Author: Ian Furlong
A few weeks ago I was filling my car at the local petrol station and noticed that if you purchased a certain amount of fuel you could buy a dash cam for £20, which I promptly did. However, this camera can only be described as awful. It was …
Here at Coolsmartphone we love a good bargain, and when this news popped up we just had to share it with you. It appears that someone at Vodafone UK has gone completely mad, as the company is blazing a trail within the industry by abolishing the line rental …
I’ve been an Android user since my first T-Mobile G1 way back in 2008, and as such watched and used Google Maps through its iterations and updates: the introduction of free navigation, the ability to download certain area’s for offline use, etc etc, with each iteration making improvements …
I’ll come right out and say it, I’m a OnePlus fanboy (well more like old man). I’ve had every OnePlus device, I jumped through the companies invite system to get the early devices, and managed to order a OnePlus 3 within minutes of launch via the VR store. …
For the last few years, if you watched everything on demand using the BBC iPlayer rather than tuning in live, it meant you didn’t have to pay the age-old subscription – the TV Licence fee. The British government and the BBC have wanted to close this so-called “iPlayer …
Up to now, if you wanted to have your audio streaming throughout your home and garden, perfectly in sync with each other, there was only really one option: Sonos, and this can be an expensive option. I have visited a home with a synced system, and to be …
According to Japanese Newspaper “The Nikei” the end of July will see the last videocassette recorder (VCR) being produced. To be honest I though that production had already halted, but amazingly last year Funai Electri (which has been producing machines for the last 33 years) sold 750,000 units, …
Following on from, (what I always though strangely named) Gorilla Glass 4, Corning has officially announced Gorilla Glass 5. The company states that this latest generation of its strengthened glass will survive up to four times better than competing glass designs. Corning says that in tests the new Gorilla Glass 5 was …
Are you sick of coming up against a mobile signal black spot (first world problems and all that)? Take my house for instance, upstairs I get a 4G signal giving 40Mbps download speeds, go downstairs Nothing, Nada. Well this is where Anywhere SIM may be the answer. It’ll …
Today the BBC have launched a new app on both IOS and Android, the BBC+ app. Every day the BBC generates massive amounts of content, be it news, TV programmes or the radio shows, and to be honest all this fantastic content is scattered throughout the internet, and …
In today’s world, pretty much every gadget is connected to the internet. Alarms are no different, and I recently got sent this Wi-Fi enabled Home Security System, from Smanos. Whats In The Box: Upon opening the box I was met with the main control unit. It looks like …
According to the inter-web rumours, the next iteration of the Note series the Note 6…sorry the Note 7 (I don’t know either), is rumoured to have an iris scanner. Now it appears that this latest rumour may have a bit more substance,m and good old leaker @onleaks (who has a …
Those of you that are regular readers of this fantastic site, know that a number of the staff use Chromebooks, including my own self. I am currently using the Asus Chromebook Flip, which now allows me to use Play Store Apps natively, which I can only describe as …
The Bluetooth speaker market is flooded with different devices – if you don’t believe me, just do a quick search on either Amazon or eBay and it will take about a week to trawl though all the offerings. Prices range from just a couple of pounds, through to …
I for one always have some sort of headphones stuck around my head, to be honest, I can’t even walk to the shop without popping a set on and listening to a podcast or two (the fantastic coolsmartphone podcast is one I happen to listen to). I have been …
Here at Coolsmartphone a number of writers use a Chromebook as their primary device. I’m one of them (I’m writing this very article on the fantastic Asus Chromebook Flip). Despite being cracking devices Chromebooks have never really hit the limelight… until now. It appears that the Google low-cost …
Yes I was one of those people that jumped on the invitation merry-go-round to buy the OnePlus One. Oh, and guess what. I did there same a year later for the OnePlus Two. I love OnePlus devices so, when here at Coolsmartphone towers we had a sniff of …
Bluetooth speakers? Where do you start? The market is currently awash with speakers which fill every part of the price point spectrum. I was recently contacted by Say it Loud to ask if I wished to review one of their latest Bluetooth speakers, the Riva S. At first …
Following on from a reported 15% rise in annual profits to £3.03bn, BT has announced plans to invest £6bn in faster broadband and mobile services over the next three years. The company plans to offer their “ultrafast” broadband to 12 million premises by 2020. With speeds of 300 …
UK carrier O2 has announced they are going to exclusively carry the new LG Stylus 2, which is the first smartphone with DAB radio support*, meaning you’ll be able to enjoy your favorite radio stations without using your data allowance. The device is available right now on O2 …
