Tag: audio

OnePlus Buds. Hands on!

These have a passing resemblance to the new Google Pixel Buds (which cost £179) but they’re £100 less at just £79 from the OnePlus website. I’ve given these a try and they give a very similar sound quality to the Honor Magic Earbuds, but there’s no active noise …

Working from home still? Get the sounds of the office

Sitting at home can be a solitary affair. The enforced coronavirus lockdown has led to many working from home and many companies have no plans for that to change any time soon. Many previously saw home working as an ideal solution to the stresses and strains of commuting, …

OnePlus Buds. More info and a sneaky look.

Those new OnePlus Buds are on the way and today we get a bit more information courtesy of Pete Lau himself. Along with a sneak peek of the Buds, there’s also a few more details too. Performance at a “reasonable price” is promised, along with a super-comfortable design …

Podcast 254 – Blimey! Remember these?

“Sporadic” seems to be the word for these podcasts. If you’ve listened to some of them then you might be aware that they’re usually recorded in the car as it’s the only free time I have. However, these are not normal times. These are very strange times and …

HONOR Magic EarBuds – Review

After having my perception of all non-Apple AirPods ruined by some shady £10 in-ear replicas, I didn’t hold out too much hope for these Magic Earbuds from HONOR. They’re available in the UK now and you can find them on the new HONOR website here. That new website – …

H&M and Urbanista collaborate on audio goodness

If you’re in the market for a Bluetooth speaker, the guys at Urbanista have teamed up with H&M HOME to create a limited-edition Bluetooth speaker. The Sydney speaker is £34.90 but, if you hang around on the site, you’ll get a 10% discount code to make it a bit cheaper. …

Huawei takes on Spotify

Six short months ago, everyone thought that 2020 would be the year that Huawei quietly disappeared from the European and American markets. Castigated in the USA for their supposed privacy and data protection breaches, named personally by President Donald Trump as being spies for the Chinese government, and …

Tribit XBoom becomes the Tribit StormBox

Before the world fell apart we did our top gadget awards and the “Best Bluetooth Speaker” gong went to the Tribit XBoom. We reviewed it here and it was quite pricey at the time. Don’t let that put you off though, because it’s still an utterly brilliant bit …

Podcast 253 – MoDaCo and Coolsmartphone lock it down

This one is a bit special and if you want to see the video version just head here. Paul O’Brien gave me a nudge and suggested we just have a relaxed chat and a discussion about the current coronavirus situation plus our favourite gadgets at the moment. The …

Home Active – Free audio books for kids

I’m properly annoyed with the amount of companies profiteering out of the coronavirus crisis. I’d like to see far more companies doing their bit. Audible has stepped forward with a good gift for the kids – free streamed audio books. Their website states that.. For as long as …

Podcast 251 – Sky TV and Mobile World Congress

Yes, we’re back – the podcast has returned! We should have a big bumper news package after Mobile World Congress in Barcelona but, as you know, that went in the bin due to coronavirus outbreak. In this episode we cover that and the impact it’ll have on the …

Voxos Smart Glasses – In use

Yesterday I took a look at the Voxos Smart Glasses. They’ve got proper polarized lenses and come with an innovative bone conduction system to play tunes into your ears without blocking them. This, added to the downward-facing speaker sections on the arms, means that you can listen to …

EarFun Go Bluetooth Speaker – Review

Priced at £35.99 on Amazon you might be thinking, “Oooh, that’s a bit much for a speaker”. Indeed, you can pay less for your next Bluetooth speaker, but – when you’re shopping on the internet – a lot of speakers do look the same. The sound and build …

KitSound Diggit XL Speaker – Review

Given the delightful summer we’re having this year, testing this one has been somewhat tricky. It doubles as a garden / outdoor speaker and has a detachable stake which lets you plonk it into the ground. It’s ideal for the beach, a garden party, a barbeque or on …

DAB in the UK. Quantity, not quality.

We have, for quite some time, covered a lot of the new and interesting ways to enjoy music and other types of media. Over the years we’ve featured the start of internet radio, streaming internet radio in the car and even the Virgin Mobile Lobster TV phone. Remember …

Diggit XL Bluetooth speaker. Ideal for your outdoor adventures

I went camping this weekend and, as usual, took a fairly rugged outdoor speaker. However, after seeing this new Diggit XL speaker pop into my inbox I’m fairly impressed by the helpful little addition – a stake. It’ll push into the sand or ground to keep the speaker …

Podcast 247 – One day late, but still sounding great

It’s a long, long drive in a 50mph zone today, and I recorded the whole thing twice because the first time I’d forgotten to press record. Doah F1 Car tech. Truly bonkers. Xiaomi pricing. Our rather expansive reviews. Launches! Lots of launches!. How to not use the toll …

Podcast 246 – Who the hell parks like that?

