Category: Gadgets & Tech

#MWC18 – Come on PanzerGlass, give it a PROPER whack!

On Monday we saw the guys from PanzerGlass hammering their own screen protectors to prove how well they protect your phone. Now, truth is that they do break sometimes, and they’re designed to do that if there’s a really, really hard impact. After all, it’s better to have …

GoXtreme Introduces the ‘Barracuda 4K’ Ultra HD Waterproof Action Cam

Just before Christmas 17, we introduced the GoXtreme Action Camera Vision 4K and we will be hopefully releasing a video on the unit very soon. In the meantime, GoXtreme has announced the Barracuda 4K Ultra HD Waterproof Action Camera. Featuring a touchscreen (which is missing from the Vision 4K) and …

Introducing Hyfit’s Wearable Gym

Companies have been trying to combine fitness with smart devices for quite a few years now and there will be plenty of new products at this year’s MWC in Barcelona. Hyfit is launching a Kickstarter campaign on the 6th March 2018 for their Wearable Gym, which is sponsored …

#MWC18 Gemini PDA from Planet Computers

I have talked about the Gemini PDA on the site before and I am a huge fan of what they are doing. Today I had the chance to get hands-on with a full production unit of it in its Android version. The device has been made of the …

#MWC18 – Want a tiny phone that you can stick in your ear?

I’m always interested in the smaller stands here at Mobile World Congress. The big names have equally big stands, but down in Congress Square you’ll find some new ideas and companies that want to get noticed. As we strolled through we spotted a company called L8Star who had …

DJI Mavic Air unboxing video and first impressions

DJI Mavic Air – intro In his first article and video for Coolsmartdrone.com Coolsmartphone.com, Lukasz unboxes the latest drone from DJI, the Mavic Air, comparing it with other drones, and shares his first impressions and some footage from the beautiful Scottish coast. Let’s get to the headlines first: …

Smart Stand 360 – Review

Good points: Price Build quality Can be fitted to a multitude of devices Lots of stand combinations Choice of colours Bad Points: Adds some bulk Doesn’t adhere to all cases I really like products that are simple in nature, simple to use and do a good job, and …

Boston Dynamics continue to frighten the living heck out of us

Here’s the latest robotic madness from those hugely talented people at Boston Dynamics. With each passing robot they create, things are becoming more natural-looking and intelligent.. Look at the way that “hand” stays poised in the air so statically. Amazing stuff. How long before these turn into robot …

Conbrov Mini Dashcam – Example footage

Following my initial hands-on last week, I’ve now mounted the camera and recorded some footage for you. The tiny 1080p HD dashcam is easy to use and comes with a straightforward menu and navigation system too. It’s available from Amazon for a mere £39.99 right now and, for …

More Galaxy S9 and S9+ details

Samsung is now gearing up to launch the 2018 versions of its flagship Galaxy series, the S9 and the S9+. They have an unpacked event scheduled for the 25th February, which is just prior to this years Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona. Both handsets will be powered by …

So, you want a dashcam, but you don’t want the bulk?

The kind gents at Conbrov sent us a dashcam just recently. Now I’ll admit, it sat in the box for a few days and I didn’t really take a great deal of notice. After all, our “review cupboard” is always bulging. However, today I actually got time to …

VibesAudio VibeRox Sound Engine. Hands-on Review

A few weeks ago I was sent this rather large box which contained a veritable haul of mobile accessories. The box was very kindly sent from a small startup called VibesAudio from America. They had just had their official launch and were very keen to get the review …

Sudio Regent Bluetooth Headphones – Review

Just recently I have been sent through some Sudio Regent Bluetooth wireless headphones for review. Who are Sudio I hear you ask ? Well, they are a Scandinavian audio company based in Stockholm, and their name stems from an incident when one of the founders spotted the musician Phil …

Sky TV. The end of the dish is coming..

It’s good news for those with fast internet connections, but perhaps not an option for those living with poor internet speeds. With Sky already providing on-demand content through their boxes, the company is now looking to put their entire suite of channels online too. That’ll mean that you …

Track your car – Vodafone V-Auto

We’ve previously taken a look at some of the Vodafone findxone kit. Now you can get Vodafone kit that’ll track your car too. This one is called “V-Auto” and it plugs into that special ODB port under your dashboard. Inside is a Vodafone V-SIM to send data over …

Get a Nest thermostat without the big upfront cost

One of those clever Nest thermostats, complete with professional installation, is £279. That, even for an intelligent gadget that’ll reduce your heating bills, is a big initial outlay. We reviewed the thermostat back in 2014 and it’s still going strong now, saving cash by turning off the heating …

Introducing Delta IEM from Brainwavz

Brainwavz has launched yet another range of earphones called the Delta IEM Noise Isolating Earphones into the UK market at around £20 from Brainwavz direct. The Delta range includes 25 earphones and headphones. The Wirecutter tech site reviewed Brainwavz and said: “The Brainwavz have a sense of space …

CES 2018 – nCube Modular Smart Home

We reviewed the singular nCube unit before Christmas, which was a streamlined smart hub for the home. Well, at this year’s CES they have stepped it up a gear creating the modular nCube. The 4 layers of stylish blue boxes will make any home smarter and more autonomous …

