Category: Gadgets & Tech

Put your shades on and get some POV action – Sunnycam Activ

Over three years ago now we reviewed these Hyundai sunglasses. They had a “hidden” camera up front which meant that you could secretly record “stuff”. I tried it on a summers evening whilst cycling and the results were a little low-quality and bumpy. However, fast forward to CES …

SanDisk launch a super-speed 256GB microSD card

Think your microSD card is big enough? Think again. Over in Las Vegas, SanDisk have just revealed their new 256GB Ultra microSD card. It boasts transfer speeds of up to 95MB/s and you can have the additional storage it provides presented as preferred or adoptable storage on Android. …

Video meeting at work? Use your phone.

Christmas is over for yet another year but, over the New Year too, you’ll probably be keeping in touch with friends and relatives. The modern way to do this, even for those who aren’t technically familiar, is via a video call. On Android you’ll probably be using Skype …

Gamevice – Making gaming on iPads fun!

Back in March at the Gadget Show Live event, I got to meet the Gamevice team where they introduced me to their Gamevice Live adapter for the iPad. At the time, they didn’t have an adapter for the iPad Air until the past couple of months. The adapter …

Spy Lantern Surveillance Camera – Review

Having a security camera on your house can be a good and bad thing. Sure, you can keep an eye on things, but it’s also a sign that you want to keep something protected, and thieves might target your house because it’s got cameras hanging off it. So …

Three Home-Fi routers – More detail

Yesterday we mentioned the new high-speed internet which has arrived in Hebron, courtesy of Three UK. The network gave away free “Home-Fi” routers to residents so that they could at last get the fast broadband they’ve long needed. We didn’t know at the time what make the routers …

Excuse me, but my dog is calling

So. I’m not totally sure where to begin with this one. I’ll sum it up in one sentence if I can. It’s a camera that you stick fairly low down on your wall that will let you video call your dog. Yeah. Not only that, but if you …

V88 Plus TV Box – Review

Back in the “old days” we used to have photos on film. We then sent them off to get processed and we’d get them back on nice paper and we’d put them into albums. Now, we have smartphones and we have our photos stored either in a “cloud” …

Pay at the Pump, and get drunk!

Unless you’re trying to use the M6 Toll, a lot of places will now let you pay for stuff using your phone. With 1 in 5 payments now made via contactless, it seems to be the future. Transactions of up to £30 can be “tapped” and won’t need …

Amazon completes first drone delivery.

Remember about three years ago when retail giant Amazon announced that it was going to deliver your parcels by air,  using drones? Oh how we giggled. Well, that day has just drawn a step closer.  Following a trial in Cambridge, the company has  completed the first Amazon Prime …

Why is wireless charging not more popular?

Our smartphones are like our own personal assistants. They help remind us of the things we usually forget. They help us record beautiful memories we experience every single day. And of course, they help us get in touch and stay connected with our loved ones. Your smartphone helps …

Wireless Urbanista Seattles!

Every now and again, a press release will be sent to Coolsmartphone Towers and we will all cheer! Well, today I was the one cheering with the launch of Wireless versions of the Seattle on-ear headphones from Urbanista. We covered the wired version earlier this year, and they …

So, you’re going abroad and want to stay in touch huh?

It’s the season to be jolly, but not everyone gets to be at home with their family. If you’re in a different country, whether it be because of work, holiday or you just don’t like your family very much, you’ll probably be huddled around a WiFi access point …

OneAdaptr FlipDuo & FlipPower Review

Traveling with bulky power adaptors and chargers is a complete nightmare. Each company wants to use it’s own connection, Micro USB, Mini USB, Lighting Adaptor etc etc. The only thing that seems to follow any form is the fact they all require a USB plug. In the UK …

Festive Feature – LOPOO Christmas Decoration Kit

About 14 years ago I started reviewing phones. Now I’m reviewing Christmas tree decorations and, if I’m honest, I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. Either way, it’s the time to get festive. If you’ve just been up to the loft and grabbed your decorations …

Goodbye Pebble – it’s all over

Of all the smartwatches on the market, Pebble is my favourite. I backed the original pebble on Kickstarter and have bought every one since, including the latest Pebble 2 with heart rate. You can have a look at my review here. I have backed the newest Pebble Time 2 …

Capture and clone contactless cards easily. Dodgy as.

