Author: John M

Welcome to the Coolsmartphone Podcast Episode 170. In this episode John is joined by Matteo and Khellan to discuss: The Apple iPhone SE and it’s potential in the market place. The launch of the Huawei P9 & P9 Plus, featuring a special report by Leigh who was live blogging …

Welcome to the Coolsmartphone Podcast Episode 169. In this episode John is joined by Matteo and a special guest Hugh Oneill (a VR Evangelist) to discuss: The various HR systems on the market and the differences between them including: The HTC Vive, the Gear VR, The Oculus Rift, and Playstation …

So size does seem to matter in Apple’s world after all it seems. Following a couple of years increasing their screen sizes, they have now announced a couple of downsized versions of their most popular devices. They are the new iPhone SE and an iPad Pro with a smaller …

Do you long to play classic Gameboy games on your iPhone or other iOS device? Do you want to experience classic games from a simpler time for the first time? Then here’s a solution for you! In comparison to Android, due to Apple’s strict App store guidelines, emulation on …

Welcome to the Coolsmartphone Podcast Episode 168. In this episode John is joined by Majid and Matteo to discuss the latest technology and smartphone news including: The developer preview of Android N, it’s features and the know issues with it. The HTC M10 and our thoughts on how …

I love it when I get to review Action Cams and enter the Kitvision Escape 4KW. Action Cams are great, they allow us to capture our must rugged of family adventures, and as technology advances the price has dropped making them readily available to a wider audience.  Yes I …

Welcome to the Coolsmartphone Podcast Episode 167 – The MWC follow up Podcast. In this Episode whilst Lee is unfortunately still sat on an air plane, a returning Gary joins John and Khellan to feedback on his first hand experiences of MWC 16. This weeks topics for discussion includes: …

Welcome to the Coolsmartphone Podcast Episode 166 – The Special MWC Road Trip Report. This is the first of this weeks special Mobile World Congress Podcasts and our roaming reporters Gary and Leigh have sent in their initial reports. In this episode along with their MWC thoughts,  Leigh …

Just prior to MWC fully kicking off, Alcatel have made a couple of announcements. Firstly, they’ve changed their name. Alcatel Onetouch is no more, and they’re now just going to be called “Alcatel”. They’ve also revealed a new logo, which apparently “reflects the engagement of the brand with …

If you have listened to this week’s podcast, (if not, stop right now and listen here) you will be aware that we are currently trying to raise awareness of mental well-being issues after the experiences of our man Dan. Virtual Reality  is a bit of a buzzword in …

Update – The Competition is now closed guys – Honor will be in touch with the winners in the very near future. The 10 winners are:  J Boshell, D Martin, J Begum, P Miranda, D Thornton, I Gregson , R Toms, W Spendlove, P Alfano, K Subashov  – enjoy your prize guys. We all love the Honor …

The first Linx tablets shook up the market place when they were first released, they were available in 3 screen sizes, offering good Windows performance at a very reasonable price, they were also easily upgradable to Windows 10. Consumers no longer had to spend a fortune on Windows …

Welcome to the Coolsmartphone Podcast Episode 165 – a Very Special Episode. Most of us know ‘our man’ Dan, he’s been a regular writer with Coolsmartphone.com for several years, and a real part of the very fabric of the site. To be fair he’s probably one of the …

Here’s a neat option of those who like to listen their music whilst they exercise; the Trail Sports Wireless Earbuds from KitSound. The Age Old Problem I was cautious when approaching this review as I generally don’t get on well with earbuds, but in for a penny, in for a …

Welcome to the Cool Smartphone Podcast Episode 164, where John is joined by Gary and Matt to chat about the latest mobile news. In this episode we discuss: The Moto X Force The Lumia 950 XL & how it compares to the £40 Blu 4.5″ JR The recent Apple earnings call …

As Microsoft launch the new flagship Lumia 950 XL, it’s easy to forget the other end of the smartphone market, for example the BLU Win 4.5″ JR which was recently available for just under £40 from Amazon, but what do you actually get for your money a decent …

Here at CoolSmartPhone Towers, most of us enjoy a spot of gaming, but as the mobile gaming arena is a bit dull at the moment and as remote gaming is becoming more popular, we are going to start looking at mainstream console and PC games that make an …

Welcome to the Cool Smartphone Podcast Episode 163, the first episode of 2016 following our Christmas break. In this episode John is joined by Majid and Gary Weldon from March of the Droids. In this episode we discuss: March of the Droids 2016 – one of the most …

Update 15/01/16 – You can download the Android App to watch the David Haye fight in VR and 360 Degree video here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.im360.davidhaye Whilst recording this weeks Podcast we became aware of some Breaking News that just been announced by top British boxer David Haye. Tonight David Haye …

