Tag: gadgets

What’s in my bag (Garry) – MWC 2015

Well that came around quick didn’t it? MWC 2015 is here and, in preparation of the team arriving in Barcelona, we have decided to share an insight into the kit we are taking with us. I have tried to go relatively lightweight with my gear as I’m going …

What’s in my bag (Leigh) – MWC 2015

The Coolsmartphone crew are a pretty organised bunch, it must be said. Planning and preparation is key, so getting bags packed and ready a week before Mobile World Congress starts is a good thing. At least, this is what they told me. Although most of the team are …

Three ways to make the most of your gadgets

So, you fire up a desktop PC at work, log-in to your laptop during meetings and connect to the Internet on a tablet when at home. Your smartphone is constantly glued to the palm of your hand, receiving instant emails and Facebook updates in tandem with text messages …

Useless Christmas present ideas or a stroke of genius?

Like a great many tech fans, I’m always on the look out for interesting, innovative new gadgets.  I just spotted the following two products on the Expansys website but cannot decide if they’re totally pointless or the workings of a crazy genius. I believe we’ve covered then some …

Quick cycle-related news update

Was my previous post just a cheap way to get donations to the Douglas Macmillan Hospice? Well yes, it probably was a bit, but they provide care for those with progressive diseases and a limited life expectancy. It’s a bloody good cause and I’ve only had 11 donations, …

Xperia Z2 BookCover by Roxfit

For those of you out there who are lucky enough to have picked up a brand new Xperia Z2, well I’ve done this one just for you. Roxfit have been specialising in covers for the Xperia range for the past few years and I have tested several of …

I’m troubled by what we’ve created

Friday. I think something is happening to me. At work, during my lunch hour, I did my usual trip to the supermarket to get a sandwich. Like many, I filled the period of “dead time” by faffing about with my phone. Twitter, Facebook, the news, checking email. The …

What is in my bag? Huawei Paris event edition

Today I embark on a brief sojourn to Paris for a the Huawei press event. I thought I would enlighten you as to the kit I intend to use for the trip. As this is a reasonably short trip I don’t need to be hugely weighed down so …

Coolsmartphone at the Gadget Show Live Pro

I am writing this whilst travelling down to Birmingham from south of the border. Why would I willingly come south of the border? Well there is only one reason gadget fans – a show dedicated to gadgets! As you will have no doubt established, I will attending Gadget …

Screenproof screen protector review

The other day I received some long awaited Screen protectors from a small company called ScreenProof. They are a relatively new kid on the block with regard to screen protection and having used the camera protector on my Lumia 1020 I thought it would be worth trying them …

Connecting your gadget – A simple solution to finding the right cable

Smartphones and tablets can be complicated, but the cables to connect them all up have got a little easier to understand in recent years. Generally speaking, if you’ve got a smartphone or Android tablet it’ll have a microUSB cable and that’ll plug into a wall socket. However, if …

Are you a crazed gadget fan?

A short while ago E.ON emailed me. I did the first thing that most people do when a utility company contacts you directly. I hid under the bed and shouted, “We’re not in, we never use the tumble dryer, honest!” 😉 After a while I emerged and found …

Christmas, online.

The festive season is definitely a good time to “people watch”. On Christmas Day you’ll see tablets and smartphones getting unwrapped and, as the new owners get online, you’ll see a surge of traffic onto major websites around the internet. This year and last I have witnessed a …

LG announce the marriage of Smartphone and Smart TV

Let’s talk Smart TV’s shall we? They’re pretty rubbish aren’t they? I bought one of these, thinking I’d be sitting there with my 3D glasses on watching some movies on Netflix or videos on YouTube. However, by the time the clunky interface has booted and you’ve sat through …

Are we failing the next generation?

Many months ago I watched this YouTube video showing a baby using an iPad. The baby seems to have grasped the iPad interface pretty well, but is then presented with a magazine. Expecting it to work the same, they tried to swipe the pictures around the magazine. Sure, …

Looking for a gift idea this Christmas?

The festive season is about to hit us head-on, so if you’re looking for present ideas you’ve come to the right place. In the last few weeks we’ve already added a number of reviews and features, but there’s more to come. If you’ve missed the ones we’ve published …

Gadgets in flight. Now they can go all the way.

Flying with a smartphone or tablet is always a confusing affair. In some parts of the world you can use gadgets during certain parts of the flight, but in others you can’t. It’s a slightly confusing mish-mash of rules, but now US aviation regulator – the FAA – …

Smartphones. What have we done to ourselves?

Hello Monday morning. This is a strange article for me, because it actually criticises the very thing I love and write about on a daily basis. The other day I was in Pizza Hut. Classy huh? I spotted two people come in and they sat directly in my …

Turn your phone into a futuristic toy

With Christmas just around the corner we’re getting stacks of emails about potential gifts for the season. The people at AppToyz have something a bit different. Toys that interact and convert your phone into a gaming machine. For example, with App Fishing you convert your handset into a …

Clove celebrate 20 years – Win stuff!

