Category: Accessories

Easily control your home appliances with your phone

Controlling stuff around the home with one of those funky home automation things does seem quite daunting, but this doo-hickey seems like a pretty good and simple solution. It plugs into any electrical socket and, using a smartphone app, lets you flick appliances on or off. The WiSPP …

RHA Announce new T10i Earphones

Regular readers will be aware of my love for almost any product that has been produced by RHA. From their budget MA150 earphones to the more high end MA600i‘s the product range offers faithful audio reproduction and quality.  In fact almost a year after reviewing them, the MA600i’s are …

LG G3 Otterbox Symmetry Case – Review

Owning a flagship device is tough sometimes, the constant anguish over potentially smashing your phone into dozens of pieces is a daily problem for me and as such I always try and buy the most rugged and tough case I can find for my lovely phone. With my …

Taking a ride with the READYACTION chest harness

Morning all. How’s your Tuesday? Put your hands up if you remember our piece about the READYACTION chest harness? We showed how it worked in an all-action video of my kitchen. Oh yes. Rock ‘n ROLL! However, there’s a lot more potential in the READYACTION kit, and this …

Travelcard Charger – Review

Back in March I did a small post about a portable battery pack, I was keeping an eye on over on Kickstarter, called the Travelcard Charger (see here), anyway I finally got my unit through, so after popping it on charge I thought I would give it a …

Solar Technology Freeloader Solar Charger – Review

There are many constants within life, one being that the sun will rise every single day, providing us with warmth and energy. The other most important constant in life is that your phone will probably need charging at some point in every single day of your life. Solar …

Samsung announce the 3G equipped Gear S smartwatch

Wearables are a hot topic at the moment and Samsung are approaching them with their usual approach, i.e a new device every few months. The new Samsung Gear S delivers an up-to-date smart wearable experience with 3G connectivity and wearable optimized features to meet the evolving needs of …

Give your phone or tablet a Snuggle

Getting a cover for your phone isn’t always easy. Finding one for your handset is one challenge, then getting a colour or style to suit your personality is another struggle. My wife, who is pretty brand-aware and (like most women) fashion-concious, wants to get an iPhone. She doesn’t, …

Going on holiday? Don’t forget to use protection

Some months ago I wrote up a review of this TouchAbility waterproof case. If I remember correctly I splashed it with water, got the hose-pipe on it and gave it some positive feedback. However, it’s rare that reviewers get enough time to do a full-on test. Say, for …

A screen cover to convert your display to 3D without glasses

Getting 3D on your phone usually means either buying a totally new 3D handset or using some sort of glasses that make you look insane. This, though, kills two birds with one stone. Firstly, it’s a great screen protector for your iPhone, and secondly it’ll make your screen …

Android powered motorcycle helmet

After looking on the crowd funding site Indigogo, the following really grabbed my attention. I’ve ridden a motorcycle for 30 years and a I’m a self-confessed geek. So, the Skully Android powdered helmet appears to have answered my prayers. Skully Systems has started taking pre-orders for the Skully …

Aces of Luftwaffe review

I don’t normally review games for smart phones as I don’t normally play them but this one caught my attention in a big way so I figured what the hell.   The premise of the game is very simple it is a top down rolling shooter that as …

HP reveal their luxury Smartwatch

Designed in collaboration with fashion designer Michael Bastian and retailer Gilt, HP has announced the company is going to release its first smartwatch later this year. The watch features a circular face with a diameter of a 44m, making it far more smaller than the Moto 360 and puts it …

Watch out, I have a Ninja in my pocket

This is an £8.99 metal credit-card-sized ..err.. card which has 18 different uses. A lot of those 18 are screwdrivering and nut tightening. In our tests it screws and tightens my nuts fine. Not a problem there. It’ll also open letters, which is probably ideal for those people …

Inateck Bluetooth speaker review

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 the …

My Kronoz smartwatch – A cheaper alternative

It’s not quite the full-on Android Wear watch you’d expect, but it is somewhere quite close. This, the Kronz watch, will let you take and reject calls from your smartphone and it’ll also alert you when your phone is out of range so that you don’t forget it. …

Want a Ninja in your wallet? Check this out

Beer. Great isn’t it? Especially in this weather. Lovely, lovely beer. However, if I do ever manage to get a bottle into our house undetected I usually end up on a long hunt for the bottle opener. The same thing happens if we’re out camping, and it’s never …

Harness the power of the sun via your smartphone

The press release on this one starts off with quite a positive vibe… In case you hadn’t heard, it’s currently hotter than Barbados outside Well, yes. According to the news this morning it is, but I’d still rather be in Barbados. Never mind though, you’ve got my attention …

Inateck 4 port USB Desktop Charger – Review

My night time ritual goes something like this, put the cat out lock the doors make sure all the windows are closed and then walk around the house looking like Mr T from the A-Team with a multitude of charger leads and plugs round my neck, as I …

