Things started off quite well at Coolsmartphone HQ. We’d put the final touches to the Home Office / Gaming Room setup, with details on wiring up Freesat, plumbing in an Ethernet connection and basically hammering the flip out of the walls in my house.

Then it started turning when we had to say goodbye to the ever-excellent Garry Clark but then, for reasons I’ll go into shortly, he returned again in August!

Here’s my little look back at 2020. As ever though, I want to thank you all for reading, watching and listening. Have a peaceful and happy Christmas and a great New Year for 2021.

January saw us reviewing the Honor MagicWatch 2 (which I later bought because it was so good), some screen-friendly gloves, creating a half-price Google Pixelbook and the rise and rise of 120Hz screens.

February should’ve seen us heading to our private jet so that we could bring you all the Mobile World Congress action. Sadly, a pandemic started appearing and it all got cancelled. Then, well, you know how that all turned out. Everything became virtual and life is still far from normal even now. In recent days we’ve seen even tighter regulations kicking in, and many will now be spending Christmas alone or without the wider family they’d hoped to see.

If your mental health is struggling over this festive season, do reach out to any of the following..

Samaritans 116 123
CALM 0800 58 58 58
YoungMinds 0800 018 2138
ChildLine 0800 1111
No Panic 0844 967 4848
SANE 0300 304 7000
Get Connected 0808 808 4994

March saw us getting into lots of home activity and, for a bit, it seemed like fun. I grabbed an old exercise bike out of the shed and, as a way to dodge the crazy Peloton prices, stuffed a phone-holder in the front to give me a similar experience.

With all the new time at home, I then cleared up some finances, ditching Sky seemed like it’d be a big jump, but in the end it turned out rather well and saved me a load of cash.

April brought us the OnePlus 8 Pro and OnePlus 8, both fantastic phones and covered in detail here. We also had a look at the Wireless Warp Charger 30 and accessing Google Stadia on my cheap-but-powerful “Chromebook”.

May saw us delving into the rather confusing mess of age ratings in streaming movies, plus a review of the Moto G8 Power and the Netgem TV box

June, and OnePlus were up to something. It would end up being the excellent OnePlus Nord handset. I still can’t get over how many people come up to me when I’m using a OnePlus phone and say, “Hey, I’ve got one of those, great aren’t they?” It’s like being in a cool club.

We reviewed the Volutz USB cables and we started seeing more Oppo phones on UK networks.

July saw yet more reviews – the VanTop H610 dashcam, our expansive OnePlus Nord coverage, the OnePlus Buds, Tribit Flybuds, EarFun Air Wireless buds, Honor 9X and much more.

August is when my world, quiet literally, fell apart. This post details my first memories of the “event” which then got added to after I’d spoken to my family. It’s still hard to put all of this into words and, as I type all this, I’m still in hospital, still having chemotherapy, over 4 months after being told that I was about to die.

It’s something I still struggle to process. There I was, finishing off some DIY, feeling fine, then – just one week later (and after my stomach had ballooned to look like I was 9-months pregnant), a consultant was telling me there were growths inside me and there was nothing they could do. I had days to live. My family were told. My son was told. That, it seemed, was it.

Coming to terms with that and being told to get things “in order” is something I will never, ever forget.

I was on morphine. Heck, when a doctor came up to me and told me I was going onto “palliative care”, I just nodded. The drugs took the edge and the reality of the situation away.

There’s a podcast about the whole cancer diagnoses too if you’re interested. The short version is that, with really not much time remaining, the biopsy results started coming back and showed that I instead had a type of blood cancer, rather than the “hard cancer” they were seeing on the CT Scan. I felt like I’d won the lottery a million times over because it was treatable and, with luck, lots of chemotherapy and the absolutely amazing staff at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham; I could lead a normal life. Now, in December, I’m hopefully on the last run of chemo and I can look forward to a better year in 2021.

Well, that was the plan anyway. I’ve just caught the coronavirus too. More on that in a minute.

