Search Results for: Technology

Vodafone begin blocking spam calls at a network level

Every day at around 2PM I get a call from The Claims Guys on 01212774003. They’re continually chasing me about a PPI claim that I have no intention of following up on. They drive me insane. I’ve told them around six times that I’m not interested, I’ve told …

Turn your mobile phone into a desk phone – the NVX 200

I tell you what you need. You need a desk phone that plugs into your smartphone somehow. Perhaps one that let’s you use those traditional numeric keys to make a call and a normal corded headset too. Sounds a bit bizarre doesn’t it? Well, look at it this …

A smart suitcase. Yes, a smart suitcase.

No, I didn’t know there was such a thing either, but apparently it is a “thing”. To be honest though, after a bit of reading, I became quite interested. A carry-on suitcase that is water resistant, scratch resistant and has GPS and 3G technology built in? Remote and …

Mobile device use while driving is on the increase!

British motoring association, the RAC, has carried out a survey of motorists. It’s revealed some rather worrying results. The number of motorists illegally using mobile phones while at the wheel is rising. After surveying 1,714 UK motorists it found… 31% of motorists says they used a handheld phone …

devolo dLAN 550 Starter Kit – Review

Back in January, Leigh reviewed devolo’s dLAN 1200+ WiFi ac Powerline adapter and now I got the chance to review the 550 starter pack. The dLAN 500 WiFi is an upgrade of devolo’s current mid-high range offering, the dLAN 500 WiFi. While continuing to offer Powerline transmission speeds of …

Dog & Bone releases cases for the iPhone 7 surfer

I love the Dog & Bone brand, there is something stereotypically Austrailian about them and their products. We have covered their products before and typically aimed at the adventurous person, in particular, a surfer person (dude or dudette!). Splash44 case This sleek and fashionable case features a military certified …

X-Doria’s new protective range of cases for the iPhone 7

Hot on the tails of Cygnett are X-Doria, but this time, they are concentrating on the protective element of the iPhone 7 series, which according to another article about the Jet-Black series – this case will be a life saver! (Not literally!) Defense Gear is a full body, …

The Apple iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, the Apple Watch 2 – All the details

The launch was another theatrical masterpiece. From the moment you saw James Corden bopping along with Tim Cook to the eventual iPhone 7 announcement, you could virtually taste the excitement. The audience had been whipped up into a hot quivering mess with a Nike Apple Watch, Super Mario …

LockSmart and LockSmart Mini – Review

Back in March at Gadget Show live, I met up with the guys from Dog & Bone, who had an array of convenient accessories for those who like adventure and technology. Well, the lovely people at Dog & Bone sent us two of their Bluetooth locks, namely LockSmart …

Obi MV1 Worldphone – Review

Meet the OBi MV1 Worldphone “Obi who?” Good question. They are a Silicon Valley smartphone manufacturer founded in 2014 by former Apple Inc and Pepsi CEO John Sculley. Obi Worldphone manufactures smartphones aimed at the emerging markets, rather than very competitive developed markets. Obi Worldphone launched two of their …

TP-Link TL-PBG6700 Vivid Series Power Bank – Review

I know what you need. What you need is another power bank. People, if I’m honest, don’t know what to call these things. Not really. Are they power banks? Are they portable chargers? Should we just call them batteries? Portable batteries? Here TP-Link calls it a Power Bank, …

VPN made simpler – Hide My Ass

I won’t beat around the bush. If you’re doing anything that you’d like to be kept a bit secret from your ISP then you need a VPN. Whether it be streaming, torrents or something in-between, online privacy is something you need to be looking at. However, it’s always …

Lumsing 13400mAh Portable Charger – Review

I’ve got another portable battery for review. This time it’s the Lumsig Grand Series A1 Plus charger. This costs £18.99 from Amazon or $23.99 on Amazon US. It’s available in this silver shade along with black and gold. Inside is a rather chunky 13,400mAh battery. I say chunky …

Three to block adverts on your mobile? “No way” says EU

Just to bring you up to speed on this one, Three wanted to block the adverts that keep most websites alive. It’s a tricky subject and one which has various conflicting arguments. Mobile networks, when they first came to be, handled mobile calls. It was the most important …

TP-Link Neffos line expanded with the X1 and X1 Max

Mention TP-Link and you might think of networking kit link the AC1900 WiFi range extender we took a look at recently. They sell network switches, routers, mobile hotspots and – although you may not know it – smartphones too. They’ve now announced an extension to their Neffos series …

Sony at IFA – Xperia XZ and Xperia X Compact announced

Sony. Remember them? Perhaps I’m being too harsh, but they don’t seem to be grabbing enough of the limelight in terms of phones. Today at IFA they’ve announced a couple of news phones, including the first flagship of their X series – the Xperia XZ. First, though, let’s …

HTC One A9s announced at IFA – A tweaked, lower priced A9.