LG G3 QuickCircle Snap-on case now available

You read our LG G3 review, right? If you liked it, bought one, want to keep it in good condition and you’re looking for a case, give this a whirl. The highly sought after official QuickCircle Snap-on case has arrived at Mobile Fun this morning and this is …

A big-screen solution for any smartphone

Smartphones are great, no argument there, but there’s a bit of a problem. Most people like a phones with a screen between 4″ and 4.7″, then you’re edging into phablet and then tablet territory. Devices of this size are great too, but you end up with a bigger …

Screw this in, make a noise and light up your life

Ask any Coolsmartphone reader and they’ll tell you that they love playing with their bulbs. Fiddling with them until they go a funny colour is a particularly popular pastime, so MIPOW have created this, the “PLAYBULB”. Ta-daaarrr!!!! For £59.99 you get more than just a light bulb. This …

Blacksmith Labs leather case review

A little while back I was emailed asking if I would like to review a leather case for a company. My initial reaction was a bit “Meh”, but then I got sent pictures and I suddenly changed my tune. I jumped at the chance. The Blacksmith Labs cases are beautiful. …

New clip-on Bluetooth speaker from JBL

In case you’re wondering, these are definitely made by JBL and they shouldn’t be confused with the perils at JML who make mops and strange foot massage things … Further details below, or get it next month from Currys, John Lewis, Amazon UK and the JBL website.

Megalo Mini hits target, mini charger going into production soon

No! Must resist the urge to mention another Kickstarter campaign! Oh wait, this one has already been featured here and they’ve now reached and breached the funding goal, so it’ll be in production and you should be seeing it soon. The Megalo Mini is basically a tiny charger …

Gunnar Optics Glasses review

I know what you are thinking. I have clearly lost my marbles. Maybe you’re right, but not with regard to this review. The reason I found these interesting is that I work in front of a computer screen all day, and I regularly end up with pretty sore …

Cheap physical button for your audio hole

Just a few days ago we published our look at Pressy. It is, if you’ve not spotted our updates, a button which sits in your 3.5mm audio jack and lets you quickly access apps or functions on your phone. Now, how about getting one that’s almost the same …

Google Cardboard – The cheap virtual reality headset

Remember our review of the Luckies Smartphone Projector ? It’s a rather clever cardboard construction which will send the image from your smartphone screen over to a wall or another flat surface. On the whole it worked jolly well and you can see our review here. However, the …

Garmin Vivofit Fitness Tracker – Review

Wearables are very much the “in thing” at present. It is pretty much a free-for-all as to what they do and what their purpose should be. This is pretty interesting state of affairs because, due to the fact that everyone is having a shot at wearables, it means …

Pressy the Android Button – app and hardware review

Pressy, the Almighty Android Button, is a great example of a successful Kickstarter campaign. It was one of those simple ideas that really caught peoples imagination and the aimed for project goal of $40,000 was obliterated!  On the close date of 14th October 2013 the total raised was …

Waterproof headphones ODOYO that really are waterproof

I know what you need. Waterproof earphones, that’s what you need. I’ve lost count of the times that my in-ear buds have got wet and broken… …errr… OK so that’s never happened, but if you’ve hankering for a pair, these ODOYO EP900i earphones are available for £25 from …

Huawei TalkBand B1 puts an interesting spin wearable tech

The Huawei TalkBand B1 got a showing during Mobile World Congress this year. It’s both thin and light with a 0.3mm-thick OLED screen on top which lets you keep in touch with “your daily life”. A quick 2-hour charge will keep the device going for an impressive 6 …

Get yourself a free Chromecast

Now, as is usual in our wonderful consumer society, you’re not getting the free Google TV dongle without at least buying something else first. The deal is by waiku and no, we’ve not heard of them either. They’re an online video service and, provided you buy one of …

Rugged rukus – Solar powered Bluetooth music

A Bluetooth speaker powered by the sun? That sounds pretty cool. The makers tell us that 5 hours of sunshine will keep the battery going for 8 hours too, so when the sun goes down you can still listen to that classic Rick Astley tune. OK, at £89.99 …

Garmin Vivofit unboxing

What do we have here then? A wearable that doesn’t need to be charged everyday? Is that possible ? I have been really excited to get this gadget. This, for me, is where wearables become useful. The big thing that holds them back is the fact that you …

The clip-on USB cable, now available

Remember those tiny USB connection cables from Nomad? They’re now adding to their range and have just launched this, the NomadClip It’s the size and shape of a carabiner. Yes, a carabiner. I had to look it up, but it’s basically one of those clip things you’ll use …

What’s on the end of your stick? Oh, it’s your phone.

Yes, you really are seeing this. That “joke picture” circling around the internet featuring a guy holding his phone on the end of a stick is an actual product. It’s called the Me-Shot Deluxe and, to be fair, is a bit more than just a big stick. A …