When I reviewed the iStick back in June, while the software needed a little refining, I could clearly see the benefit of being able to copy media from an iOS device to a USB-equipped memory stick. However, the recent Apple update to iOS9 stopped the iStick from working with no …

With the start of every new year comes a time for reflection, so a number of the Coolsmartphone team and a couple of friends of the site have taken this opportunity to provide a personal insight into their favourite technology of 2015. So the Camera Apps came out and we each …

Welcome to the Cool Smartphone Podcast Episode 161. In this special episode John, Matteo & Gary are joined by Wilkin and our old friend James from Honor UK. In the Interview Honor discuss how they have set up their brand in the uk and also give a little …

It’s that time of year again when we start looking to buy Christmas gifts for our loved ones, and I’m sure for some of you, technology and gadgets will feature heavily. There’s the small chance that some of you haven’t managed to get Christmas presents yet, but over …

Welcome to Episode 160 of the CoolSmartPhone Podcast. In this episode John is joined by Matteo (with a guest appearance by Gary) for tech filled chat as they discuss a number of topics including: Matteo’s awesome appearance on All About Android Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Nexus 6P One Plus X The …

This is a different sort of wearable. It’s winter, the cold weather is on the way and most of us will turn to hats to keep our heads warm. Trouble is, hats make it difficult to listen to our music using traditional headphones. What’s that I hear you …

The set-up. The days of relying on traditional (and expensive) photography film are long gone. Now precious memories can be captured using consumer device in high-quality video and pictures. To put some of the latest devices to the test, I set out with my son, his go kart, …

Welcome to Episode 159 of the CoolSmartPhone Podcast. Is  this Episode Gary & Matteo join John for an early evening discussion and cover several exciting topics including: Matteo’s recent trip to the Big Android BBQ Gary’s opinion on the State on Sony following the release of the Xperia …

After raising a serious truck-load of cash on Indiegogo, TrackR was born. It’s a small, coin-shaped device which you can attach to your keys, stick in your wallet or put on your handbag. Working with an app, it shows you where your things are and also works in …

When you see someone filming with their smartphone, name the thing that annoys you more than anything. It’s probably this… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt9zSfinwFA Filming stuff the wrong way around. It’s criminal. Worst of all is when someone starts filming in portrait and then turns the phone 90 degrees whilst it’s …

For those of you that listen to the Coolsmartphone Podcast, you have probably picked up on the less than subtle suggestion that I’m somewhat of an Apple fan boy. Guilty as Charged. I’ve been an iPhone user for a long time, and no device in the past has …

Welcome to the Coolsmartphone Podcast Episode 158. In this ‘As Live‘ Episode John and Gary sit down for an early evening chat about several topics including: Changes to UK legislation requiring service providers to store our on-line activity, and we really want to hear from our listeners and readers what …

Some times a little bit of style goes along way in the consumer tech industry, and the new Executive Power Bank from Kit certainly has plenty of style but does it have the substance to go with it?   Styled to look like an iDevice, the Power Bank …

Filofax is a well-known brand name associated with traditional paper-based diaries and personal organisers. Filofax products were always high-quality but there may be a natural assumption that their target audience shrank due to electronic portable replacements. But in order to remain relevant, Filofax have diversified into tech cases. …

Welcome to the Coolsmartphone Podcast episode 156. In this hour-long episode of the Podcast, John, Khellan & Matteo  gather to discuss: The HTC One A9 The Honor 7 The Sony Xperia Z5 – with a very special guest appearance by Garry The rumoured Microsoft Distribution model The end of …

Smartwatches are starting to diversify. Each manufacturer is trying to carve out their niche in the market, and the Zing Smartwatch aims to provide a fashionable, modern, and fun approach to the wearable market. Let’s get Social The Zing is an activity tracker designed for the social generation. …

I’ve had the opportunity to test several KitSound devices over the past year and generally I’ve always come away with a positive impression. I listen to a lot of music and a good pair of headphones is important to me, so how will the KitSound Manhattan headphones compare …

Welcome to the Coolsmartphone Podcast episode 155. In this ‘As Live‘ episode John is joined by Gary, and Khellan  on the evening after Google’s Nexus Event as the gang settle down and discuss: The apparently very impressive iPhone sales figures The Pixel C The Nexus 5X The Nexus …

This week has seen the release of FIFA 16, the annual evolution of the nation’s favourite football game. But this year there is an odd omission – the lack of mobile console versions. Traditionally, FIFA has always been available on as many formats as practically possible but this …

Traditionally most of us have the expectation that watches are a certain shape – circular. For a while, smartwatches struggled to accommodate this traditional shape until relatively recently when a few Android Wear devices with round faces started to make an appearance. Pebble was an early entry into the …

The ability to remotely control the various gadgets in your home is becoming commonplace. From controlling your DVR from the other side of the world, to perhaps setting your heating to automatically come on when you leave work – there doesn’t seem to be much you can’t control from your smartphone. The …