Here at Coolsmartphone Towers we love a good bargain or two, and we have just had this land across our desk. If you an owner of a OnePlus device be it a OnePlus One, Two or X, head over to the OnePlus store. There’s discounts to be had …
Pssst – have you heard the latest rumour that Apple is going to get rid of the 3.5mm headphone jack in the next version of the iPhone? Well, it appears that Chinese phone manufacturer LeEco has beat the US giant to the punch in ditching the conventional headphone …
According to a report published by OpenSignal and consumer watchdog Which?, smartphone users here in the UK only appear to get access to 4G data speeds for about half of the time on average. From the four UK networks tested, EE was found to have the best 4G …
If, like me, you have a little one in the house, you’ll know what a minefield it is keeping them safe while letting them having access to the internet. My little boy loves to watch people gaming on YouTube, but sometimes what appears to be a suitable clip …
If like me, you have been a Netflix subscriber for quite some time, there is a good chance you’re paying a cheaper rate than new subscribers. This is because the company agreed to freeze your monthly subscription till May 2016. Well, believe or not, that date is now …
Well it’s looks like the death knell is well and truly ringing for the Blackberry OS, following a sales fall of almost $200m in the three months to the end of February. Further bad news included the announcement that Facebook and its WhatsApp messaging service will no longer …
Unless you have been living in a cave, with your eyes shut and your fingers in your ears, you will have heard of the recent hoo-ha over a certain company and a law enforcement agency request to unlock an iPhone. This has spiralled into a privacy debate, which …
I love the Google Photos app and, with every iteration, it gets better and better. Google have announced that it will automatically curate the best photos taken during a holiday or an event, then create a new album. All of your holiday snaps will be collated and sorted into your …
The latest flagship device from Huawei is rumoured for release in a couple of weeks. We’ll hopefully see the P9 on the 6th April. However, as is the norm, the interwebs are full of leaked specs and pictures. The latest pictures show a Huawei president using an “unknown …
Recently I received an e-mail from Amazon (nothing new there) which read.. Dear Kindle owner blah blah blah .. as with the majority of the others I filed it under bin without reading it. Well, it appears I should have. If you’re the owner of a pre-2013 Kindle …
Last year I managed to bag the latest flagship from OnePlus pretty quickly. However, surprisingly I quickly found that there was no gallery app installed to view my creations. After years of Android ownership this was the first time I’d come across this situation (or lack of). Now …
According to a report published in Business Korea, pre-orders of the latest Samsung flagships have been underwhelming in their own home market – South Korea. Samsung started accepting pre-orders for the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge from March 4 in South Korea, and like here in the UK the …
After what feels like an age it appears that Android Pay is finally making the journey across the pond to the UK. The Telegraph is reporting that Google will launch the mobile payments system in the UK at the end of March. Since Apple Pay’s debut in the …
As I’ve said before, my main use for my smartphone is to listen to media. I’d say that 90% of that listening is podcasts and (bear with me) 75% of that podcast listening is through headphones. Even on a 5 minute walk to the shop I’ve normally got …
Here at Coolsmartphone towers, a number of us use Chromebooks. I’m writing this from my Asus Chromebook Flip, which is a gorgeous device with its flip screen and brushed aluminium body. But the main problem with Chromebook is their lack of internal storage. It’s generally limited to a paltry …
Remember Google Talk? Well all those years ago when Android first launched it was the simply the instant messaging app. To be honest I don’t think take-up was that big, but over the years Google Talk was replaced with “Hangouts”, and we all got used to calling and …
I would say that 80% of my mobile phone use is listening to media. Specifically podcasts. I can’t even walk up to the shop to buy a loaf of bread without popping in some headphones and listening to my favourite episode. One of the first apps I load …
I have always worn a watch. I have a weakness where watches are concerned. Tie that in with my love of technology and the smartwatch is my perfect device. However, I love the classic watches. There’s just just something about a mechanical time piece.. watch lovers will understand… …
To be honest, Google Now just sits in the background of my phone, and it’s one of those features I forget is even there sometimes. Until I get a notification that is, and realise what a really useful app it is. Well, Google has announced that the company has …
Chinese phone manufacturer Huawei (which is the parent company of the Honor brand) continues its stride and for world dominance (in the phone world that it is), with the company’s latest device – the P9. Leaks now contain further detail, including pictures and information on a “Lite” and …
