Category: Gadgets & Tech

Gaming with Android and Windows, Mobile? PGS has an update.

Yes people, I’m learning the Daily Mail-style of click-bait again, in the vein hope that we’ll have enough advertising revenue to pay for the servers this month (sadly, ad-blocking is killing our revenue). OK, long story short. Imagine you want to create a Portable Gaming System. Something running …

Remember the HTC Re ? You can still get something like it..

It was an interesting idea. A camera, without a viewfinder, that you randomly carried around (probably with your camera-packing-phone) and generally pointed in roughly the right direction of whatever you wanted to film. We reviewed the HTC Re a couple of years back but now it’s vanished from …

Perhaps we shouldn’t use our mobile phones while we’re mobile

In an effort to stop people fiddling where their phones whilst driving, the people from the Western Cape Government have taken a slightly different approach. A recent advert appears to have lifted a number of CCTV images showing a phone-relate accidents. There’s people falling into ponds, walking into …

Remix OS ….. He’s dead Jim

It is a story that is oh-so-familiar these days. Along comes a version of an operating system that could be a game changer, it gets praised and supported by those on the cutting edge. Roll on a few years and things have got very quiet with not much …

1MORE H1707 Triple Driver over-ear headphones

In the week the 1MORE triple-drive earbuds drop through the letterbox of Coolsmartphonr Towers, then they drop a news release of over-ear headphones called the H1707. These are a beautiful pair of headphones and a hopeful challenger from China in comparison to Bose and Beats. The headphones feature advanced …

Flic – Smartbutton Review

Last year we had a play with the flic buttons for the first time, now we take another look to see how they have changed. The conversation went something like this Ian, would you like to review a button? A button? Yes but it’s a smart-button. Oooo a …

Menace for Mobike in Manchester

So, here’s the idea. You download either the Android or the iPhone app. You create an account and then, using the app, you find a pushbike in your local area. You scan the code on the bike and off you go. When you’re done, and you’ve reached your …

Why do you need a camera in your car? Watch this..

The idea of having a dashcam would’ve seemed a bit weird some years ago but, with bad drivers and nearly everybody lying about everything nowadays, it’s good to get something that can’t be argued with. Thinkware have just launched their new full HD dashcam, which they call the …

Wanna borrow a car for a bit? Zipcar Flex comes to London

In my head this seems like a strange idea, especially in a city which is already well-known for traffic problems. However, Zipcar is now here in London and they’ve added 300 petrol (don’t ask me why there’s no electric) cars to London streets. Their idea, via the new …

Brainwavz B200 – Review

As recently as last week, we covered the launch of the Brainwavz B200 earbuds which retail at a whopping £156. Not long after that post, the review pair arrived at Coolsmartphone Towers for testing. First impressions? The looked the business. They arrive in a nice box, which included …

Hero Bluetooth earbuds from Winnergear – unboxing and initial thoughts

Fancy yourself as a secret agent or a bodyguard then you will want these Bluetooth earbuds to match your covert activities. Introducing the Hero Bluetooth earbuds from Winnergear.   Just arrived at Coolsmartphone Towers today, the Hero ‘Smallest True Wireless Sports Earbuds’ are gorgeous little beasties and I just had …

RCA tablets – Saturn 10 Pro – Review

  Back in June, we wrote a quick post about some new Android tablets destined for our shores, these being the RCA Saturn 10 Pro and the Mercury 7L. They’re said to be some of the best Android tablets around so I’ve been sent both devices through for …

Carl Zeiss lenses, back in Nokia devices 

Remember the Nokia devices of old? The ones equipped with the high quality ​Zeiss lenses? Together the two combined their skills to produce devices that could take stunning images. Take the 808 PureView for example, a device that still struggles to be beaten even next to the smartphones …

Brainwavz launch dual balanced armature B200 earbuds

The race for high-quality earphones to use with your favourite media player is hotting up this summer already with numerous releases from brands you may not have heard of. The key factors are no longer how the look but how they deliver that rich sound from your MP3s …

1MORE release a new Triple Driver Earbud system

1MORE has been described as China’s equivalent to Beats, which is a big claim but we are always happy to try out new earbuds to go with our mobile phones here at Coolsmartphone HQ. The new earbuds work on a triple driver system which is split into two balanced armatures …

Take a drone, turn everything up to 11, then you get this

Geeez… so, bear with me on this one. Imagine going a little crazy with your credit card one day. Imagine buying about 100 drones, then attaching them all to some scaffolding and putting a deck-chair in the middle of it all and you’ll end up with something like …

Want to record 6 things at once? Sky says sure, OK

Britsh broadcaster Sky has announced that their Sky Q 2 TB boxes will soon be updated in order to be able to record six shows at once, while you can watch a seventh. Now if by some miracle there is actually seven things on at the same time …

Zecti Robot Tripod mini – Review

I don’t know about you but I love taking photos with my phone. Today we have phone cameras that are really rather excellent. They’re right up there with the compact cameras that we used to carry around a few years ago. There is, however, still the long-standing issue of …

RCA Android tablets launch in the UK

Following the successful launch of its 2-in-1 affordable Windows notebooks here in the UK, premium audio and video manufacturer Venturer (both of which I have reviewed here and here) have announced a new range of Android tablets under the RCA branding. RCA is a name new to us …

Return of retro gaming!

