Category: General

Unlimited voice and data for job seekers. Only £10.

Available on the Vodafone VOXI brand, a new “For now” plan delivers unlimited 5G-ready data, minutes and texts for six months for a mere £10 a month. It’s available until January 31st 2021 and is ideal for job seekers during these testing times. To be eligible, you’ll need …

Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro and Mi 10T Lite now selling at Vodafone

This, the new Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro (which we currently have on test – review incoming) and the Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite are phones we’ve already taken a good look at (here and here). Now you can go and buy them at Vodafone. We knew they were on …

Lockdown #2 – Get the in-store Three experience online

We’re all locked down again and that means we can’t pop along to our local network store to get advice on a new phone. It also means that those random people can’t walk in and say, “The phone just broke, I want a new one. I definitely didn’t …

Fairphone 3+ now available on Sky Mobile

Sky Mobile runs on the O2 network and they’ve got the new Fairphone 3+ available. Prices start from £26 per month with no upfront costs. You also get a free Mini portable Bluetooth speaker worth £45. The £26 per month will get you 2GB of data with unlimited …

Honor Kicks of the pre “Black Friday” sales

It’s that time of year again where we start to see pre-“Black Friday” deals pop up. This year Honor is going big and they are starting things early. They are dropping prices on a load of their kit, from phones to wearables. It’s not just all their old …

The 5G Enabled eSIM is Technology of the Future

Back in the day, circa 1979, when the Cellular Era began transforming the way we connected, nobody could have imagined we would one day think up something as innovative as a 5G eSIM. When the first SIM card emerged in 1991 the world was dazzled by the possibilities …

RoWrite2 – A cool smart notepad you didn’t know you needed

This looks pretty cool and, coming from the people that brought use the Flexpai smartphone, it should be. This is basically a writing pad. Sheets of paper, a pen, a nicely presented folder. Everything you expect. However, whatever you jot down will instantly get digitally scanned and stored. …

No more locked smartphones!

Those with longer memories may remember this being quite a problem, but now we’re seeing more and more networks selling phones which are unlocked out of the box. Wait. What’s a locked phone anyways? Well, back in the day – and as a way to keep you tied …

SMARTY – On test

Just a few days ago I ran out of data. Stuck in hospital, and with only a relatively slow WiFi connection, I’d basically nailed all my allowance and was a bit “stuck”. Luckily though, a lot of phones now have dual SIM trays, so – even if you …

Milo – On-the-go comms

I very rarely do articles about Kickstarter projects, but – as a cyclist – this one looked like a good idea. It’s basically a tiny little communicator which allows group chats when you’re riding, surfing, running, walking, rowing or whatever else. No push-to-talk, no faffing. No need for …

The mobile phones of the 1970’s

The year is 1976 and, on BBC Kids TV show “Blue Peter”, they’re about to show something amazing. A phone with no cable that you could even take outside. There are absolutely no trailing cables of any kind; it’s not connected to anything at all because it’s got …

Imagine being on lockdown 20 years ago!

Although our lives are becoming distinctly less mobile right now, our mobile phones are playing an incredibly critical part of life. Imagine, if you will, the coronavirus pandemic hitting us 20 years ago. It’s a sunny morning in the year 2000. You’ve got yourself the classic Nokia 3310 …

4G Coverage. Coming to the Moon!

NASA have selected Nokia to setup an actual mobile phone network on the Moon. Key points involve reducing power, size and cost whilst delivering reliable lunar surface communications with high data rates. As part of a potential future sustainable human presence on the Moon, a super-compact, low-power, space-hardened, …

giffgaff iPhone 12 pricing and offers

We’ve gone through quite a few iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro deals already, but now giffgaff have got in touch too. They will be offering the whole iPhone 12 lineup, including iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 12, and iPhone 12 mini. You can already …

Lockdown success for developers

As we’ve seen in the UK, now we’re seeing it in the US too. The lockdowns, the COVID-19 restrictions, the closure of many pubs, bars, nightclubs and other social venues – it’s changed our habits. We’re now spending more time indoors and, although we’re using social media more …

Honor Watch ES – Review

So its that time again where we put a device under the microscope to find out if it is any good. This time around it is the turn of the Honor Watch ES. I want to get one thing out of the way first though. Even though this …

Moving away from regular upgrades

There’s been a noticeable shift in recent years away from regular phone upgrades. Customers are becoming more savvy, and with smartphones no longer taking such big “leaps” in technology, many are looking for ways to prolong the life of their existing phone instead of upgrading. In the post-COVID …

Driving? Don’t touch that phone!