The TCL 10 5G

September. We had a look at lots of new tech, including the Mi Watch, the Zepp E smartwatch, the Honor Magicbook Pro, the Moto Razr 5G, the TCL 10 5G

OnePlus 8T

October and it’s the big OnePlus 8T review, Honor Watch ES review, the Blurams security camera plus a look at the Nubia Watch. We also took a look at the Taotronics SoundLiberty 92 headphones, the Honor 20e and a pair of socks.

Vivo X51 5G

November saw us reviewing the Vivo X51 5G, which was really very good, the BlitzWolf TS1 Phone holder and the 70mai Jump Starter / Phone charger. We also took a look at the various ways to get music in your car.

December. We’re here! Nearly Christmas and there’s details of the OnePlus Nord N10 5G, the Realme 7 5G, the Syncwire iPhone car charger, Oppo Enco X headphones and a simple guide to switching networks.

What will January bring? Well, I’ll still be here in the hospital sadly. I’ve now got the coronavirus to add to my problems, so Christmas and New Year will be celebrated in my hospital bed. What, though, will the 19th year of Coolsmartphone bring to the table? Let’s see!

Again, a massive thank-you to everyone who hits the site. Everyone on Twitter, listening to the podcast and those emailing us. You keep us going, you keep us smiling. Have yourself a very Merry Christmas guys.

The post Christmas 2020. Oh, what a year that was! is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

Back in the late ’90s, phones looked very different. The internet, my friend, was just a dream.

WAP technology, remember that? I think we can all agree that it was royally terrible on so many levels. Imagine a stripped-down version of a website which has then been stripped down even more, perhaps to a page with 4 links on it, and you’re almost there. Dial-up for your mobile phone.

Honestly, don’t listen to people who talk about how much of a revelation it was, because the GPRS (anyone remember that) connection was hilariously slow and the overall experience was duller than you could possibly imagine.

This YouTube video gives a little taster of what 1999 was like if you used a monochrome WAP phone (around 20 seconds in)…

..and that guy was drunk when he filmed that. No way was he that happy clicking through 14 pages to get his cricket scores. No way.

Oh and if you’re really interested to find out more, this unbelievably dry YouTube demonstration will display the full horror.

Back then, these were the phones being offered, but already we were also starting to see lower-priced handsets getting more functionality. This Currys ad shows some of the non-contract phones of the time…

Look at that – you could talk to your phone and it would make the call for you. That, let me tell you, was a revelation in 1999!

Not that I remember any of this you understand…

The post Don’t moan about 4G or 5G, you guys don’t know you’re born! is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

A recent batch of 60 more satellites continues to add to the final fleet, with thousands beaming broadband connectivity around the world. Delivering the satellites into an elliptical orbit ranging between 132 miles and 227 miles up, they will join the string of satellites flying over our heads. You can learn more about seeing them and then just look up into the sky at the right time to see them flying across. We also covered it in even more detail in October.

As the system grows, latency is expected to drop and speeds are set to increase. The satellites communicate with each other via laser and communicate with stations on the ground to hook into the global internet. What, though, about the customer experience? Well, right now it’s in beta and, in the US (and if you’re in the right place), you’ll be paying $99 (£73.22) per month for speeds which currently range from 30-40Mbps on average.

That might not sound great, but it’s early days and both prices and speeds could alter. For those testing, though, having an internet feed which is faster than a trickle is something of a revelation. In the video below, a guy living far away from normal internet connectivity tests out the Starlink system and the “Dishy” dish. Very interesting if you’re into this sort of thing..

The post Starlink on test. is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

Which network should you choose?

Well, it’s important to learn more about each one, including the plethora of “virtual” networks. The latter are known as “MVNO’s” (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) and use the masts and infrastructure of one of the main “big four” UK networks.

The main UK networks

• EE – Previously Orange and T-Mobile, they’re now combined and owned by BT. EE is the largest mobile network operator in the UK, with 27.5 million subscribers.
• Vodafone – The second-largest mobile phone company on the planet and the third largest in the UK (behind EE and O2).
• O2 – Owned by Telefonica, they have around 26 million subscribers and many moons ago were called Cellnet.
• Three UK – Launched in 2003 as the first 100% 3G network, it’s owned by Hutchison Holdings. They have around 13.3 million subscribers.

