Category: General

RHA MA 750i Earphones Review

RHA have been producing quality products from their Glasgow headquarters for a number of years now.  From their entry level MA350‘s to the more expensive MA600i’s, every product has so far oozed excellence from start to finish. Prior to the recent launch of the brand new high end …

Podcast 112 – Listen in live

Welcome to the live, raw, unedited and often broken version of our podcast. Joining me this week is John. This weeks topics revolve around Apple, Motorola, my Sony Xperia Z3 Compact, readers questions, John’s thoughts on the iPhone bending thing and our usual chit chat about our mobile …

The future’s bright – the future’s .. O2?

Parties, foreign travel and stacks of free phones. That’s what you get if you work in the mobile industry. It’s just non-stop craziness for us here at Coolsmartphone Towers too, and when we’re not on a first class flight to New York, we’re sipping champagne with Beyoncé Knowles. …

Need more data on EE SIM only? Good luck!

EE recently updated their SIM only contracts giving more data for a limited time, the highest being 10GB a month which is still way short of the 20GB and 50GB options with a 2 year contract. Whilst adding more data is good for everyone, we have just heard …

Podcast 112 – Ask us a question

Tonight we will be recording our podcast and to help us out each week with topics we get you the listeners to ask us some questions. Which we’ll include in the show later on. Be it about our thoughts on the bendy iPhone, the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact …

More 4G! MORE!

Yes, it’s the regular 4G update from who else, but EE. Today is October 1st, so with the dark nights hitting us, it’s time to get some speedy t’internet on our phones so that we have something to do on the cold bus ride home. Coverage now includes …

Mobiles cleared for use on airplanes

Everyone knows the drill by now, you board an airplane and you get a safety message asking you to ensure your seat is upright, trays up, luggage safely stowed and to switch off all electrical devices including mobile phones (or at least put them in flight mode). Now, …

My coverage of Bart’s Bash 2014

Well the event is done and now it’s time to review how the event went and how once again mobile tech helped me during the event. As those of you who read my previous article will know I was planning on covering the event for the site by …

Pocket-Casts web based podcast player now in beta.

I absolutely love the PocketCasts app, I must use everyday and I have installed it on every device I own both iOS and Android, to be honest it’s one of the few app’s I can’t do without. If you don’t know what PocketCasts is, it’s a podcast aggregator …

iPhone 6 rebates now available

When Phones 4U went into administration, the administrators PwC announced that customers who had pre-ordered the iPhone 6 and 6 plus would be reimbursed for any money they had paid. It emerged this morning that an email was sent round to all customers (with all 136 email addresses …

Gigaset Tablet 8″ Review

I have been sent a new tablet through for review, this being The Gigaset Tablet 8 QV830 ( black version ). Never heard  of Gigaset ? well neither had I prior to hearing from them regarding this review. Gigaset is a German company that is one of the …

Apple releases iOS 8.0.2 to fix those broken iPhones

On Wednesday Apple released 8.0.1 which broke many users news iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Although Apple did offer a workaround to downgrade back to iOS 8.0 they should have checked the buggy update before letting it out, I mean come on, no phone service is hard to …

Podcast 111 – Listen in live

Welcome to the live, raw, unedited and often broken version of our podcast. Joining me this week is Garry. This weeks topics revolve around some shiny Sony phones, readers questions, the iPhone bending outrage and our usual chit chat about our mobile goings on. To listen live it’s …

Podcast 111 – Ask us some questions

Another week another podcast and yes I’ve got a new phone to talk about tonight. As last week’s listeners questions article went so well we thought we’d throw it open to you guys again and ask you to ask us some questions. Be it about the shiny new …

13 Cool Android/Nook apps that Geeks will love

Software developers are, by definition, geeks, so it should come as no surprise that many of the apps they’ve come up with are tailor-made for people who share their interests. After all, “geekiness” has become something of a badge of honour. Smartphones and tablets offering the full Android …

Phones 4u – The final toll

A list of stores being closed is now available. Staff will already be aware, but if you’re hoping that a local store is to re-open as a Vodafone, EE or Carphone Warehouse, check this list. All of these ex-Phones 4u stores will now be closed until they perhaps …

Samsung to stop selling Chromebooks in Europe.

Reports are hitting the internet quoting a Samsung spokesperson saying the company plans to stop selling its laptops, including Chromebooks in European markets. We quickly adapt to market needs and demands. In Europe, we will be discontinuing sales of laptops including Chromebooks for now. This is specific to the …

Samsung Mega 2 revealed

The popularity of large screen phones is growing, take the recent sales figures of the iPhone 6 plus for example (as a side note the 6 plus is bigger than my Note 3 and I’ve got a bigger screen. Just saying). Anyway this large screen malarkey in the …

Phones 4u confirms 1,700 job losses. More to come.

