Tag: location

Find your local mobile mast – 2020 Update

With 5G masts being thrown up at a rapid rate and concerns over signal or safety, there’s always been a keen interest in where local mobile masts actually are. Back in 2011 we started looking into this, and back then the mobile networks were reporting where all their …

A super-easy way to share your location

Google Maps is great. If you want to share your location then it’s just a matter of clicking the relevant button. Likewise, if you’ve got WhatsApp, you can share your location or your live location. It’s great if you’re sending to someone via the internet or to someone …

Winston – A Kickstarter gadget to protect your online life

Right. I’ve tried. Believe me, I’ve tried, but every time I mention a “VPN” people just lose interest. Getting a VPN is great. It protects you, it can also anonymize you, preventing tracking and spying etc. Trouble is, it can be a bit of a faff, even if …

Wait, what exactly is a VPN and why do I need it?

Keeping yourself safe online. It’s something that you know you should do, but you either rely on someone else to protect you or you haven’t had the time. Just a few years ago, mention a “VPN” and literally nobody would know what you were talking about. They were …

Back to school. Keep them safe with this clever watch.

I know what it’s like. Right now (if you’re in the UK) you’re running around trying to buy uniforms and shoes. It’s all hectic and you’ve not even been paid yet. Nightmare. However, if you want the little guys and girls to be safe, head to the V …

Chipolo Reviewed – Find your stuff.

In the soft squishy bits of my brain – the bits that have been impacted by alcohol the most – I vaguely remember similar products in the past, but this Chipolo solution is stylish and just easy to setup. Basically it’s a small “doo-hickey” which connects to your …

Find your local mast, the 2018 version

Every time I check the site stats, there’s one post in particular which is always massively popular. This mast finder article from 2011 is causing the most amount of interest. It’s understandable really. People obviously have coverage maps from their network, but finding out how close masts are is …

Keeping an eye on the little ones

With my son getting to a “certain age”, he’s now off on his own. He plays in the local park and goes on his scooter with his friends. Even as a geeky phone guy, I really didn’t want to give him a phone. Like most kids, I knew …

Paby Pet Tracker – Review

We’ve covered this already here at Coolsmartphone but now we’re lucky enough to borrow one to review. For $79.99, this is a pet activity monitor with in-built GPS, WiFi and a SIM card so that you can see where your pet is, live. Oh, and get this, it …

Google Maps to add two new interesting features.

Right back in 2008 I got my hands on my first Android device, the fantastic T-Mobile G1. One application stood out above all the rest – Google Maps. Back then it was just a very simple mapping tool giving users a fairly simple view of the world. Google …

Where have you been this year? Find out easily with Google Timeline

If you’ve got yourself an Android handset then I can safely bet that it’s silently tracking your movements. Even if GPS is off, the network location will be logging your position. We’ve covered the fact that you can access this stored data before, but after logging in last …

Where am I? Help is at hand thanks to OS Locate

My recent charity cycle ride (feel free to donate) was all “on road”, so a quick check of Google Maps would let me know where the next turning was. Now, if you’re planning to go off road then you’re going to need something a bit better. Finding your …

Location, Location, Location. Google – We know where you’ve been.

Morning you lovely people. Want to try something? If you’ve not disabled Location History you can have a peek into the Google “Big Brother World” right now. Last night, I browsed around the www.google.com/dashboard and swam through the masses of information that Google has on me. The amount …

Garmin Head Up Display – Accessory Review

Traditional Satellite navigation systems were once upon a time a must have for anyone that regularly undertook long journeys to far away places. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epSURT21hxs With the launch of Google maps, Apple maps and the vast array of other mapping solutions available for mobile phones the demand for Sat-Navs …

EE – Selling your details and location

I’m reaching the end of my mobile contract with Orange. I’ve been with the company since 1995 and they’ve always treated me pretty well. However, this last year I’ve seen my contract price increase and an increased push to get me onto 4G with EE which, strange as …

Choose when and where to send texts – ZMS

It’s 20 whole years since the first text message was sent and, despite data-enabled phones and always-on email, we’re still sending a huge amount of texts. Tech start-up “inZair” has just launched an app called ZMS. It’s completely free and available for both Android and iOS. The texting …

GPS Jammer usage revealed

Most of us are now comfortable with GPS being inside our phone and constantly enabled. It can guide you to your destination, track your excercise and tell you how fast you’re going. For some, though, GPS is a technology they’d rather not have. A study by Sentinel found …

Google Maps 6.0 brings indoor maps to Android

Google have just released Google Maps 6.0 onto the Android Marketplace and the standout new addition is the ability to view indoor maps of some malls, department stores and airports. Unfortunately the feature is currently limited to US and Japanese locations however that should hopefully change before too …

iOS 4.3.3 released to fix tracking issues

Apple iOS 4.3.3 has now been released to fix those location tracking “bugs” that came to light last month. Location data was found to be stored in a local file on handsets, this could then be extracted with a simple tool. Apple have stated that they were aware …

Microsoft speaks out on location tracking

So, we know that Apple have been storing data to help determine your location quicker. What of Microsoft? Well, it sounds like their approach is pretty similar… Microsoft says that it collects location information only if users allow an application to access location data and when that particular …

Location tracking – Apple and Google monitor your movements

Yes, it was only yesterday that we revealed how Apple handsets were tracking users. Data was stored locally on the phone but, as shown across TV news bulletins yesterday, information could easily be read and shown on a map. Now The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple …

iPhones and iPads track owners with hidden file

Researchers have found that iPhones and 3G iPads are recording location information into a hidden file and have done so since iOS 4. This iPhone Tracker software pops open the file and shows the information that has been recorded. Pete Warden posted on his blog that… The most …

Google Maps 5.1, now with Check ins for Latitude

Google have just updated Google Maps for Android to version 5.1. The major updates all centre around Latitude, it’s location based service. Taking a leaf out of foursquare’s book, you can now check in to various locations to let your friends know exactly where you are. Google have …