Category: General

TCA Sportswear – From the streets of East London

As you may know, I’m trying to sweat it out at the gym right now. It’s a constant battle to just get up. A nice warm bed at 6AM, or a freezing cold gym with the music cranked up? Anyways, TCA approached me and said, “Hey can you …

Grab £100 cash-back with giffgaff Samsung kit

If you’re looking at getting any of the following phones, it’s definitely worth looking at these giffgaff deals. Right now they’re giving up to £100 cashback, which is available online until March 31st. You can pay either by one up-front payment or pay monthly via RateSetter. Upfront payments …

Fancy getting to work in a drone?

We all know that drones are becoming more useful. The police are using them now and they’re continuing to grow in popularity, even with the increase in regulation. But, what about building one big enough to sit in? You could get to work in that in no time. …

Two-way translation – Pocketalk S

Yes, you can use the Google Translate app or, if you’re heading around Europe and you have yourself £259, you can get the Pocketalk S. It’s got a built-in SIM, a text-to-translate camera, a bigger touch screen, noise-cancelling microphones and two high-quality speakers plus a useful conversion feature. …

Speedy 5G. “Downloading” will be a distant memory.

Back at college I vividly remember writing an essay about the future of the internet. The conclusion was that everything was going to get faster, and there’d be more content. Up until fairly recently, that conclusion has been fairly accurate. As the years have gone by, we’ve moved …

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip. Get yourself a bespoke micro bag!

The Galaxy Z Flip is, without doubt, a stunning handset. We took an up-close look at it on the launch day but we’ve not exactly been bombarded by case manufacturers selling covers for it. Step forward designer Ashley Williams, who’s launched an exclusive new Galaxy Z Flip accessory …

Ofcom to try and manage the internet

You’ll have probably seen us mention Ofcom quite a bit here. They are the communications regulator in the UK and currently cover TV, radio, video, telecoms, mobiles and postal services to name just a few. Today the government here will add social media to that list, as they’re …

MWC – I have a funny feeling…

We’ve had yet another email this morning and Intel have now pulled out of the big Barcelona bash. The reason, once again, is the threat of the coronavirus. Our list of companies that are changing their commitment to the Mobile World Congress is now growing almost by the …

EE become an exclusive BritBox partner

You may have heard about BritBox. It’s a video subscription service created by BBC and ITV which delivers TV entertainment from the main UK public service broadcasters across the UK, USA and Canada. It’s different to the BBC iPlayer and ITV Player because older content is included. Today …

BT make 5G available to all customers

With BT swooping in some time back to buy EE, it’s unsurprising that they’re pushing hard with 5G – both as “EE” and “BT”. This morning BT announced that they’re making 5G available for all customers, with 5G BT plans and 5G smartphones from Samsung, OnePlus and Huawei …

Start a call on your phone – direct from your PC

Been browsing on Chrome recently? If you were trying to find a number or call a business, you probably did the same as me this morning. At the weekend, and with the aid of alcohol, my filling fell out. So, I had to call the dentist this morning. …

Vodafone SIM-only deal. A tenna a month for 10GB

Not bad this and another SIM-only offer that you should definitely take a look at. Grab yourself a phone and then slap this SIM in. If you’ve already got a contract or a deal with someone else, just do the text to switch thing – it’s really easy. …

Yet more speed

There’s no big IT team behind this site. We don’t have SEO specialists, marketing teams or designers. So, it usually falls to me to do all that. In addition to writing the stories, the server setup and the database back-end is something I’ve constructed. In the last few …

Why HTML5 is the future of web

Over the last week I’ve been playing with the next phase of Remote Desktop Services. What is that exactly? Well, for those of you who have used a “SaS” (Software as a Service), you might already know. It’s the way of delivering desktop applications to your machine via …

EE wins Best Network again

Yet again EE have grabbed the top spot in performance as part of the RootMetric’s testing results. The network, now owned by BT, is obviously pretty happy about all, with BT CEO Marc Allera telling us.. We’re continuing to invest in our network to help keep our customers …

JBL launch some swish AirPod challengers

These are £99.99 and available right now from the boys at JBL. They’ve got a good pedigree too as Harman are the company behind them. They offer a “Pure Bass” sound and the ability to switch tracks by merely tapping the button on the left or right earbuds. …

How to make a traffic jam without a car

Google Maps, without doubt, is fantastic. After the company bought Waze for a huge amount of money seven years ago, it’s integrated a lot of the Waze crowdsourced driving features into Google Maps. The result is definitely beneficial for Google Maps users and we’re now used to seeing …

Keeping your old router will cost you dear on BT, EE and Plusnet

Our very own BT has announced that customers will now face a £50 charge if they choose not to return the supplied broadband router once the contract ends. It comes as the company tried to reduce waste and mirrors a similar scheme by Virgin. BT have added a …

Chargeasap launches the world’s most powerful 150W USB-C powerbank

Sydney based consumer electronics brand, Chargeasap, has announced its latest innovation. It’s called “Flash” and is a 20,000mAh powerbank. This has already busted their funding goal on Indiegogo. It’s touted to be the world’s most powerful, most versatile and fastest charging powerbank. If you want to be part …

