Category: Reviews
If you want to live in an Apple world now you have to embrace the dongle life, there is just no avoiding it. Ridding the iPhone 7 of a headphone jack is either seen as user hostile or a move that took courage. Unfortunately the new MacBook Pro …
Let’s break this down shall we? Imagine taking a fairly powerful Android phone, removing the screen and replacing the navigation system with an Xbox-style controller, then outputting the video to your TV. That’s basically what you have here. Inside is a quad core CPU, 1GB RAM, 16GB of …
Every one of us at Coolsmartphone love our gadgets, but we all also have the same issues and problems with putting it in a case. My nice shiny new iPhone 7 has been crying out for a new case to make sure it doesn’t hurtle towards the floor …
Traveling with bulky power adaptors and chargers is a complete nightmare. Each company wants to use it’s own connection, Micro USB, Mini USB, Lighting Adaptor etc etc. The only thing that seems to follow any form is the fact they all require a USB plug. In the UK …
About 14 years ago I started reviewing phones. Now I’m reviewing Christmas tree decorations and, if I’m honest, I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. Either way, it’s the time to get festive. If you’ve just been up to the loft and grabbed your decorations …
I often find it hard to review cases – most people have their own preferences, whether they’re flip cases (either sideways or up/down), shell cases, rubber cases, no cases etc. Most cases tend to do what you expect of them, and often the cheaper they are the poorer …
Small storage options for phones have been around for so long they are almost ignored by the tech community. Apple especially has been guilty of making the entry level price point as cheap as possible just for a great ‘from’ price. Capacity restraints are a very real for …
Remember all those years ago when you’ve got your first email account and you couldn’t wait to set it up with a stupid account name? Now, many years later, it’s quite embarrassing having to pass those details to any prospective employers, hospitals or friends. So what do you …
Keeping your devices charges whilst away from home is a continued nightmare. After dragging around a bulking power adapter, you struggle to find a power outlet. This is where a brand new Kickstarter campaign steps in. https://ksr-video.imgix.net/projects/2682888/video-723673-h264_high.mp4 Aircharge is looking to secure £20,000 with backers providing over …
Minecraft is a very popular game. I’m sure a lot of you have played it and you may even have a child or two who’s addicted to it. So how do you get them away from the screens? Well, you could try this creative gift from www.boxheadcraft.co.uk. It’s …
Now before I begin my review, I must confess that I haven’t used a windows machine in anger for quite some time. 95% of my work is now done on my Chromebook. I do have a windows media PC, but that’s all its used for. I have been …
As we race towards the bottom price point, there are some amazing handsets available for a more bank friendly price heres my review of the Nuu Mobile X4.
I have been trying wireless headphones from all price ranges and wanted to see if our review of the Syllable D900 was up to scratch - so took a second look.
Doing a review of a solar charging system at this time of year isn’t perhaps my wisest decision, especially not here in the UK on a cold and wet November day. It’s going to be dark by 4PM, but I’ve got a solar charging device from Archeer. This …
OK. Are you ready to have your mind blown? To be honest I was going to put “This will blow your mind – charge your iPhone and your Android phone with one cable” in the title, but it sounded a little too click-baity. Whether your main handset is …
It has been a few weeks now since the latest Acer tablet arrived on my desk at Coolsmartphone towers. In that time I have been using it as my main day-to-day device for media consumption. I have not really been using it for very much in the way of work …
There was a time, not too long ago, when phones costing £139.99 were best avoided. “Android landfill” they used to call them. Cheap devices with a questionable build quality, a dire camera and wonky screen resolutions. Here, for your money you’re getting a completely network-free device with an …
Phone cases are something that are a fact of life. We don’t really want to hide the fantastic style and shape of our shiny expensive phone, but we have to. This FLAVR case adds a bit of a twist, and they’re really only useful for the next few …
There has been an increased interest in virtual reality, and 360-degree video over the last year or so, with the likes of Gear VR, the HTC Vive & Playstation VR providing platforms to view this enhanced content. Purists will correctly tell you that VR and 360 degree video aren’t …
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 …
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 …
For the last few weeks I have been putting the Google Pixel through its paces. Heres my review of the first phone by Google.
