Author: Ian Furlong

Chargeasap launches the world’s most powerful 150W USB-C powerbank

Sydney based consumer electronics brand, Chargeasap, has announced its latest innovation. It’s called “Flash” and is a 20,000mAh powerbank. This has already busted their funding goal on Indiegogo. It’s touted to be the world’s most powerful, most versatile and fastest charging powerbank. If you want to be part …

Moshi Digits Touchscreen Gloves- Review

There’s nothing like the approaching winter to remind you that you need to cover your fingers in a touchscreen-driven world. Upon writing this, here in the UK, we are being warned of a “cold snap” – so time to warm those hands up. In a world where people …

Huawei to use TomTom maps

Following the embargo placed on Huawei, the Chinese phone company can no longer trade with US companies. It’s effectively received a closed door from Google and all its associated services. To be honest most of the Google services can be replaced – in fact most phone manufacturers have …

Groov-e Zen ANC Headphones – Review

Good Points: Price Battery life Active Noise Cancelling Good mid-range sound quality Lightweight Bad Points: Plastic build quality Sound distortion at high volume Bluetooth 4.1 Design: The Zen Wireless ANC (active noise cancelling) headphones are the latest in the budget range from Groov-e. Coming in at an MSRP …

BT Broadband packages now come with Google Stadia

BT (British Telecom) has announced that it is partnering with Google to launch a range of broadband plans that come with the Stadia cloud gaming service bundled in the package. BT, which is the biggest Internet Service Provider (ISP) in the UK, is planning to offer the free …

Bose closing all European and US stores

Here at Coolsmartphone w’ve heard that top audio brand Bose is going to close a significant number of its brick and mortar stores. It’s believed the move is due to the popularity of online shopping and the reduced consumer interest in traditional stores. The closures will also impact …

Chrome OS to get Android 10 Gestures.

Lots of us here at Coolsmartphone use Chromebooks as our primary computing device, and now we’re hearing from the folks over at Android Police that they can be used in “tablet mode” with a gesture input. This is very similar to the one you’ll use in Android 10. …

Chromebooks – Now showing Bluetooth device battery level

Here at Coolsmartphone towers, a number of writers use Chromebooks as our primary devices. But one thing thing I find annoying when using my Chromebook is guessing at the battery level of my headphones, keyboard and mouse, but a few months back, it was discovered that Google was …

Microsoft’s anti-trust case was the reason it lost the OS race.

According to Bill Gates that is…. The Microsoft founder today stated he believed Microsoft’s antitrust issues in the early 2000s was the reason for Windows Mobile not being the OS that people use today. When asked about the impact of the Justice Department’s antitrust case. He came out …

Excessive battery drain on your OnePlus – WhatsApp might be the culprit.

Some OnePlus smartphone users are reporting excessive battery drain on their devices, and investigation has revealed that WhatsApp is killing more than 40% of the battery, even with limited use, in the following conditions: OnePlus devices running both Android 9 and 10 are being affected by the high …

Tribit Flybuds Wireless Earbuds – Review

Good Points: Bluetooth 5.0. Noise Cancelling. IPX 5 Waterproof rating. Up to 36hrs of listening time. USB Type C charging. Simple Pairing. Stylish carrying case. Lightweight. Ability to sync with 2 devices. Bad Points : Profile a bit large for some people. Bass quality lacking. What’s In The …

DooGee introduces the S95 Pro

Fancy getting a rugged and tough smartphone? The S95 Pro is the newest addition to the modular S range and gets a 48 megapixel triple camera, 5150mAh long lasting battery and a speedy Helio P90 Processor. You get the chance to bag the phone a bit cheaper too …

Honor Band 5 – Review

  Good points: Price Battery life Really bright screen Comfort Packed with features Bad Points: No easy connection to Google Fit Difficult to differentiate between notifications Specs: Size: 43 mm x 17.2 mm 11.5 mm Weight: 22.7g Display: 0.95″ colour AMOLED Display 120 x 240 px RGB Battery: …

USB Type-C audio adapters by Moshi – Now available

Last week Samsung’s latest flagship arrived – the Galaxy Note 10. However, there was a problem – one missing port. Yes, I’m with Steve Litchfield on this one – I love the 3.5mm audio port. I know that you can get USB Type-C wired headphones, but what if …

Google Play to start auto-playing videos.

Following the white redesign of the Google Play Store another, and what I deem more annoying update, is due pretty soon. Yes, the Play Store will start playing promo videos in the app listings automatically. According to Google the videos in the app listings will “help more users …

Mobile phone delivery scams on the increase.

So you’re sitting at home and there’s a knock on the door. A brand new top-of-the-range phone has been delivered to your house. The package has your name on it, but you don’t remember ordering it. Then there is another knock at the door and a courier asks …

Fingerprint unlock finally coming to WhatsApp.

Back In February this year, WhatsApp had rolled out the authentication feature for iOS beta users, making it possible to use Touch ID to unlock the app. Now finally after more than six months, the feature has finally been made available for Android beta users today. The Fingerprint …

EE named as best mobile provider 2019

Rootmetrics, a US based company founded back in 2008, has one sole purpose – to provide mobile network performance information. Today they have published the results for 2019 testing of the UK networks. By using a batch of store-purchased Samsung Galaxy S9  smartphones, the testing itself was conducted …

Fancy a colourful laptop for a change ?