We liked the HTC One A9 and gave it a glowing review. However, one thing I did point out at the time was the cost of the thing. My closing comments were… HTC are back. Just a shame about the price for the spec we’re getting in Europe …

IFA Berlin 2016 – ZTE Press Conference

ZTE. Definitely not last in the smartphone race despite that alphabetical challenge. The IFA 2016 ZTE Press Conference is happening, so let’s get down to the happenings. Adam Zeng, CEO of ZTE Mobile Devices tells us that ZTE is globally the sixth biggest shipper of smartphones, and the …

Yet more smartphone security warnings

The smartphones of today have come a long, long way from the “bricks” of the 1980s and are capable of doing far more than anyone could have imagined when mobiles were first introduced. You’ll know that already of course. I bumped into someone fairly recently who wanted us …

Urgent iPhone update

Hello iPhone users. Hope your phones are safe!! News is that there has been a botched attempt to hack into an iPhone recently. Apple have promptly responded with a global update and has marked it as “URGENT”.  The story is that the break in was attempted by an …

Mobile games are poised to get console-like graphics

Checking Facebook, Twitter and your email. It’s something we all do on our mobiles and it’s something that smartphones will do with ease. However, it’s only the tip of the iceberg and, whether it be due to not knowing or not wanting to deplete our all-important batteries, the …

Sengled Boost LED WiFi repeater bulb review

Good Points: Easy Setup. Control from Android/iOS app. Dim-able. Used alone or in a group of bulbs. Innovative hidden way to increase WiFi coverage. Bad Points:  Large Unit Size No ability to program on/off times Need to connected to same WiFi nerwork for app control. In today’s wireless …

Honor 8 – Everything you need to know

I like Honor. They’re clever, produce good handsets and they price them sensibly. In certain ways it’s like the early days of branded HTC handsets. HTC were always keen to show us their kit and they wanted to impress. They were proactive and eager. Now Honor are doing …

LeEco Le Max 2 “Superphone” – Review

The time has come for me to review the most powerful phone that I have ever used: the LeEco Le Max 2! Whoa there, hold on. Whoa there, hold on. ‘Whoa there, hold on’ – did I just say that? Well yes, I did, but the real question …

Samsung Galaxy Note7 – Pre-order from Three

The boys at Three have been in touch to tell us about their pre-order offers on the new Samsung Galaxy Note7. If you’re after one, listen up.. The network will be offering the handset in both blue coral and black onyx. They’ll also be giving away a free …

The perfect convertible? A left field choice. (Part 1)

Laptop PC sales are falling, Tablet sales are dropping, and even the mighty smartphone might be plateau-ing. Wearables have been a bit of a damp squib, and VR is just starting out. In the midst of all this, one area does seem to be (anecdotally at least) doing …

Fancy playing your MP3’s in an 8-track player from the 1960’s?

Well no. Not many people have thought about doing this, I’m sure, but I’ve got in the rather geeky habit of following the Techmoan YouTube channel and his most recent video features a rather old piece of technology from the 1960’s called the “8-track”. The 8-track cartridge or …

BBC go 360 for Rio 2016

Tonight is the opening ceremony for the Olympics in Rio, Brazil, which promises lots of excitement just like London 2012. BBC have embraced the modern era of VR technology by bringing various key events over the course of the Olympics in glorious 360 degrees. The coverage can be streamed …

BBC iPlayer viewer? You’ll need a TV licence.

For the last few years, if you watched everything on demand using the BBC iPlayer rather than tuning in live, it meant you didn’t have to pay the age-old subscription – the TV Licence fee. The British government and the BBC have wanted to close this so-called “iPlayer …

Vodafone want to stick brains into your bikini

Sitting out in the sun all day long might seem like a great thing to do, especially when you look out of the office window here in London to see nothing but rain. However, there’s risks associated with this, and Vodafone have been dreaming up ways to keep …

TP-Link AC1900 Wi-Fi Range Extender – Review

You don’t necessarily have to live in a mansion to have WiFi coverage problems. Even “normal” houses will have patchy areas where the WiFi coverage isn’t brilliant. Most internet providers will give you a free router now, and the WiFi range can be questionable at best, especially if …

Honor 5C – Picture special

The Honor handsets are helping to cause problems for Android manufacturers wanting to price their phones highly. As part of Huawei, the Honor handsets deliver all the Huawei technology but at a crazily competitive price. This is the Honor 5C. A phone you can buy for £149.99 unlocked. …

Argos announce a Bush smartphone. Yes. Bush.

I’m proper tired after that whole cycling thing, so I’m disconnecting the mouth / brain filter for a moment. See, for me if you say “Bush” I think of this… Bush hasn’t always screamed “quality” for me. Back in the day I had a Bush stereo and the …

Jide brings Marshmallow sweetness to Remix OS

We here at Coolsmartphone towers are big fans of Jide and their Remix OS. For those that have only just come across this, this is a desktop-friendly Android OS with windows and toolbars providing a full desktop experience. It is one of a number of Android x86 projects, …

Charity update

Hello all, hope you’re well. For the last few days I’ve been up on the Lake District. Not for a holiday, but for a rather grueling bike ride up 30% hills and a lot of very rugged mountains. It was a combined 20,000 foot climb in wind and …

Superbook – making your Chromebook redundant since July 2016

We have long been dreaming of the ability to make your Android phone more productive here at Coolsmartphone Towers. Today that dream came a bit closer to reality with a Kickstarter project called SuperBook, from the team behind Andronium OS. Here is a video of what it can …