I recorded this yesterday. Just yesterday. It’s our funtastical podcast – the one that walks that dangerous line between serious tech talk and how I once parked my Lexus underneath a Land Rover (no, really). So week I’ve got you a slice of the following… A properly professional …

The Coolsmartphone Podcast – Now on Spotify too!

We published our first ever podcast, unbelievably, way back in 2012. On Tuesday we’ll be publishing Episode 244. The number 244, as you may be aware, is the dialling code for Angola. It’s also the year that Philip the Arab became the new Roman Emperor. So… ermm.. to …

Coolsmartphone Podcast 242 – Late night special

Another week, another podcast, and yes – it’s still as regular as a Brexit Meaningful vote. This week it’s a 48 minute edition covering the story behind the Android bike computer, phone cases, the new Huawei P30 and my quest for a well-priced reconditioned iPhone. As usual, the …

Coolsmartphone Podcast 241 – I need a Hero!

This week I broke my lengthy two-week tradition of recording the podcast in the car. Somehow I found myself with something called “free time”, so I’ve picked up on an earlier story about how the site started. Now you can listen to the second part of that story, …

Coolsmartphone Podcast 240 – Look at my teeth!

This week, in Podcast 240, I experiment with cross-fading. Yes, cross-fading. To be honest I had to Google it to see what it was. It’s where the audio fades nicely between two tracks. It’s because I record the podcast in various chunks, during trips to work, to the …

Bored on your commute?

My journey to work has got longer recently. This, I’ll confess, perhaps wasn’t my best career decision in terms of time away from the family. Luckily, thanks to the mobile tech we now carry around in our pockets, train journeys in particular can pass by quite quickly. I …

Coolsmartphone Podcast 239 – 1.21 gigawatts!

In this episode we’re going to turn the clock back. We’re going to do a full Back to the Future show for you this week and, although we don’t have any plutonium and we don’t have a flux capacitor, we do have a car. So, a quick update …

Nissan want me to test drive their new GT-R

Yeah, so two phone calls this morning. One from Nissan wanting me to test-drive this thing, then another from Theresa May shouting, “I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO” whilst crying hysterically. Then, after a lie down, I suddenly realised that I’d added Baileys to my coffee and none …

How do you create a custom ringtone for your phone?

Gone are the days when mobile phones were only able to cope with monophonic or polyphonic ringtones. Now you can grab and use pretty much any music that you want to as a ringtone – provided it is in the right form. The trouble, though, is that you …

OnePlus announce new Bullets headset… no 3.5mm in sight.

New headphones from OnePlus? Sure, I’ll have a look at that email. They’re an updated version of the acclaimed Bullets V2, but wait a minute, these USB-C headphones are being launched to coincide with their next phone. Which can only mean that their new phone won’t have a …

Groov-e Wave II Bluetooth Speaker – Review

Summer has finally arrived here in the UK. It’s nearly 32 degrees as I type this and now everyone is moaning that it’s too hot! This all means lots of time outdoors, and as such I’ve been reviewing the Groov-e Wave II Outdoor Bluetooth speaker. Good Points: Price. …

Urbanista Detroit headphones now available

Hailing from Sweden, Urbanista are a top lifestyle audio brand and have today announced their new Detroit headphone. They are available in black, green and peach for just £59. They’re stylish and deliver 12 hours of playback after a fast charge, so just 15 minutes will give up to three …

Tsumbay Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker – Review

Yep. I got me a Bluetooth speaker. This one has a 5W output and is waterproof. Inside is a 2200mAh battery which should keep you going for about 20 hours and it takes 3-4 hours to charge up from scratch. By waterproof we mean that it’s shower resistant. …

Mixcder Introduces its E7 active noise cancelling headphones

Back in December last year I carried out a review of the Mixcder MS301 Premium Bluetooth headphones, which I was extremely pleased with. Both the sound and build quality of the units were excellent, and I gave them an overall score of 92% (you can read that review …

Ringtones! Lots and lots of ringtones!

Way back when this site first started, we had a monstrous downloads section where you could grab MP3 files to plonk onto your phone. In the early 2000’s (yes, we’ve been around a while), it was fairly unusual to have a phone which could get free ringtones. Most …

Audeara are available to buy

At CES we covered the new Audeara headphones. These hit the Kickstarter campaign target within 15 hours and more than $460,000 was raised. The specially-designed headphones are made to combat any form of hearing loss you may have. Here’s what their press release says Everyone has a degree of hearing loss. …