Cases always cause me an issue. The manufacturers spend hundreds of hours designing the phone so it looks its best. They shave millimetres and dropping grammes to make it as sleek and pleasing to hold as possible. However, every handset seems to make a bid for freedom at …
Good news people! We got sent a brand new Tesla to road test. We’ll be bringing you a full 30 minute video of the resulting…. … oh wait no. We got another cable. Don’t worry though, this is a strong, industrial-grade cable and it’s called the Armour Charge. …
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 …
Every one of us at Coolsmartphone love our gadgets, but we all also have the same issues and problems with putting it in a case. My nice shiny new iPhone 7 Plus has been crying out for a new case to make sure it doesn’t hurtle towards the …
This is a big battery that you charge from your iPhone or iPad charger. It has two USB 3A output ports and it’s got a 12000mAh capacity. If I’m honest, that’s about all you need to know. Portable chargers aren’t something you can write about a great deal, …
If you write for a site like this, expect a lot of email. Going through the email from this morning I can see that the majority of it is from accessories manufacturers who are eager to let me know about their products. Bluetooth FM transmitters, car chargers, fast …
When I was sent these headphones I gave a sigh of relief – I’m a regular runner and use a bog standard pair of sports headphones. These fit nicely around the ear but have a wire, and for months now the wire has been driving me slowly mad …
Sony has had an interesting year so far. It’s seen the launch of several handsets, including two flagships – the Xperia X and Xperia XZ. The latter of these phones is the subject of this review. If you wish to find out a bit more about the former …
Let’s be honest, the trouble with protective cases is that they make your shiny iPhone look bloody ugly as flip. Your iPhone looks gorgeous without a case, but no-one will see that because it’s hidden behind a stack of rubber and plastic when you try and keep it …
Virtual Assistants are something that major phone vendors have been pushing for a while. Whether it may be Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana or the new Google Assistant on the new Pixel phones. Now Sony has gotten into the act with their new Xperia Ear. According to the Sony blurb, this …
The lower-end of the smartphone market has become very competitive of late. Not only that, but it’s also got better. The build quality is better. The specs are better. So, when I say, “the lower-end”, I generally only mean the price. Bush isn’t a brand that many today …
I’m going to completely give away the whole upshot of this review in the first paragraph for you now. Sure, you can always skip along to the bottom of the most reviews, but I’m going to serve it up on a platter right here in paragraph one. OK. …
Bluetooth headphones are now all of a sudden a big deal. The world has awoken and realised that they don’t have to plug their ear buds into a headphone jack to listen to their tunes. All because Apple decides to get rid of it?! Once the reserved for …
As the explosion of online shopping continues, more and more of us are having deliveries to our homes (I am now on first name terms with my local Amazon delivery driver, we have so many deliveries). Here lies one of our first world problems, i.e. making sure somebody’s …
Welcome to the first in a series of articles celebrating apps which are an example to others on how things should be done. I’m probably preaching to the converted, but I wanted to talk about the BBC iPlayer Radio app. It’s available for iPhone,, Android and Kindle. For …
If you’re after some “proper” over-ear headphones with noise cancelling tech, these could be on your shopping list. First though, perhaps the biggest plus point for me is the price – just £18.89 on Amazon as I type, which is really rather good. The headphones have the usual …
Portable speakers are ten a penny these days. You can spend anywhere from a few pounds up to several hundred. The sound quality is often one of the defining features, as is the make and look. Aukey produce a wide variety of products, most of which are …
Three have had mobile broadband available for a long time now, and with each device upgrade comes more enhanced connectivity options with quicker speeds and more flexibility. On visiting the official Three site you’ll find USB Dongles, Tablets, MiFi and more recently RoadFi – a MiFi plugged into …