I saw this particular item appear on a promoted tweet this morning and had to check I wasn’t going mad. For just over £126, it’ll capture your tap-to-pay card information and will then clone it. The result, after just a few minutes carrying the thing on the tube, …

Coffee-powered pictures

Fancy a coffee mug that can display pictures on the side? No batteries required? Well, that’s what you’ve got here and they’ve decided to call it a “Muki”. They even pronounce it “mucky” too. Available online from PauligShop.com, this has an e-ink which lets you “communicate with your …

How to be an idiot

Another day and yet another driver being a complete melon with a smartphone. This time it’s a full lesson on what not to do at the wheel. Holding a phone, filming yourself, speeding at around 116mph and switching between the front and back camera for added effect. Not …

Smanos launch ‘UFO Panoramic Wi-Fi HD’ Camera in the UK

A while ago, I carried a review of the Smanos Wireless home alarm which you can view here. Well smart home security experts, Smanos, launched their quirky UFO Panoramic Wi-Fi HD Camera today as a new addition to its comprehensive range of easy-to-use smart home security products. The …

Explore a Marriott hotel, before you get there

Traditional shops have a bit of a problem, and it was brought into sharp focus during the Black Friday sales. People are, unfortunately, a bit lazy and a bit time poor. Shopping online, via a smartphone, is an easy solution. There’s cash-back deals and vouchers which help to …

Urbanista launch Wireless Earphones range – Berlin

Urbanista, the very popular Swedish brand here at Coolsmartphone towers are at it again. Their latest series which was launched in October called the Berlin, is coming to Coolsmartphone for video review. In the meantime, they are available in white, black, rose gold and blue petroleum, the Berlin …

flic – The Smart Button

Who needs a fancy home gadget with flashy lights when some folk like the simplicity of a button! Not any old button, but a smart button! Let me introduce you to flic, the world’s smartest portable button which can connect to pretty much anything in a smart connected …

Even these would make Clark Kent look cool – Vue Smart Glasses

Hurrah! Not a Cyber Monday / Black Friday / Super Sale post! Instead, a Kickstarter project which I recently stumbled across. Real smart glasses! Not weird looking Google Glass ones, but practical glasses with built-in benefits. The glasses case is even a wireless charging unit! These glasses can …

The mobile entertainment and gaming box, now less than £90

The GEM Box we mentioned earlier is now appearing in stores and you can go and buy your family a festive gift which will benefit everyone in the household. At less than £100, it’ll give you instant access to YouTube, Netflix and you can mirror your Android screen …

Black Friday … Flippin’ ‘eck

Right. We’ve just about to explode with the amount of Black Friday deals that have been dropped into our mailbox. Black Friday apparently lasts for well over a week now, but as we actually get close to the actual day we’re seeing some of the best ones. First …

Eve V 2 in 1 sells out in under 3 hrs!

I have been glued to a community forum for the past few days, and… I think I may have a problem. However, the reason for this is due to the fact that the Eve V 2 in 1 (Surface competitor) was launching. Well, it launched on Monday at …

The best media streaming devices of 2016

As the internet continues to become more prevalent in day-to-day life, so too does the role of tech gadgets. We now use smartphones, tablets, laptops and other devices to perform a myriad number of functions that in years past required individual, separate devices. From basic math calculations to …

New Snapdragon chipsets announced   

At the last 4G/5G summit hosted in Hong Kong, Mobile chip giant Qualcomm unveiled its latest mid-range chipsets, the Snapdragon 400 and Snapdragon 600 ranges. The Snapdragon 427 replaces the current budget Snapdragon 425, and improvements for the Snapdragon 427 chipset include the inclusion of Qualcomm’s X9 LTE …

Microsoft Office on your Chromebook? Get ready to pay.

As more and more Chromebooks are being granted access to the Google Play Store and the millions of apps within, people are trying to activate their copy of Microsoft Office for Android. Unfortunately, they’re finding out that a subscription to Microsoft Office 365 is required, especially if your …

Blackberry to make one more physical keyboard device

It’s no real surprise that when to comes to mobile devices with physical keyboards, Blackberry were the industry leaders. But despite this the company slowly declined, beginning with the company ending the use their own Operating System, and then not even producing devices, but using rebranded TCL devices (well hello, …

WhatsApp Messenger to incorporate two-factor authentication

Surprisingly, up to now, Whatsapp Messenger – which is probably one of the biggest messaging services in the world, hasn’t supported two-factor authentication. Well, that was until now. People that are using the latest beta version of Whatsapp are starting to see the option to turn on this …

Pebble 2 Smartwatch – Review

I was one of the Kickstarter backers for the original Pebble smartwatch back in 2012. I still actually own that too. Shortly after I purchased the Pebble Steel. However, when the colour Pebble Time watches appeared, I fell out of love with them. I thought the new colour ePaper interface was a …

Venturer Windows 2-in-1 Notebooks get updated

Premium audio and video manufacturer, Venturer, previously brought us the successful BravoWin and EliteWin 2-in-1 affordable notebooks. These were released here in the UK earlier this year. Today they’ve announced their new models – the BravoWin S and EliteWin S. Both Mini Notebooks have a stylish new build with a …