Honor View 10 photo special

We are deep into the mid festive slump but, for some of us, work has to carry on for a few more days before the shenanigans of the New Year begin. In an effort to cheer you all up, I have been busy taking pictures of the soon-to-be-released …

Hangers for your headphones

Need a practical place for your headphones, well look no further! Here is the first beautiful looking hanger from Brainwavz called the Hengia, suitable for large or small headphones of almost any weight. The Hengja can be placed either horizontally (i.e. table top) or can be rotated to fit on …

Need some earphones for Christmas – Brainwavz BLU-100

We have featured Brainwavz products before and we were pleased then. Now they have launched the BLU-100 earphones which work on Bluetooth 4.0. The BLU-100 comes with a micro 60mAh battery that will deliver continuous audio playback, 100 hours of standby and can be fully charged in under …

Turn any smartphone into a VR camera

Lebanese digital image technology experts, Dermander, have launched a VR solution for your smartphone. Cunningly named “theVRkit”, it makes your smartphone a high resolution Virtual Reality camera. The kit comprises of a fish eye clip-on lens, a Bluetooth controlled smartphone mount and a pair of VR glasses. To …

Going away for Christmas? Pawbo – The pet camera and more

The people at Pawbo have sent us a mail about their interactive camera technology. It’s to keep an eye on your cat or dog while you’re not home, and via your smartphone you can see how they’re doing. The pet camera is accessed via the Android / iOS …

Razer Phone – Is this the ultimate gaming device?

We’ve seen many attempts to make a gaming phone. There was Nokia with the ill-fated N-Gage (it used GameBoy-like cartridges) and the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play. Unfortunately, these never caught the imagination of the public as they were seen as a bit gimmicky. So it was interesting to see …

Honor have got something to unveil…

Today we have travelled down to London Town to secure what it is that Honor are going to unveil to allow us to “Max our view”. We know that there will be at least the confirmation of price in the Honor 7x that was invited a few weeks …

Mixcder MS301 wireless Bluetooth headphones – Review

Just recently I have been sent through the Mixcder premium MS301 wireless Bluetooth headphones for review, and to be honest the offer couldn’t have come at a better time, as I was just about to embark on a holiday to the USA, and therefore I could use them predominantly …

Watch – Hydrofoil surf board is basically brilliant in every way

Click-bait title? Check. A story which has nothing to do with smartphones? Check. This is something I spotted last night and it’s frankly brilliant. I love proper back-to-basic inventions like this. It makes me wish I had one at my previous job – then I would’ve travelled up …

The Razer Phone has arrived. Here is our unboxing

We have had something very special arrive at Coolsmartphone Towers today. At least, it’s something that I have been looking forward to for a few weeks. Today we’ve got one of the boldest new phones to come out this year (IMHO). Yes, it’s the Razer Phone! You’re obviously …

Nest Black Friday Deals

Fancy an intelligent thermostat? One that will know where you are and adjust the temperature in your house accordingly? One that you can talk to via an Amazon Echo to adjust the heating? The Nest thermostat is what you need. We reviewed the thing a while ago. Since …

Christmas Gift Idea – AR Blaster Gun

Yes, it’s Christmas again. Or at least, it seems to have been Christmas for a few months now. So, you probably know what you’re getting here. It’s a gun with a phone holder on top. You plop your smartphone in, start the game and work to become the …

Tag your bag. Prevent a scallywag.

The V-Bag by Vodafone is, if I’m honest, actually called the Alcatel MOVETRACK. You can attach this little gadget to yourself, a loved one, a bag, a suitcase, a car, a piece of equipment, whatever you fancy really. Clip it on or put it inside your bag and, …

OK guys, pack your stuff, it’s time to go

Robots. Those funny, clunky things that used to only be useful when they were in films. Even in Star Wars, C-3PO, the droid which accompanied the rolling dustbin that was R2-D2, walked a bit funny and couldn’t really flex much. Here, now, in 2017, Boston Dynamics are creating …

Eve-Tech announces the retail price for Eve V 2 in 1

You may remember that I was doing a lot of work with a company called Eve-Tech at the beginning of the year. This work was based on the Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign of the Eve V 2 in 1 laptop. Although it seems like it has been a very long …

Vodafone will now help you track your pet too.

Remember when I stuck the Paby Pet Tracker on our cat? The gadget sat on her collar and sent live GPS data back to my smartphone. It meant that I could see where she was on a live map. Now Voda are doing something very similar with the …

Anyone remember Psion?

If you’re a long time reader of the site and a long time user of mobile tech, you may remember the Psion series of PDA’s. These were in many ways the forebear of Nokia’s Symbian communicator devices. What made them special was that they used mini thumb style …

Introducing the GoBag 2

Today (7th November) the GoBag 2 is launched on Kickstarter to follow up on the original GoBag which started life in the same way in 2015 with circa 2500 backers. Whilst not mobile phone related, it does appeal to those who need to cram lots of stuff into …

MS301 Bluetooth Headphones with AptX Low Latency

Today, Mixcder have launched into the UK their latest headphones, namely the MS301 at a very reasonable £69.99 from Amazon. The MS301 take advantage of Bluetooth 4.2 making pairing very fast and easy but with low power consumption, Mixcder have said you can get up to 20 hours worth …