Author: John M
Welcome to The Coolsmartphone Podcast episode 153. In this episode John looks at the recent Apple Launch event including: WatchOS 2 The iPad Pro The Apple Pencil The New ‘Wiiesk’ Apple TV The iPhone 6s The iPhone 6s Plus A new way to buy your iPhone John also …
Technology doesn’t have to be be dull, in fact it can become a fashionable accessory to your life, a little extension of your personality or just great to look at. A great example of a company trying to inject a little style into a our technology packed world …
So that’s another Apple iPhone event done and dusted, and after saying on the Podcast that Apple needed to impress – I think it’s fair to say that they delivered a great event, where the iPhone may not have been the star is the show. Here’s what went …
Welcome to the Coolsmartphone Podcast episode 153. In this episode John is joined by Gary – live from Berlin for this IFA special. Gary discusses the highlights of the show including: The Tado Smart Thermostat The Sony Xperia Z5 range The Huawei Mate S & Huawei Smart Watch The …
The ‘Worlds First True Android PC’ – The Remix Mini – has successfully concluded its KickStarter Campaign, raising $1,647,155 in funding, and is set for an October launch. Unsurprisingly running Jide’s Remix OS, the Remix Mini provides a multi-tasking windowed environment and the ability to connect the PC to …
As discussed on this week’s Podcast, many people have been looking for ways to get Android Wear devices working with iOS devices. Fortunately this task has now been made significantly easier thanks to launch of an official iOS Android Wear App. Currently rolling out to Apple App Stores …
Welcome to the Coolsmartphone Podcast episode 152. In this Episode John is joined by Gary and Podcast newcomer Mike to discuss: Mike’s experiences of SmartWatches The News from the Honor and WileyFox launch events including: The currently unnamed Honor Smart Band The WileyFox Swift and Storm How the …
The Original Pac-Man is a true classic, and takes it’s place in Video Game History as one of the all time greats, with simple game play and functional graphics the emphasis was on fun. But how do you take the basic pill & ghost munching concept and bring …
Welcome to the Coolsmartphone Podcast episode 151. In this special summer holiday (umbrellas at the ready) episode of the Podcast John is interested in finding out which items of technology first made a lasting impression on members of the Coolsmartphone team & also some tech savvy friends of …
IFA is nearly upon us, and rumours on what to expect from the event are starting to reach us. The latest news (from a reliable source) involves several devices which Sony are expected to announce at the event. These are the Z5, Z5 Compact and the Z5 Ultra. …
PlayStation Now is Sony’s Game Streaming Service aimed at providing a library of PlayStation games to internet connected devices. PlayStation Now works by performing all the processing on a centrally hosted server and streaming the images to your device, whilst collecting your input and sending it back to …
It’s that time of year when the speculation regarding the next major Apple iPhone event (and the tech highlight of this writers year) starts to become common place….it’s almost as if everyone is desperate for tech news to dig their teeth into. It would seem that various tech …
In April this year, EE ran a successful promotional giveaway of its Power Bar mobile device charger. The useful gadget was so popular that the demand itself made the tech news pages. However, following a few incidents involving overheating units, EE have taken the decision to recall a specific batch …
Welcome to the Coolsmartphone Podcast episode 150. In this slightly more serious than usual episode, Gary, Matteo & John meet to discuss the weeks new devices including: The Motorola launch event (Matteo was there) The Moto X Style The Moto X Play The New Moto G Motor Maker How …
Welcome to the Coolsmartphone Podcast episode 149. In this Special Interview Episode John sits down with the popular and highly respected tech journalist Kate Russell, to discuss: How Kate initially made the move into tech journalism. The impact that Elite on the BBC Micro had on her life. …
Welcome to the Coolsmartphone Podcast episode 148. In this episode of the Podcast, Khellan, Matteo & John sit down around the virtual table to discuss: The Launch of Apple Pay and which banks are initially on board The subtle launch of the new iPod Touch Range, and how they may …
Welcome to the Coolsmartphone Podcast episode 147. In this episode of the Podcast, Leigh, Gary & John sit down around the virtual table to discuss: The quality of the Xperia Z4 Tablet Lee’s ongoing software issues with the Samsung Galaxy S6 Rumours about Microsoft preparing to ditch Windows Phone The …
Earlier today Apple released iOS 8.4 featuring the long awaited new Apple Music service. Combining your iTunes library, a music streaming service and the new Beats 1 radio station, Apple have fired a shot across the bow of the current market leaders in audio services, and set out …
Update – If you are having problems with your iStick on iOS9 please check out this article It doesn’t seem to matter how much storage you have in your smartphone, it never seems to be quite enough. Some smartphones allow you to use memory cards to increase storage, but as …
Welcome to the Coolsmartphone Podcast episode 146. Yes, it’s Monday. In this very special episode of the Podcast we have a chat with a very special guest – James Pearce. James has performed a fantastic job as the regular CoolSmartPhone podcast host for a such a long time …
