Author: Ian Furlong

Note 8. Maybe the most expensive Galaxy phone yet

According to VentureBeat, the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is going to be the most expensive Samsung phone to date. The 6.3″ device is rumoured to have the same edge-to-edge, 18.5:9 aspect ratio, AMOLED infinity display as in the Galaxy S8. The Galaxy Note 8 is rumoured to be …

Want to record 6 things at once? Sky says sure, OK

Britsh broadcaster Sky has announced that their Sky Q 2 TB boxes will soon be updated in order to be able to record six shows at once, while you can watch a seventh. Now if by some miracle there is actually seven things on at the same time …

RCA Android tablets launch in the UK

Following the successful launch of its 2-in-1 affordable Windows notebooks here in the UK, premium audio and video manufacturer Venturer (both of which I have reviewed here and here) have announced a new range of Android tablets under the RCA branding. RCA is a name new to us …

Return of retro gaming!

Right, I will come right and say this I am old. I can remember a time before the internet, before mobile phones and before the home computer had been invented ! I remember when gaming well that was something you did outside with your mates. I have been …

iClever BTH20 Bluetooth Headphones Review

I’ve been sent through the latest sports designed headphones from iClever, the BTH20 in ear headphones. Good Points: Incredibly light. Very comfortable. Excellent value for money. Good sound quality. Well designed. Water resistant. Bad Points: Controls on the right side. Wire routed to the front rather than the …

Latest Netflix update won’t install on rooted devices

Here at the Coolsmartphone newsroom (which to be honest is normally a kitchen) we’ve heard rumours that the latest version of the Netflix app is showing as incompatible with rooted devices. Netflix has just confirmed that with the v5.0 update adds some special.. ahem .. “new features”. They’ve …

ProBox 2 Air PLUS Android TV Box – Review

Last year I carried out a review of a new Android TV streaming box called the Probox 2 Air. You can view it here, which in summary, I was truly impressed with. Well, I’ve been asked if I wanted to review the latest version of this streaming box – …

Microsoft reveal a Chromebook competitor (almost)

Here at the Coolsmartphone hive of activity, a number of our writers use Chromebooks. I and the editor-in-chief Leigh use them predominately – I must use my Asus Flip easily 95% of the time. The Chromebook has been a runaway success, with it being an inexpensive device with a …

Fitbit activity tracker explodes on users wrist.

ABC News  is reporting on a woman in Wisconsin who’s been the victim of another exploding device. This time it’s a fitness tracker, and happened whilst the wearer – Dina Mitchell – was sitting reading a book. The Fitbit Flex 2 caught fire and explode, causing burns to her …

Galaxy S8 hits record sales.

Well, it very much appears that Samsung is rising  like the phoenix from of the ashes of the Note 7. (Did you see what I did there?) The Note 7 disaster now seems to be far from customers minds, with virtually no impact on customer confidence with the …

Galaxy S8 manufacturing costs revealed.

Someone who is far braver than I am over at IHS Markit decided to get hold of the latest flagship from Samsung the Galaxy S8 and take it apart to have a look-see what’s inside. While ferking around, they have decided to do a quick cost breakdown of …

Chrome Browser to get native ad blocking.

  According to the Wall Street Journal tech giant Google is mulling over the idea to add a native ad blocker to the Google Chrome browser. It’s a strange move you might think, considering Google’s primary source of income is advertising, but Google say this is to provide …

Apple to offer GarageBand, iMovie, and iWork, free to everyone

In the past if you wanted to get your hands on 3 of Apple’s biggest software packages; namely, iMovie, GarageBand, and iWorks (which includes Pages. Numbers and Keynote),  there were two ways. The owners of older Apple devices i.e. pre-2013 had to purchase the apps from the App …

Internet use now higher on Android than Windows

We are used to hearing news that more people are accessing the web on a mobile device rather than a desktop. However, a new and somewhat significant milestone has been passed, this being that Android’s internet use has overtaken Windows PC’s. According to StatCounter the Android platform represented 37.93% …

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 to return as a refurbished device.

According to a statement released by Samsung Mobile, some of the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 devices will be sold as refurbished devices. Samsung also has plans to salvage each other components such as cameras and semiconductors. In addition, they intend on extracting the metal parts from the remaining …

Yes, more Galaxy S8 leaks

If the rumor mill is to be believed, and take it from me it’s in full swing, the reveal of the latest Samsung flagship the Galaxy S8 is less than a week away. And to be honest, it’s pretty hard not to have seen a leak of the …

SMS integration to be removed from Google Hangouts.

According to an email being sent out by Google, Hangouts SMS integration will stop working after May 22, 2017. The company will presumably roll out an update on the day that will disable the SMS integration functionality on the app. Google will start showing an in-app notification to …

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 …

Venturer PrimePro 12 TS 2-in-1 notebook – Review

A short time ago I carried out a review of the EliteWin S 11KT mini 2-in-1 notebook. It was also created by Venturer, and you can view the full review here. Now the company have sent me through the their latest device, the PrimePro 12TS Good Points:  Good …

Headphones explode on user mid-flight

Using a battery powered device on a flight? It’s not just phones you need to be concerned with. In Australia authorities are now issuing warnings for powered headphones​. It comes after a passenger on a Beijing to Melbourne flight suffered burns and blisters as her headphones exploded mid-flight. …

More Galaxy S8 info leaked – specs galore.