Sadly, as predicted, 1,700 jobs are to go from Phones 4u stores. The remaining 362 outlets will close and 628 staff at the HQ have already been made redundant. Carphone Warehouse, EE and Vodafone have carved up the remaining stores and retained their staff. The administrators confirmed that …

58 Phones 4u stores to be taken over by EE

Following news that Vodafone are to take on 140 Phones 4u stores and save around 900 jobs, EE has confirmed to us that they will have a further 58 of the stores. This move should save another 359 jobs, and with our rough calculations (800 jobs saved in …

A smartwatch, for kids

Sure, smartwatches might be a new thing, but can you get one for your child? There’s a range of tracker watches that’ll help parents and carers monitor movements yes, but how about a full-blown smartwatch? The new VTech Kidizoom is just £29.99 and it’s about the closest thing …

bam, Shazam, buy through Google Play, man

For the life of me, I can’t remember when I first used Shazam. I know it was so far back that I used to have to either call or dial a number to let it do its magic. Even when music recognition became built in to smartphones and …

Keyboard for likely Nexus 9 shows up online

Unless you were lost in a techless-like black hole for the last couple of weeks, you’ll already know how Apple’s annual release revealed the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. What we don’t have is confirmed knowledge of what happens when its Google’s turn… Although we have seen …

Vodafone to save 900 jobs as Phones 4u stores are bought

We’ve just had confirmation that Vodafone will be buying 140 old Phones 4u stores and rebranding them. The offer, for an undisclosed sum, should mean that a further 900 Phones 4u staff will have their jobs saved. Employees will be “engaged” and rebranding will commence pending court approval. …

Phones 4u – Bondholder write-down deal off the table

There was, for a brief moment there, a glimmer of hope for the Phones 4u staff. We told yesterday how a plan was being formulated to give bondholders of the company a share of equity in an attempt to get stores opened and trading again. Sadly this plan …

Popping the lock – It’s easier than you think

There’s various reasons that people want to get phones unlocked and, although some networks are now supplying unlocked handsets as default, many people make the choice to unlock on a daily basis. Let’s go through some of those reasons. It could be that you’re looking to exit a …

Get the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus on giffgaff

How does a brand new iPhone 6 at £29.89 a month sound? Good? Well, on giffgaff they split the cost of phones and talk plans (aka, “goody bags”) so you need to add on the goody bag you’d like on top of that. If you go for a …

Admit it. You need this.

Yes, I recently dropped my phone into a pool. I tried to dry it out, but alas the damage was done. I didn’t have one of those clever EVAP pouches to try and get the moisture out and I quickly learned to be a bit more careful. Trouble is, …

Podcast 110 – Listen in live

Welcome to the live, raw, unedited and often broken version of our podcast. Joining me this week are Ian and Nirave. This weeks topics revolve around Phones4U, readers questions, the iPhone pre-order stampede and our usual chit chat about our mobile goings on. To listen live it’s dead …

Two new Kindles announced by Amazon

Three new Kindles have been announced today. Some may sound familiar but have extra grunt, whilst others are new to the market and have more storage. They are…. Kindle Voyage Costing jsut £169 it’s 7.6mm thick and weighs less than 180 grams. This one has a Paperwhite display …

Phones 4u – Could it rise from the flames?

Could Phones 4u still be saved? A last minute plan is being put into motion to swap some of the money owed to creditors for equity. If EE and Vodafone agree to the plan and start supplying contracts again, it could mean that all jobs are saved. If …

Podcast 110 – Ask us some questions

Our weekly podcast is just about getting into its stride, we’ve been at it for over two years now and we’d like to involve you guys in it a bit more. So we are going to try something we did ages ago, we want some questions from you …

EE refresh SIM Only 4G plans

Today, EE have updated their SIM only pricing here in the UK with data now offered up to 10GB a month. Before now the maximum data allowed on a SIM only deal was just 4GB, a massive drop from the largest 50GB package offered with a handset, however …

EE Cash on Tap now available for London Underground

EE are really pushing forward with their NFC payment service they call ‘Cash on Tap’, and what might be one of the most exciting and most convenient services has just been added. EE customers with the Cash on Tap service can now use this for the London Underground. …

Samsung Galaxy Alpha available today on Voda

The shiny metallic Galaxy Alpha is now available in a choice of three colours on Vodafone. You can get it on 3G or, if you choose a 4G Red XL or Red XXL plan then you’ll get the double entertainment deal we mentioned last week. Prices start from …

Rumours – what are they worth?

Let’s get the what right out of the way: There’s been a tip from a trusted source that CPW will have the new Nexus device on sale on 1 November. Interesting, right? That gives all us all sorts of possible timelines to work with. But what does that …

Vodafone had planned a Phones 4u takeover

Sky News is reporting that there’s more to the Phones 4u events of the last few days than at first thought. Vodafone and EE have until now been painted as the villains of the piece, causing Phones 4u to close stores now rather than waiting for the inevitable …

EE to buy 80 Phones 4u stores, keep staff?

Carphone Warehouse have already extended a helping hand to Phones 4u employees today, with 1,500 jobs on the table for those working in current concessions sites, such as this PC World one.. Now a “source” has told Mobile News that 80 stores have already been earmarked by EE, …