Coverage

Each network will promote their coverage, their speeds and how much 4G / 5G infrastructure they have. A great way of getting this info in one place is via the Ofcom mobile coverage checker. You simply add your postcode and it’ll show how good the coverage is, both indoors and outdoors. This is all-important if you’re thinking of switching to a different network.

Virtual networks

Back to those “MVNO’s” then, and you’ll be aware of some or all of these. They will use the infrastructure and masts from one of the “big four” providers mentioned above, and they’ll offer cheaper, more simple plans which appeal to a wider market. There’s many SIM-only plans offered too, as people increasingly choose to buy phones outright and switch networks instead of being tied into a long-term contract.

However, not all of these virtual networks are equal. Some are owned by the parent network and they will have a very similar level of quality as the “main” network which owns it. There’s a full list of MVNO’s on Wikipedia, but here’s some of the main ones…

• SMARTY – A sub-brand of Three. It uses the Three UK network and offers monthly rolling SIM-only service with online support.
• giffgaff – Owned by O2 and using their network, giffgaff offers a simple set of “goodybags” for talktime and also provides mobile handsets.
• VOXI – Owned by and using Vodafone, VOXI is now promoted directly by Voda. They offer great deals on SIM-only plans to all ages of customer.
• BT Mobile – Using the EE network, the MVNO is owned by the same company which owns EE.

In addition, there’s…

• Asda Mobile – Uses the EE network. They previously used Vodafone and will switching back to them again soon.
• FreedomPop – Using Three, they offer a “free” IP mobile service.
• iD Mobile – Owned by Dixons Carphone, you’ll see this network heavily advertised in Carphone Warehouse. Uses the Three masts.
• Lebara Mobile – Uses the Vodafone network.
• Lycamobile – Famed for cheap international calls, it uses the O2 network.
• Plusnet – Owned by BT, it uses the EE masts.
• Sky Mobile – Like Plusnet, Sky are keen to push their “quad-play” service and use the O2 network for their mobile service.
• Superdrug Mobile – Using Three, you’ll find this network advertised in stores.
• TalkTalk Mobile – Using O2, they offer a range of SIM-only plans to customers.
• Tesco Mobile – On O2, this is owned by Tesco and O2 in a 50/50 partnership.
• The Phone Co-op – Using EE, you might find your local Co-op offering this network.
• Virgin Mobile – Using EE currently, Virgin Mobile are due to switch to Vodafone masts soon too.

How to switch?

Although some networks insist on extra info (as an example, Vodafone want you to also send your 4-digit account PIN if you text them), moving networks is now easier than ever. Details are on the Ofcom website, but it boils down to the following choices. For the most part, you’ll be wanting a PAC code, which means you’re moving but keeping your number.

Option 1 – Get a PAC code. This lets you switch to another provider whilst keeping your existing number.

To get this, just text “PAC” to 65075. Another option is to use your online mobile account or app to choose “mobile switching” and generate a PAC code that way. You can also call the customer services people but you’ll then probably end up talking to someone who’ll encourage you to stay (more on this in a minute).

Option 2 – Get a STAC code. This will terminate your current number and will end your contract. You can then simply join another network and get a new number.

Text “STAC” to 75075. This is a nice clean break, but you should only do this if you’re happy killing off your existing mobile number.

Option 3 – Get information about your current contract.

If you’re unsure about possible contract charges, text “INFO” to 85075. It’ll tell you how much you’d have to pay if you’re ending your contract early.

Now what?

Even when you’ve got your PAC code, you don’t need to use it. It’s valid for 30 days and, if you don’t give it to another provider, you’ll continue on with your current one.

What you will find is that, once you’ve created / requested a PAC code, the “retentions team” from your current provider will be calling you to convince you to stay. You can simply ignore the calls and give the PAC code to your chosen new network, but it’s important to know the following…

Making your choice!

If you’re going to switch networks, you need to do your research. Follow these steps…

1 – If you’ve chosen an MVNO or a “major” network, check their coverage. If you’ve chosen an MVNO, use the details above to see what parent network they’re using, then check that with the Ofcom mobile coverage checker. Check that the places you’re in the most are covered – home, work, school, college, university and so on. Ensure that you’re not going to regret switching because there’s no signal!