The SIM-only market continues to remain popular. It allows users to purchase a handset outright, pay less per month and generally have shorter contact periods Today EE have announced new 30 day and 12 month SIM-only plans ranging from £9.99 to £31.99 per month, further details of which are shown …
Well here’s a thing…. We know that smartphone s and their interactive personal assistants are becoming more intelligent, but now they can inform you exactly how bad, or – if you are extremely lucky – good, the food you are eating is for you. Imagine you are in …
Hitman is one of the big name brands in gaming and provided one of the smash mobile hits of last year with Hitman Go, and now Square Enix Montreal brings Hitman Sniper to the small screen. Sharing similarities with the PC game of the same name and taking …
Kids using technology is a great thing, modern devices are so intuitive that they can be picked up and used by even toddlers, allowing them to play, create and learn in fun and exciting ways. Kids using technology is also a very scary thing as the little horrors …
I like mobile photography and for me it’s one of the most important purposes of a Smartphone, so I’m always looking for new ways in which to manage my photos. Last week at I/O 2015, Google announced Google Photos for both Android and iOS platforms. It caught me …
My smartphone forms a central part of my life. It helps manage and organise my time, it helps me communicate and is my main entertainment hub. This is why for me smartphones and music are synonymous. Whether you store your music on your device or choose to stream your …
Periscope has been been finding quite a following recently. It’s all over Twitter and it’s made by… Twitter. The app allows iPhone users to broadcast a live video stream around the world from their phone. However, despite being released by Twitter themselves, the app is only available for …
Playing a musical instrument can be a fantastic creative activity and a fun pastime, but the level of skill required can make it non-inclusive. Enter Beamz, a smart laser beam driven MIDI device that connects to your PC or iOS device to provide a simple & interactive way …
Beyond accessing radio stations through apps on my iPhone, internet radio was a new concept that I had never really considered. So, when I was given to opportunity to test the Grace Digital Mondo Internet Radio, I was keen to see what it offered. Complete with a catalogue …
The Phone Buddy is a simple idea that caught my eye recently at The Gadget Show Live 2015 event. One of the problems I frequently encounter is horrendously tangled headphone wires. Whenever I put (ok throw) my headphones into my bag they always come out in a knotted mess, …
Big brand names are starting to become commonplace in the App Store, but adapting home console games for the mobile arena presents challenges, on both a technical and gameplay level. Different developers have chosen different methods to face this conversion challenge. From identical ports such as BioShock and Skylanders trap time …
There are a vast number of fitness products available on the market, each trying to stand out from the crowd with its own target audience. I’ve tried a number of products in the past and had some success, but ultimately having to use a mix of ecosystems and …
And more importantly – what’s the point? I’ve personally never understood the need for a SmartWatch. Perhaps it’s because of the reported short battery life on some models, or it’s because I’m never separated from my phone, but I never really ‘got it’. However, I’ve become aware that the …
The quality of camera phones is generally very good, especially on high end models. However, with a few exceptions, significant changes in magnification normally requires software-based image manipulation when on a smartphone. There are a few options available for altering lenses on phones, and one that impressed me …
Following my visit to this years Gadget Show Live show, I’m going to share my views on those products that impressed me the most. As listeners to our podcast will be aware my favourite product came in the unexpected form of a smartphone case. Traditionally I’ve always preferred …
Over recent years The Gadget Show Live Exhibition has become one of major consumer technology shows on the calendar, attracting thousands of visitors through its doors. The appeal of the show is obvious – a great venue in the Birmingham NEC, access to the TV shows presenters and …
iFit is one of the most popular fitness brands, and today they have formally announced that their services will be integrated into the Sony SmartWatch 3. iFit provides a complete fitness ecosystem to try and mentor you to a healthier lifestyle and they partner with well-known companies such as …
I’ve always been a fan of the OnLive service with its ability to stream cloud hosted PC games to mobile devices, computers and smart TVs. It seemed like a natural progression in gaming technology. So it was with a little sadness that I heard that it was announced …
Once upon a time our gadgets weren’t particularly complicated or vibrant and their batteries used to last for what seemed to be a life time from a single charge. Then tech got smart, connected and colourful and battery management became important, shortly followed by battery anxiety. It’s happened …
Music plays such a varied role in our lives, it can be fun, it can be serious, it evokes emotion, we listen to it alone and we listen to it to be sociable and often the environment we are dictates how we consume our media. Of course and …