We’re approaching the rumoured Samsung Galaxy S8 flagship announcement, so here we go with some more Galaxy S8 info for the faithful and eager. This is currently believed to be March 29th with a date for pre-orders on the 10th of April. As usual, the internet is now …

Microsoft hike Surface prices and blames Brexit vote

Following the Brexit vote last year, it appears that Microsoft has jumped on the “Let’s hike the prices in the UK and blame Brexit bandwagon“. It always intrigued me that in the past when we had a strong pound, we had the 1 dollar = 1 pound pricing. …

More data and mins From Giffgaff 

If you are an avid reader of our site, you’ll know that us here at Coolsmartphone Towers love a good bargain. And whenever we find one, we like to pass it on. Well, check out low-cost carrier GiffGaff, which runs on the O2 network. Customers purchase bundles which …

Using your phone whilst driving? Points and fines to double

Despite it being law for a number of years, people are still continuing to use their phone whilst driving. The RAC has released some rather worrying statistics from a recently commissioned survey. There’s been an increase in drivers owning up to using a handheld mobile phone – from …

Samsung Galaxy S8 handsets leaked

The grand-master of the phone leakers, Evan Blass, has just dropped this little nugget on Twitter. It’s the new Galaxy S8 from Samsung.. When I say “it”, there’s actually going to be two phones. Gone are the navigation buttons you’ve grown used to in previous Samsung Galaxy handsets …

Netflix now allows content to be saved to SD Card.

Remember some time ago we brought you the news that finally, Netflix was allowing customers to download some of their content and store it to the device?  The good news is that the latest update to the media streaming app allows content to be stored on the SD …

Cyanogen OS finishes at year’s end.

A short time ago we reported that Cyanogen as a company would be shedding considerable staff. They were also closing buildings with some of the team moving to a single location. The new CEO, Lior Tal, announced the company would cutting ties with co-founder Steve Kondik too. Now Cyanogen …

More exploding batteries come to light

My wife currently works as a customer service assistant in a local town. While she was working last week, she could hear a commotion outside in the street. A member of the public came running into to her office, screaming for help and requesting a fire extinguisher stating …

ProBox 2 Air Android TV Box – Review

Some time ago I decided to cancel my current satellite TV subscription. To be honest I thought the monthly fee was extortionate and decided to go along the “cable cutters route”. I found that I could get nearly all, if not all of the content I wished to …

Amazon completes first drone delivery.

Remember about three years ago when retail giant Amazon announced that it was going to deliver your parcels by air,  using drones? Oh how we giggled. Well, that day has just drawn a step closer.  Following a trial in Cambridge, the company has  completed the first Amazon Prime …

Goodbye Pebble – it’s all over

Of all the smartwatches on the market, Pebble is my favourite. I backed the original pebble on Kickstarter and have bought every one since, including the latest Pebble 2 with heart rate. You can have a look at my review here. I have backed the newest Pebble Time 2 …

Amazon to open a store without a checkout

Online retail giant Amazon has decided to do away with any kind of checkout process in a new store. Customers will instead show their phone when they walk in, pick up their goods and just walk off. Grabbing anything off the shelves, stuffing it in your bag and walking out. …

Newton Mail App – Review

Remember all those years ago when you’ve got your first email account and you couldn’t wait to set it up with a stupid account name? Now, many years later, it’s quite embarrassing having to pass those details to any prospective employers, hospitals or friends.  So what do you …

Smanos launch ‘UFO Panoramic Wi-Fi HD’ Camera in the UK

A while ago, I carried a review of the Smanos Wireless home alarm which you can view here. Well smart home security experts, Smanos, launched their quirky UFO Panoramic Wi-Fi HD Camera today as a new addition to its comprehensive range of easy-to-use smart home security products. The …

OnePlus 3T now available in the UK and Europe 

OnePlus today opened up orders of the updated OnePlus 3 – the OnePlus 3T. It’s now available unlocked in the UK and across Europe. Priced at £399 for 64GB and £439 for new larger storage option at 128GB, it’s also available in the new “Gunmetal” colour. No news on the …

New Snapdragon chipsets announced   

At the last 4G/5G summit hosted in Hong Kong, Mobile chip giant Qualcomm unveiled its latest mid-range chipsets, the Snapdragon 400 and Snapdragon 600 ranges. The Snapdragon 427 replaces the current budget Snapdragon 425, and improvements for the Snapdragon 427 chipset include the inclusion of Qualcomm’s X9 LTE …

Microsoft Office on your Chromebook? Get ready to pay.

As more and more Chromebooks are being granted access to the Google Play Store and the millions of apps within, people are trying to activate their copy of Microsoft Office for Android. Unfortunately, they’re finding out that a subscription to Microsoft Office 365 is required, especially if your …

Blackberry to make one more physical keyboard device

It’s no real surprise that when to comes to mobile devices with physical keyboards, Blackberry were the industry leaders. But despite this the company slowly declined, beginning with the company ending the use their own Operating System, and then not even producing devices, but using rebranded TCL devices (well hello, …

WhatsApp Messenger to incorporate two-factor authentication

Surprisingly, up to now, Whatsapp Messenger – which is probably one of the biggest messaging services in the world, hasn’t supported two-factor authentication. Well, that was until now. People that are using the latest beta version of Whatsapp are starting to see the option to turn on this …