Let’s be honest, most laptops are either Aluminium or Black. If you want to stray from this then it normally means putting a skin on your device. I try this but have to buy two as I always manage to bugger the first one up. Well, we have …

Note 10 prices leaked

It’s not too long now until the latest device in Samsung’s Note series, the Note 10 will be announced at an Unpacked Event on 7th August. I for one am eagerly awaiting to see this new device, with a view to upgrading my current Note 9. The internet …

Groov-e Soundbuds Review

Specs: Earbud 2 x 1.5 x 1.5 cm ; 5g Case 7.5 x 2.5 x 4cm ; 45g. Up to 4 hours music playback and up to an additional 10 hours using the changing case Music controls and answer/reject calls Long press for your relevant assistant. Bluetooth V5 …

Huawei respond to concerns and queries

Following the problems created by Emperor Trump, sorry President Trump, Huawei have decided to keep in contact with their customers and try to address some of their concerns. It’s a good sign really, because we’re all a bit worried about our shiny Huawei or Honor handsets and, following …

Ezviz CTQ6C Wireless Security Camera – Review

Have a look at most UK homes and there is normally an alarm box situated at the front with the blinking LED. Let’s be honest though, how many of us actually go and investigate if the alarm starts blaring? Truth be told, not many. “Well my alarm sends …

More Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Leaks Emerge.

Yet more leaked images have emerged of the highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy Note 10, and these latest renders have come from Steve Hemmerstoffer and 91Mobiles. Looking like a change in direction for Samsung’s Galaxy Note lineup, the upcoming flagship ditches the horizontal camera setup found on previous devices …

Uno USB Type-C magnetic cable review.

The Sydney-based consumer electronics brand ASAP technologies has sent me through the Uno USB type-C magnetic cable for review. This cable is currently on Kickstarter, and has apparently already reached and surpassed its funding goal with days still to go. The beauty of this cable is its interchangeable …

Groov-e Launch Wireless SoundBuds With Assistant.

Here at Coolsmartphone Towers, we have reviewed Groov-e headphones on a few occasions, and have always been impressed with the sound quality at their competitive price point. Today Groov-e has announced their latest product; the SoundBuds. The SoundBuds feature a ” push to talk feature” which give users …

Universal Translator – One Step Closer With Pocketalk

Today saw the launch of Pocketalk. It’s a portable, AI-powered instant voice translation device which is able to seamlessly translate 74 (at present) languages bidirectionally in real time, making it easy for users to understand others and be understood by others. The Global SIM embedded, “Built-in Data” model …

Galaxy Fold release postponed

The revolutionary latest folding device from Samsung, the Galaxy Fold, was due to hit the market this Friday.  Earlier we’d told you how the launch had been delayed, but now been postponed indefinitely. Apparently Samsung has e-mailed customers that have pre-ordered the device, stating that orders may well …

OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro pricing revealed

Chinese phone manufacturer OnePlus will announce their latest flagship device on the 14th May, and following other manufacturers it is believed there will be more than one version. Soon enough we’ll be seeing the OnePlus 7, OnePlus 7 Pro and a 5G model too. The new phones will launch at …

I hope your password is better than 123456

If you stop and think about your online presence, just think how many different sites and apps you log into on a daily basis – each needing a unique username and password. Let’s be honest, most of us use a username that’s also our email address, so for …

Possible May release date for the OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro

If you’re a long-time reader, you’ll probably already known that I am an avid OnePlus fan. I’ve had every device from the Chinese manufacturer and, if the the company are keeping to their previous device roll-out schedules, the next “Flagship Killer” shouldn’t be that far away. As always …

Is the death knell sounding for Google Play Music ?

On 30th April this year, Google is planning to close down the “Artist Hub” of the Google Play Music service. “What’s the Artist Hub?” I hear those of you who use Google Play Music ask. The Artist Hub is a tool that allows smaller/independent artists to stream and …

Pixel 2 & 2 XL official sales cease

If you are hankering after last year’s Google flagship from official channels i.e. Google’s own page, well it appears this can longer be done. If you pop over to the Google Store and search for either the Pixel 2 or the Pixel 2 XL, the devices are no …

Reno by Oppo a new take on the front camera

According to internet Slashleaks, the Chinese device manufacturer Oppo’s latest device named “Reno” has a new take on the front-facing camera. Like some others, the Reno has a pop up front camera, but the Reno’s unique front camera design means that the camera will apparently fit into a …

HP recall yet more laptop batteries

Laptop manufacture HP has issued a further recall of laptop batteries. This comes after the company recalled 50,000 batteries, and that came in the wake of a 101,000 battery recall during the previous year. This time it’s because of concerns over “fire and burn hazards.” The company had …

OnePlus 6T – Review

  Review device specs Price: £529 Mirror Black 8GB RAM 128 GB Storage Snapdragon 845 chipset 16 and 20-megapixel dual cameras Android 9 pie running oxygen OS 9.0.11 December 2018 security patch Good Points: Lightening fast Great battery life Oxygen OS close to stock Android Gorgeous screen Specs …

Manchester becomes the UK’s first 5G-connected airport

If you’re heading to Manchester Airport soon, check out the new Vodafone 5G trial area. You can test the new lightning speeds by grabbing a film or TV box set using the 5G technology. Further locations are coming soon, but if you’re at the airport you can now …

1TB Storage chips produced by Samsung

Samsung have announced that they’ll be offering the world’s first 1TB eUFS (embedded Universal Flash Storage) solution for phone manufacturers, with mass production already underway. This means that phones will soon be able to have one terabyte of storage with a single flash memory chip. That means no …

Unlimited Everything for £20 a month – on Three

During the Black Friday sales last November, I managed to bag a cracking SIM only deal from mobile provider Three. The deal is you get unlimited calls, texts, data and tethering for just £20 a month, and now the deal is back for an unspecified amount of time. This …