Moshi Digits Touchscreen Gloves- Review

There’s nothing like the approaching winter to remind you that you need to cover your fingers in a touchscreen-driven world. Upon writing this, here in the UK, we are being warned of a “cold snap” – so time to warm those hands up. In a world where people …

Building a modern, mobile-centric website

Websites, as you have most probably noticed, have changed immensely over the last decade or two. For us here at Coolsmartphone it’s been quite a transition. We had a separate website for mobile phone users, which was a slimmed down and low-tech version. To get the full experience, …

New research shows a shift in mobile habits

Research from Clas Ohlson has today revealed the extent of excessive mobile phone usage here in the UK. It reinforces the suspicions that many of us will probably already be aware of, with the findings showing the damage that can be done if you’re using you phone too …

More goodybag action from giffgaff

The boys at giffgaff (operating on O2 masts) have had a bit of a refresh with their £6, £8, £20 and £25 “Always On” goodybags. Whether you’re a customer / members or not, you can now get unlimited texts and calls on all goodybags plus double data on …

Huawei to use TomTom maps

Following the embargo placed on Huawei, the Chinese phone company can no longer trade with US companies. It’s effectively received a closed door from Google and all its associated services. To be honest most of the Google services can be replaced – in fact most phone manufacturers have …

Groov-e Zen ANC Headphones – Review

Good Points: Price Battery life Active Noise Cancelling Good mid-range sound quality Lightweight Bad Points: Plastic build quality Sound distortion at high volume Bluetooth 4.1 Design: The Zen Wireless ANC (active noise cancelling) headphones are the latest in the budget range from Groov-e. Coming in at an MSRP …

BT Broadband packages now come with Google Stadia

BT (British Telecom) has announced that it is partnering with Google to launch a range of broadband plans that come with the Stadia cloud gaming service bundled in the package. BT, which is the biggest Internet Service Provider (ISP) in the UK, is planning to offer the free …

Getting a career in games 

Like gaming ? Well yes, so do I. But how do you fancy earning some money out of it? If you want to learn more, there’s a set of interactive workshops and sessions coming up on February 1st. The industry is looking to recruit more women in, as …

Bose closing all European and US stores

Here at Coolsmartphone w’ve heard that top audio brand Bose is going to close a significant number of its brick and mortar stores. It’s believed the move is due to the popularity of online shopping and the reduced consumer interest in traditional stores. The closures will also impact …

Sky Mobile adding 5G

Sitting on the O2 network, Sky Mobile have today announced that customers will be getting 5G for no extra cost if you’re on their Sky VIP loyalty programme – this is a free perk for existing users. Sky Mobile is promising to deliver 5G in 50 towns and …

Benefits of using car insurance apps on your phone

Looking for your next insurance quote, you’ll find that there’s a number of comparison sites online. These will usually be your best bet if you’re trying to find the best deal and, even if it does seem like a bit of hard work, it’s worth it when you …

Board games without the boredom

Well, Christmas is over now but, it there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that board games are making a big come-back. In our house at least. Monopoly seems to be a favourite right now, and we’ve ended up with three different Monopoly boards which are themed around different …

Getting your mobile app design right

What I loved most about the old BBC iPlayer Radio app was the GUI. The design of the interface was straightforward, easy-to-understand and worked well. Whether you were sat still or going for a jog – you had a natural and simple interface that did exactly what you …

Asus ROG Phone II – Review

Gaming phones have now become a thing and manufacturers are standing up and taking attention. This all kicked off back in 2017 when Razer released their first Razer Phone. I reviewed it shortly after it arrived on our shores and was very impressed. At the time it was …

Kygo XENON headphones – with memory foam for your ears.

We’ve reviewed some of the Kygo headphones in the past and we’ve always been impressed with them. Check out our review of the Kygo A9/600 headphones as an example. Now they’re launching “XENON” – some new noise-canceling headphones which have been approved and developed by Kygo himself. These …

Free TV being given out with Virgin Media deal

If you don’t need a new LG Smart TV, you can instead bag yourself a £150 credit on your bill. That is, of course, if you take the appropriate TV, broadband and phone bundle with Virgin Media. Either option is available if you bag the Bigger bundle + …

How the home of 2020 looked in 1989

This has been doing the rounds on social media and I think it’s worth a mention here. Back in 1989 (yes, 31 years ago), some predictions were made by BBC technology show, “Tomorrow’s World”. The video is below, so have a look and we’ll go through each point …

Watching shows on your phone whilst driving. Don’t be tempted.

Our smartphones can do lots of very cool things. Lately though, the police have found that we’re watching movies, TV shows and making video calls whilst driving. This, because you’re not looking at the road properly, is very dangerous. In recent years, there’s been a marked increase in …

Tesco Mobile Flash deals

I had a meal on Christmas day and didn’t feel hungry again until late last night. That’s normal, right? Crickey, I’ve never eaten so much. FULL! If you’re looking to burn some calories up, get down to your local Tesco – they’ve got some offers on in their …

Merry Christmas you guys!

Since 2002, when things looked like this, I’ve written about smartphones. I’ve seen the rise and fall of Microsoft and the rise and rise and rise of Android, iPhone, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The biggest driver for me is the tweets and the emails from you guys. The …