Tag: technology

5G Conspiracy Friday

I’ve spoken many times about 5G here in the UK. The conspiracy theories surrounding the safety and health of 5G technology really kicked into high gear as we all went into a prolonged coronavirus lockdown. People spent more time inside browsing the web and getting sucked into Facebook …

We’ve been awarded a thing. Yay.

It’s one of those awards again, and they want us to include a link to their site – definitely not for SEO ranking. Oh no. This one comes from Vuelio, who describe Coolsmartphone as follows… Both cool and also very smart is Leigh Geary’s blog Coolsmartphone, which has …

Xiaomi push on – European R&D office now open

With Huawei currently hitting some rather big stumbling blocks, competitors such as Xiaomi are smelling an opportunity. Today they’ve announced the launch of an R&D office in Tampere, Finland. It’s focused on the development of their latest smartphone cameras. Xiaomi is growing quickly. The company is the youngest …

Our reliance to technology shown in new survey

Unless you’ve printed this out (which is doubtful), you’ll be reading this on an electronic device. We are, and this is probably not a surprise, using smartphones and other technology more than ever. Now, in a poll of 2,000 adults, it has been found that 65% of respondents …

Compared – 4G vs 5G

There’s no doubt about it, 5G is going to make an amazing difference to your data speeds. The throughput is astonishing and we’ve seen examples of entire movies being downloaded in seconds. There is, though, two very important changes that 5G will cause. The first, rather obviously, is …

New rural EE masts in North Yorkshire

Getting a mast put up is relatively easy if you’re in a major town or city. The biggest problem, as always, is planning consent and getting the land to build on. However, once you’ve done that it’s just a matter of getting some power, some clever kit and …

One of the best photographs of Birmingham, taken on an iPhone

I’ve been kicking around this planet for a while now and, as I live in Staffordshire, I’ve visited Birmingham quite a bit. Nowadays you’ll find me doing the Birmingham Velo whilst my wife goes shopping in Selfridges. In parts the city still has problems and the issues that …

Is our life better with new technology or without?

Our life has changed significantly thanks to modern technology. But what’s your opinion? Has it made things better? Let’s compare life with technology and without, and try to define what’s better! Nowadays, we live in a world full of new technologies, and it’s hard to imagine how people …

EU tech benefits that Britain has ditched

Last year, after a lot of waiting and a lot of discussion, we finally got proper roaming across the bulk of Europe. It doesn’t cost you any extra, and many Brits are only just realising what a good thing it actually is. Fly to Germany, Spain, Cyprus and …

Ford – An inside look at the gadgets in your next car

Get in a BMW, a Mercedes or an Audi and you’ll expect a certain level of tech. However, brand snobbery and perhaps because we’re buying a car that costs less, we sometimes don’t expect the latest gadgetry in … a Ford. They probably won’t thank me for saying …

It’s so funny, how we don’t talk anymore.

It’s Christmas, and you’ll all have probably witnessed the traffic, parking problems and busy stores that are always connected with the festive period. Many of us, for many very valid reasons, have decided to shift a lot of this shopping online. It’s simple, it’s quick and it’s a …

Podcast 94 – One tablet to rule them all

Welcome to the Coolsmartphone Podcast, joining me this week were Garry and Ronnie. This week topics revolved around the Huawei Ascend P7 event that Garry went to the other week, the upcoming LG G3 event, the Samsung Galaxy S5 Active and Prime rumours, me trying to not be …

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, …

Get off that phone!!

We’ve all either been on the receiving end of that line, or said it to someone else, you hear it all the time. It’s often used as a reason that our society is getting more unsociable, or cited as reasons young relationships break down! I know I’ve been …

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, …

The Coolsmartphone Podcast – Episode 71

Episode 71 marks one of those weeks where lots of nondescript stuff happens. Great stuff really for a podcast. Joining me this week were Ravi and Simon. This weeks topics included the following The ludicrous Microsoft Scroogled merchandise thing Our slightly longer term thoughts on the Nexus 5 …

Opis 60s Classic Mobile Review

It’s kinda hard to start with this one. This is a classic 1960’s-style phone. If you’re old enough you may remember seeing one of these on a special table at home. A few decades ago people would rent these from the telephone company. I know, it seems strange …

Better batteries on the way?

We’ve all felt the pain. That feeling when you look at your phone and the battery level is all the way into the red, when you start thinking “This never happened with my old Nokia/Samsung/Sony Ericsson a couple of years ago”. So when I read that a Massachusetts-based …

Looking to get those “free” Beats headphones?

Some of the HTC devices we reviewed last year included these Dr. Dre Beats headphones. They work with the Beats technology in the phone to deliver superior quality sound into your eardrums. You can see them in our Sensation XE review and I remember seeing them in the …

Coolsmartphone New Tech Watch: Tactus & Tactile Layer Technology

If any of you have heard the Coolsmartphone Podcast you will have noticed several of our writers mention the loss of a physical keyboard. Many moons ago I owned a Blackberry Bold 9700, the keyboard on the handset was fantastic, I seemed to type more and quicker. Now …

Dear BBC. We would like to apologise. :)

We’ve got some hands-on video footage of the Samsung Galaxy SIII for you shortly, but I found this behind-the-scenes footage posted up by Rory Cellan-Jones from the BBC. There’s a small story about this because, as the curtain lifted and hundreds of journalists moved forward to get their …

MWC – MIPS helping to bring us better, cheaper devices

The final day of Mobile World Congress here in Barcelona and, although the crowds are starting to thin out, it was perhaps the best time to go to the very back of these great halls and seek out companies that have great products and ideas but don’t always …

Apple lose court battle, is the tide about to change?

Come on, you’ve probably seen all the news about Apple and various other phone manufacturers being involved in lawsuits. Until now Apple has been fairly successful in winning every legal battle and have forced many manufacturers to change the design of their products, licence features or just remove …

Is technology to blame for the riots?

The recent riots here in the UK have scared many and caused the destruction of property, livelihoods and homes. The media has been quick to blame technology – “social networking sites” and BlackBerry handsets are mentioned time and time again in new bulletins and reports. Yes, technology allows …