Two whole decades. 1992 eh? Heck, I wasn’t even born. OK, who’s laughing? The guys at Clove are celebrating the fact that they’ve been in operation for 20 years. You can celebrate too, because Clove are giving away loads of stuff in a daily giveaway draw. There’s 150 …

Get down to Comet, take your riot shield and helmet

Comet. Unless you’ve been living under a rock you’ll know that they’ve gone into administration. It’s now looking increasingly likely that we’ll lose that lovely big electronics shop and we’ll no longer have anywhere to measure up TV’s, fiddle with laptops or buy completely unnecessary extended warranties. But …

Gadget Show Live 2012

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the trade only day of Gadget Show Live 2012 at the NEC in Birmngham. This was a great experience and I am grateful to Otone Audio who were good enough to provide my ticket for me to attend. I will hopefully …

CES – Sony introduce a range of “Smart” products

Can you remember the Sony Ericsson LiveView? It was a clever bluetooth device that you could wear as a watch that would show you alerts from your phone. Great idea, full of bugs and initially too expensive. Well Sony have updated the Liveview and come up with a …

Archos 80 G9 tablet review

Despite being declared gadget maniac, somehow I never really got into tablets. When the first iPad came out and whole hype began, I regarded it as overly-expensive gadget having virtually no practical use to me. Yet quite recently I’ve started changing my mind towards tablets. I thought they …

HTC all set for world domination. 2011 to be a big year

It's getting to that time of year again when we start looking ahead at how the next year will pan out. HTC seem to have decided that the best bet is to pretty much floor it. They're projected to shift 20 million devices in 2010 but, according to …

Got $50,000 Spare?, Buy A Ulysse Nardin Chairman

Nokia have their Vertu range, iPhone can be put in diamonds and gold but what does the Android fan with too much cash and an itch for bling decide to buy?. The answer is the Ulysse Nardin Chairman which will set you back a cool $50,000 (£34,600...

In video – Google Android on my HTC Touch Dual

Thanks to some rather nifty work by the guys at xda-developers.com I've just managed to do something rather special with my HTC Touch Dual. What is it? Well, I've got Google Android working on it. Sure, it's a little hit-and-miss right now and it took...

Another reason I love doing this site – Let your phone fly!

Sometimes I look around this site and think, "I love this. I really, really do". It's not an egotistical thing - I just love the community aspect and the interesting ideas and news that you guys find. We always try and "give back" with free money, cha...

Slingbox and SlingPlayer Mobile – The review

A few weeks back the guys at SlingMedia lent us a Slingbox and said... "Hey, would you like to review it? Try the SlingPlayer software on your Windows Mobile phone too." ..so we did, and boy it's good. This has to be one of the best gadgets we've …

European Satellite Radio coming soon?

Every now and then we like to bring you a slightly off-topic post which may interest you. Today I spotted this news item about old satellites being re-used for new in-car entertainment systems in Europe.Cast your mind back a few years. Remember when S...

Want a Smartphone? Eat me!

The guys at software shop Pocketland.net have a rather interesting new product on their books - it's a Marziphone! Yup, it's mobile and edible ! This is better than any Chocolate phone - 100 grams of pure marzipan from Lübeck marzipan maker J.G. Nied...

iTheater Glasses – TV without the TV!

I love Firebox.com - it's a great place for getting Christmas gifts. Right now they have these rather cool glasses that show your favourite film on miniture TFT screens. It's apparently like watching a 50" screen from a distance of 8.5ft and it comes ...

Live radio on your Windows Mobile

Here in the UK we've got a fairly unique setup with TV and radio. There's a huge amount of commercial TV and radio stations but, if you have a TV or radio you have to buy a TV / Radio licence. The money from this goes to fund …

Firefox 2 now available

The new version of Firefox is now available for preview here. Although not really relating to Windows Mobile, this is a web browser you should be aware of. Many may have seen Internet Explorer 7 and the various parts it "lifted" from earlier versions ...

Free Broadband for all Sky Customers

Whilst not really Windows Mobile news this needs covering as it signals a massive change in the way you connect to the internet. UK TV giants Sky are today launching free broadband for all 8 million Sky TV customers. All customers, regardless of packa...

The Slingbox comes to the UK

We've already mentioned the Slingbox a few times. It's simply a widget that sits on your TV and lets you control and watch your TV, PVR and DVD recorder from any internet connection. You can use your Windows Mobile device to connect in via WiFi or 3G ...

Sky TV begin streaming trials with MediaFLO

TV giants Sky are to trial the MediaFLO Technology from Qualcomm. They're going to be testing the FLOTM technology, which is a wireless multicasting technology allowing delivery of video services to mobile devices in the United Kingdom. This, along wi...

Mail2Web – Instant email for everyone!

We've all seen those people walking around with BlackBerry handsets haven't we ? Yes, we Smartphone / Pocket PC owners can now get "instant email" too, but it's just not as easy to setup is it? Well, thanks to the guys at Mail2Web Live it is now! Just...

TVGenius – Get reminded about your favourite TV shows

Philip Nowlan has messaged in about a UK based service called TVGenius it's a website you can access on your handset by browsing to www.tvgenius.co.uk/mobile.html then bang in your favourite TV show and it'll remind you when it comes on! Hoho! Just wh...

Even broader-band

Despite heavily misleading marketing campaigns from certain ISP's saying that "8Meg broadband is now available", it's not and it hasn't been. It will however be possible to get 8Mbit/s broadband from the end of this month providing your pretty close t...