Category: General

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 …

Moto M released, bringing bling to a premium low-tier thing

Earlier on this year, I recommended the Moto G 4th gen to someone. They were on a budget and they’d been using what I think was the original Moto G (the Moto G OG, if you will) quite happily for a very long time. Alas, no memory card …

Samsung Galaxy S7 nibbling nougat near you

Or, without that annoying alliteration about, Samsung seems to have finished testing Android 7 – AKA Nougat – and is starting to roll out a beta testing program for those folks with a Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. It’s not important that the rollout for Samsung is something …

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 …

Samsung grab a patent for a flip phone … sort of 

Earlier this year the interwebs was full of rumours that Samsung was planning to ship smartphones and tablets with a bendable OLED screen. In fact in June this year Lenovo displayed a prototype of its own bendable phone. Well a recent leaked patent application from the Korean Intellectual …

Locate your local mobile mast

21/02/2020 – The best solution to finding your local mast is now located within this recently updated article. A lot has changed over the years, and this is now the best place to go. Quite some time ago we published a story about the Ofcom Sitefinder database. It’s …

4G – Still not as widespread as 3G

This morning OpenSignal have published a new “State of LTE” report. You can find their February one here but today the report, which focuses on the speed and availability of 4G networks around the world, gives us a number of highlights. First, the fastest 4G countries in the …

OnePlus 3T to be released next week

Cast your mind back dear reader, many moons ago when HTC furst released the “One” series of devices. Well just a few months after release, the company released a higher spec updated version of the same device. It well and truly upset the customers that had forked out …

Nomu S10 – Review

Here at Coolsmartphone we are approached by device manufacturers from all over the world. I must admit that it is the unheard-of devices from the far-east that intrigue me the most, so I jumped at the chance to review the unknown brand Nomu and their S10 device. ‘Who …

Or you could perhaps just get a portable charger

I’m confused by this whole thing. Yes, its interesting that this is possible, but at the same time it just seems like a whole lot of hassle to produce something that you can buy relatively cheaply off the internet. Here someone shows you how to make a portable …

Android Auto now becoming a standalone app 

I’m a firm believer that drivers should have limited, if no access to mobile phones whilst driving. Having just returned from a family holiday in Florida, I saw many drivers using their phone and even texting whilst driving. It just shows how distracted drivers can be whilst fiddling …

Huawei Mate 9 Unboxing

The time has come to unbox Huawei’s latest and greatest phablet – the Mate 9. If you have read the launch article then you will know what to expect, but for those of you who didn’t then here are the highlights. Kirin 960 chipset, the world’s highest performing …

Papa’s got a brand new p BAG

You may have bought yourself a phone cover with a couple of credit card slots in the back recently. It’s becoming a bit of a trend and, thanks to Android and Apple Pay becoming more popular too, we’re carrying more of our life around with us on our …

Smartphone + Music Festival = Festival Fuel

It seems that the days of picking up a cheap phone for a festival are long gone. It is a regular site to see folk using portable phone chargers now, to prolong the smartphone goodness and for the selfies with your mates when the headliners are on. You …

Huawei Mate 9 arrives

I’m sitting in Munich right now having just finished at the Huawei Press event. We saw the bigwigs at Huawei talk about their latest release, the brand new Huawei Mate 9. There’s been lots of speculation about the specs and looks of this particular phone. Some people have even suggested that it …

Huawei November event – Liveblog

Hello! We are here in Munich to cover the events of Huawei’s unveiling LIVE. We expect to see the Huawei Mate 9 in at least one variant with the possibility of a Pro version appear as well. Also expect to see Lecia on stage and a lot of …

EE – The Robin returns

Remember the kid-friendly EE Robin? It was the world’s first 4G-connected tablet which was designed specifically for parents and their children. Now an updated version is available, with the new Robin adding an improved Hopster app for “digital playtime”. This app delivers 1500 episodes of kids TV shows, …

Netatmo Presence – A new outdoor security camera with a light

Another security camera for you today and this time it’s from Netatmo. We’ve already written about their kit, and they’ve now moved on from weather stations with this Netatmo Presence camera. It’ll detect people, cars and animals, plus it should hopefully prevent break-ins. How? Well, unlike some connected …