2 – Have a look for mobile deals. Decide whether you’re going SIM-only or you’re after a new contract and phone. Ensure that you write down the reasons why you’re moving – is it price or your monthly allowance? Perhaps it’s something else. Write down your reasons so that, if you do speak to the retentions team, you’re armed. Don’t be forced into staying with your current provider just because they’ve said something that “sounds” good on a call.

3 – Check the contract length. You may have found a great deal, but it might tie you in for three years when you thought it was two years. Double-check to be sure.

4 – Don’t go overboard! Do you really need unlimited data and that free Spotify / Netflix account? Check your usage over the last few months. You may have only used a few GB, so paying over the odds isn’t worth it.

5 – Plan ahead. Is your life about to change? Are you heading to university or changing jobs? If so, you might need a whole lot more data. If you’re not sure what’s going to happen, maybe use a SIM-only 30-day or 12-month plan to see you through until you’ve got more certainty.

My crazy flow-chart

When I’m switching, I usually use this to help me decide what to do. Don’t forget, if you call your network or they call you, don’t roll over – don’t be pushed into accepting a shiny new phone and a long contract with extra frilly bits unless you’re sure that it’s the right option for you.

Hopefully this will help with your decision-making, but do get in touch if you have any advice or questions.

The post Switching and choosing – UK mobile networks explained. is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

So how do you afford a phone and pay for it out-right? Well, there’s a few ways.

Saving
I brought down the cost for my son’s phone by getting a reconditioned one and simply saving up for the thing.

As a way of saving, I simply pretended that I was paying for a monthly contract – putting about £25 away each month before he received his first ever phone. This was soon enough to pay for the phone, which I got reconditioned (more on that shortly), and then it was just a matter of getting a monthly SIM-only deal to get him connected. Pop the SIM-card in and, boom, it’s all done.

Get a reconditioned phone
If you don’t mind receiving your phone in a plain box, having a reconditioned or refurbished phone can save you a whole load of cash. These are usually sold in various conditions, categorised depending on the way they look. If you get an “excellent” one then you’d really find it impossible to tell the difference between the phone you unbox and a brand new handset.

Take a look at these if you’re looking to save some cash, as there’s more and more handsets being kept in high-quality cases. This is good for the reconditioned market and the for the initial owners. It’s worth more when sold (because it’s in such good condition) and it means there’s more unspoiled handsets on the market.

Trading in and selling old kit
Older phones can either be sold on eBay or sold to handset recycling companies too. Indeed, some handset manufacturers, such as Samsung and Apple, will offer money off a new phone if you have a phone to trade-in. Even if you don’t think it’s worth a great deal, off-loading handsets from that secret drawer in the kitchen could see you earn a little money towards a new handset.

Start with your newest and most scratch-free phone, then just head to a phone recycling website to see how much you can expect to receive. It’s a quick way to earn cash and usually you’ll just need to send the phone off via Freepost. However, if you want to potentially earn a bit more, you can head to eBay and sell your phone there instead.

Paying in instalments
Buying a phone without entering into a monthly contract is a big cost and yes, even the companies selling phones this way realise that fact. It’s for this reason that many are offering monthly payment options to finance the phone. Some use PayPal credit or their own credit facilities. Whilst the mere mention of a loan might be off-putting to some, it’s no different to the traditional phone contract.

Getting a phone via any of the above methods also means you’re not tied into one supplier. You can switch networks easily depending on cost, coverage and benefits. As an example, in recent months I’ve switched my son twice and – with 30 day deals available – you have that freedom to move without any contract clauses or payments.

Don’t forget, however you fund your next phone, do keep a case on your new handset and treat it well. You can use it as a trade-in or to sell when you want to upgrade to the next shiny phone.