The UK government are to firm up the law on mobile phones in cars. Next year the loopholes which allowed drivers take photos or film will be changed and it’ll be illegal for anyone to pick up and use their mobile phone while driving. You’ll still be able …

Yet more iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro deals

So we’ve got pricing from Sky Mobile and from Virgin Media, but what about the other offers out there? Well, iD Mobile (which sits on the Three network) seem to have a really good offering, provided you don’t mend a slightly hefty upfront cost. You can get the …

5G Oppo Reno4 handsets available widely in the UK

Well, we’ve already mentioned that Virgin Mobile have the Reno4 Pro on sale, but you can now get your hands on the latest 5G Oppo handsets from EE, O2, Carphone Warehouse, Amazon and Vodafone too SIM-free, you can pick up the Reno4 Z for £329, the Reno4 for …

Sky Mobile announce iPhone pre-order pricing

At 1PM the guys at Sky Mobile (sitting on the O2 network) will be putting their iPhone 12 and 12 Pro pre-orders live. Prices start from £34 a month for the iPhone 12 with 4GB with no upfront costs. Meanwhile the iPhone 12 Pro will be £47 a …

Virgin Media iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro deals go live

Following our iPhone 12 coverage, we now have pricing and pre-order details from Virgin Media. They operate on EE masts currently but will be switching over to the Vodafone infrastructure later in 2021. You can pre-order here and get the brand new iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro. …

Unlimited data with Three. Just £16 per month SIM-only.

If you’ve got a strong Three signal in your area (check that here with the Ofcom checker), it’s definitely worth checking out this unlimited SIM-only deal. On a 12 month contract, it’ll deliver unlimited data, unlimited minutes and unlimited texts for a mere £16 per month. That’s £192 …

Just £1 for your first month with SMARTY. 30GB SIM-only.

This is a virtual network, but – like VOXI and Vodafone – SMARTY is very closely aligned to their parent – Three. It’s basically a sub-brand of Three company and they’re aiming to attract customers who are mainly looking for cheaper deals. That’s me then, because I’ve just …

OnePlus 8T – The cases

Following on from our OnePlus 8T review, we’re going to have a look at a couple of the cases you can buy. First though, what about the one you get free in the box? Well, all I’ll say is – put it on. It’s see-through, flexible and it’ll …

Another real-world 5G test

My son and I headed to Wembley a year ago and, while I was in the area, I decided to check out the new 5G connection that had popped up on my phone. Getting 5G back then was a hit-and-miss affair, and it was really only to be …

The hidden Vodafone SIM-only deals you need to know about

I’ve spent a couple of hours looking for a new SIM-only deal. I had one requirement – it had to be with Vodafone or one of the virtual networks (like Voxi) running on the Vodafone masts. This is because, in the areas I’ll be needing it, Vodafone is …

Call internationally from just £5 per month with Three

Last year I was in Malta. Whilst in the sunshine I called home, safe in the knowledge that I was in an EU country and I was calling another EU country. The cost was included in my plan and there were no big bill shocks. However, when you …

5 Smartphones you can use in 2020 for Forex trading

It is simply amazing if you think about just how much one can accomplish using a smartphone or tablet for that matter. When you look back at how technology has shaped today’s world, it is crystal clear that things are only getting better. The milestones being witnessed in …

Nokia 8.3 5G now on giffgaff

The Nokia 8.3 5G, which we covered here, is now available to buy on giffgaff. Now, as giffgaff split the cost of the handset and the plan (or “Goodybag”), you can get the phone for £499 if you want to buy it outright, or you can pay for ut …

NHS Workers continue to get unlimited data with EE

As someone who’s in hospital for a few months, I can certainly attest to the hard work and dedication of the NHS staff. It isn’t just a job. I’ve seen doctors, nurses, HCA’s and everybody in-between caring, sharing, helping and listening. They work harder and longer than anyone …

Grab video from across the web – SnapDownloader

Here at Coolsmartphone we’ve previously taken a look at ways to archive and grab YouTube videos to your phone. There’s various online options out there, but for the most part they’re covered in pop-up ads, malware and lots of scary-looking downloads that can easily confuse most users. If …

Honor Watch ES – Unboxing

Its time for another unboxing and this time around it is a Fitness Band/Smartwatch – the Honor Watch ES. The reason I say that this fits into both the camps of wearables is that I feel it’s a crossover device. At least, that is my first impressions of …

Oppo Reno4 Pro now available with Virgin Media

Currently sitting on the EE network (but soon to switch across to Vodafone masts), Virgin Media are going great guns at the moment. They’re now offering the Oppo Reno4 Pro from just £28 a month. Not only that, but you get a free pair of B&O H4 Headphones …

Why is Google Chrome taking so much memory?

Writing about smartphones is kinda my thing, but you’ll find me doing that within the Chrome browser on a laptop. Despite the rather respectable competition (Firefox, Safari, Opera, Edge etc), you’ll find that Chrome is my default choice of browser. It’s by far the most popular way to …

Zepp E Smartwatch – Review

Let’s get one thing out of the way. I like smartwatches. No, that’s not quite right. I really like smartwatches. I have reviewed many smartwatches for Coolsmartphone in my years as a writer for the site. They have varied from the complex, like the TicWatch Pro, to the …

Motorola Razr 5G – Pricing from Vodafone now available

So, we knew that the Motorola Razr 5G was coming to Vodafone but now we’ve got all the pricing. This is a rather cool flip-smartphone with a gapless closure system, even though it is a little pricey to buy outright. Unfolded the phone has a 6.2″ P-OLED screen …