Right, I will come right and say this I am old. I can remember a time before the internet, before mobile phones and before the home computer had been invented ! I remember when gaming well that was something you did outside with your mates. I have been …

EE announced as exclusive network partner for Google Home

We review one of these home helpers recently and, although it still has a little way to go (I still find I have to rephrase the odd request), it impressed me greatly. Now, although the magical Google Home speaker will sit on your fridge and connect to your …

ProBox 2 Air PLUS Android TV Box – Review

Last year I carried out a review of a new Android TV streaming box called the Probox 2 Air. You can view it here, which in summary, I was truly impressed with. Well, I’ve been asked if I wanted to review the latest version of this streaming box – …

ICZI 6 Port USB Hub – Review

  It may be that I’m that sort of person, but I’ve always had cables hanging around. Even before I was messing about with computers or mobile phones, there were scart leads and coax cables, RCA cables, speaker cable and the list would probably go on if I …

The Kitvision Immerse 360 Duo 360 Degree Camera – Review

Last November I reviewed the Kitvision Immerse 360 Action Camera for Coolsmartphone.com, and whilst generally my experience was positive, there was still plenty of room for improvement. The Kitvision Immerse 360 Duo is the latest version in the Duo range but does it improve on the original?? Let’s …

Pay for fuel from the comfort of your car

I have a local Shell garage which has just been built​. There are screens mounted on each pump to sell you stuff but what it doesn’t have is a pay at the pump system. Some of their stations do though, and many are now finding it strange to …

Microsoft reveal a Chromebook competitor (almost)

Here at the Coolsmartphone hive of activity, a number of our writers use Chromebooks. I and the editor-in-chief Leigh use them predominately – I must use my Asus Flip easily 95% of the time. The Chromebook has been a runaway success, with it being an inexpensive device with a …

Nissan release a phone killer

You’re driving. The phone beeps. You know you’ve received a notification. It could be something important. It could be about those jeans you ordered, or it could be a Facebook update from someone about a burger they’ve just eaten. You’ll never know, because you’re driving…. ..but you just …

The Echo Look – An outfit decider

My wife can change into several different outfits before deciding in the right one. I’m usually the one who’s asked to help in this decision making, bit despite my advice she’ll change another few times anyway. However, Amazon are looking to replace me with this, the “Echo Look” …

eBook sales on the slide as people switch back to paper

Want to read a book? You might head to Google Play, Amazon Kindle or the iTunes Book Store, right? Well, according to the Publishers Association, less of us are doing this. Although digital sales have increased by 6% to £1.7bn and account for 35% of total revenues, the …

Fitbit activity tracker explodes on users wrist.

ABC News  is reporting on a woman in Wisconsin who’s been the victim of another exploding device. This time it’s a fitness tracker, and happened whilst the wearer – Dina Mitchell – was sitting reading a book. The Fitbit Flex 2 caught fire and explode, causing burns to her …

Galaxy S8 manufacturing costs revealed.

Someone who is far braver than I am over at IHS Markit decided to get hold of the latest flagship from Samsung the Galaxy S8 and take it apart to have a look-see what’s inside. While ferking around, they have decided to do a quick cost breakdown of …

Rejoice! It is World Record Day!

No, this isn’t a post about folk building the highest tower using Nokia 3310 handsets or how many phones they can throw at a cat. In fact, this is a day where we celebrate vinyl records. Yes, a little odd for a website dedicated to mobile phones! Well, …

Leophile Eel Bluetooth headphones now available in the UK too

Remember the Leophile Eel headphones we reviewed? I love the things. Bluetooth headphones that actually work. They’re comfortable, waterproof and stay in your ears properly. The sound isn’t bad either. I still wear them daily. Here’s me wearing them at the beach this morning.. Yes, that was a …

Apple to offer GarageBand, iMovie, and iWork, free to everyone

In the past if you wanted to get your hands on 3 of Apple’s biggest software packages; namely, iMovie, GarageBand, and iWorks (which includes Pages. Numbers and Keynote),  there were two ways. The owners of older Apple devices i.e. pre-2013 had to purchase the apps from the App …

Huawei P10 rugged cases available from Urban Armor Gear

If you’ve got yourself an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy S7 you’ll find it relatively easy to find a case for it. However, if you’ve got a phone made by another manufacturer then it can sometimes be a little tricky to get hold of one. Take, as an …

Hermes testing robot deliveries

So, I’ll let you into a secret here. Getting hold of your eye balls and selling you something is a tricky job. So press teams up and down the land are always dreaming up ways of getting their client on pages like this. Here it’s delivery firm Hermes, …

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 to return as a refurbished device.

According to a statement released by Samsung Mobile, some of the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 devices will be sold as refurbished devices. Samsung also has plans to salvage each other components such as cameras and semiconductors. In addition, they intend on extracting the metal parts from the remaining …

Yes, more Galaxy S8 leaks

If the rumor mill is to be believed, and take it from me it’s in full swing, the reveal of the latest Samsung flagship the Galaxy S8 is less than a week away. And to be honest, it’s pretty hard not to have seen a leak of the …

Venturer PrimePro 12 TS 2-in-1 notebook – Review

A short time ago I carried out a review of the EliteWin S 11KT mini 2-in-1 notebook. It was also created by Venturer, and you can view the full review here. Now the company have sent me through the their latest device, the PrimePro 12TS Good Points:  Good …