Nest Outdoor Cam now available

If you’ve had a read of our Nest Thermostat review and want a bit more Nest tech, there’s already the Nest Protect smoke + CO alarm for £99 plus the indoor camera. Now, if you want to keep an eye on what’s happening outside of your house, you …

Your social media posts could cost you dear

If you’re on Facebook and you’re a young driver, watch out. Your social media updates will soon impact the cost of your car insurance. Admiral Car Insurance will soon build a “reputational record” of new drivers by analysing your Facebook page, and will reward more conscientious and organised …

Acer Iconia Tab 10 – Unboxing

Today we have a new tablet in the house from Acer – the Acer Iconia Tab 10. The Iconia Tab 10 is Acer’s take on the low cost but premium build tablet that aims to be your new multimedia device. The Acer Iconia Tab 10 is currently available …

Use the phone whilst driving. This could happen to you.

It could be you that causes an accident. It could be someone else who crashes into you. Just a quick check of the email. It can’t hurt. Perhaps I should just reply to that text message or check Facebook. Yes, it’s that video from the news, and this …

Anywhere you roam, you’ll always take a signal with you

Long-term readers will know that we are particularly annoyed about the continuing patchy signal problem across the UK. We hear networks claiming that they’ve invested many millions to fix it, and they tell us it’s getting better, but even though we have 4G, we still struggle to make …

Topless student crashes into police car as she tries to take a selfie

Yesterday I went to McDonald’s to sample their huge range of delicious burgers whilst using the greasy tablets. On the way someone nearly crashed into us as he tried to navigate a roundabout while texting on his phone. It’s human nature sometimes. Some people think that they can …

Amazon now offering “Certified Refurbished” devices

Just in case you weren’t aware, there are only 8 weeks to go until Christmas. This year, the same as previous years, electronic gadgetry will be the top of many a Christmas list. But let’s be honest, the latest technology isn’t the cheapest, so how about a device …

Easily solving pub arguments is affecting your brain

No, we’re not talking about Dave the know it all – although he might not be good for your health either. The real issue is your brain power and the internet, or rather our continued reliance on offloading most of our brain work onto it. This isn’t the …

BT Just killed the phone box

If you’re of a certain age (cough), phone boxes hold a special place in your heart. For some it was perhaps the only access to a phone you had, for others it was simply sheltering out of the rain. There are many reasons to remember the street side communications …

LeEco LePro 3 and Le S3 announced

Sorry but we are a wee bit late on this one guys, however as the phone is not destined for our shores (at least through the normal channels), I’m sure you will let me off. There was a big announcement in San Francisco on Wednesday from the Chinese …

Get your phone in the Christmas spirit!

FLAVR are back with a new range of designer Christmas ugly jumper style cases, today they launched their brand new festive range of comedy Christmas jumper themed phones cases for iPhone 5/5SE, 6/6S, 7, 7 Plus and Galaxy 7 and 7 Edge. The new cases are available from …

Apple closely monitoring Time Warner Acquisition

Despite their best efforts, Apple has never managed to take over TV like they have the mobile. Despite trying numerous angles, and Steve Jobs rumoured to have ‘cracked it’, the old school media companies just keep their hands clasped tight. If recent reports are to be believed from the …

Opposition to new Apple data centre in Ireland

Athenry, in County Galway, is a small town on the west coast of Ireland. A long long way away from the glitz and glamour of Silicon Valley. Although at the moment it is a battleground for Apple over its proposed new Apple Data Centre, as some local residents …

Video mix give the Nexus 6 Pixel Tricks

Old is good too This is a bit of weird and wonderful I think, involving the Nexus 6. Someone remixed the recent Nexus Pixel ad to show off their love for Google’s now-defunct Nexus line. Someone called Superior Sandbox created a wonderful combination of the last time Google …

AirPods and going beyond the iPhone

For the first time in a while, the Apple event gave us a genuine surprise. We knew something was coming, and roughly knew that it was going to be called AirPods, but the rest was up in the air. What Apple announced was (not the best looking but…) …