. Booo. But wait, you can now get it free via an ad-supported version via the website plus it’s coming to Android and iOS. You’ll get adverts, but apart from that we can see absolutely no reason why you wouldn’t want this. …

Fancy a second hand device? Try Envirofone

You know about Envirofone. You send them your old handset, they give you money. What happens after that? Well, I can tell you. The phones either get resold or broken down for minerals and plastic granulation.  Who buys the phones? Well, you guys can. Head to the Envirofone …