The post Buying a phone without a contract – making it easier. is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

Heck, who am I kidding? I come from a world even earlier than that. From cassette decks and high-speed dubbing, but I quickly moved into that rather “unofficial” path of buying MP3’s from car-boot sales and computer fairs. Anyone remember that? You’d walk into a computer fair and there’d be a guy with folders open on a table. You choose the album you wanted and then it’d magically appear from a bag under the table. Some were standard copies, others were MP3, and back in the day my car stereo didn’t play MP3, so I’d have to convert them back to audio CD’s so that my car CD player would play them. Totally illegal of course, and it was quickly stamped on by the various officials until everyone realised that you could do it on the internet even easier.

A faff? Yes it was. Lots of blank CD-R’s, a CD/DVD burners and a glove-box stashed full of CD’s with random words scribbled on them in permanent marker. “Todd Terry Mix #2”, “Alex P Mix”, “Ministry of Sound Album” and so on.

I did buy “proper” CD’s too of course, and my garage is still full of them if I’m honest. They’ve travelled thousands of miles in the cars I’ve owned, sliding around foot-wells and glove-boxes.

Now though, times have changed. Multi CD-changers and face-off car stereo kit seems like a thing of the past. Now we’re into DAB stereo kit, 3.5mm and Bluetooth audio inputs.

What, though, if your car isn’t quite as new as all that? What if you’ve got a CD player and a standard FM radio? Well, there’s a few options..

Get a new stereo / head unit

Pricey, yes. You’ll probably also have to consider the fact that your dashboard needs to be adjusted and perhaps that the new unit may not “talk” to the volume controls on the steering wheel (if you have them). You’ll be heading to a car audio centre and parting with quite a bit of cash, so perhaps consider one of these other options.

FM Transmitter

Pretty simple idea this, and cheap too. eBay has a lot of options. Just stick it in your car power port (ye olde cigarette lighter), tell it to broadcast on a free FM frequency, pair it with your phone and then tune your FM radio to that channel. Boom – you’re done. Now you can stream your Spotify playlist, your streaming internet radio station, your Mixcloud tunes or your personal MP3 collection simply by hopping in the car and waiting for it to auto-pair.

Prices start at around £6.

3.5mm Bluetooth Receiver

If your car stereo has a 3.5mm audio port you could, if you want, put a cable from your phone into your car. It’ll work, but it does mean that you’ll need a phone with a 3.5mm audio port and there’s going to be an unsightly cable dangling across your car. So, instead, try one of these. It’s basically a 3.5mm plug which accepts a Bluetooth connection. You then just pair it with your phone and, you’ve got streamed-audio direct into your car stereo without much faffage. Cost is about £6 again.

A Bluetooth speaker

The only minor issue with the above two solutions is, if you’re happy with the Bluetooth calling solution in your car, then the FM transmitter or Bluetooth receiver will intervene, and you may not be able to use the Bluetooth calling buttons on your steering wheel or whatever. Instead, audio will come out of your car speakers and your microphone might be different too.

OK, so there might be another minor problem..

Yeah, someone got paint on it…. definitely not me, honest…

If your existing car stereo setup is a bit naff, and the speakers are rubbish, nothing will change that unless you go back to the first suggestion and swap out your head-unit and all the speakers. For this reason, my wife has recently started using the infamous (and highly rated by us) Tribit X-Boom / StormBox Speaker. It fits perfectly into the Mini and produces far better sound than the existing car speakers. It charges off the car and pairs up when the phone gets near.

What about data usage though?!

Streaming audio while you’re moving is great. I love doing it. You can stream radio stations and music that you can’t normally get – such as Spotify tracks, DAB stations or stations that are out of your area. I’ve written about this before and a good rule of thumb is to work on 1MB of data consumption per minute when listening to streaming radio.

When I listen to CentreForce Radio, which I can’t get on DAB because it’s out my area, I listen for about an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening on my commute. That’s 120MB (60MB each way) out of my data package, 5 times a week. That’s 600MB per week, or 2.4GB per month (based on 4 weeks).

Keep an eye on your data usage, ensure you’ve got a data package that’ll cover it.

To bring your data usage down, you can always download Spotify tracks locally or (through various means on the internet) download Mixcloud or Soundcloud tracks too.

The post Getting your music in your car. The easy way. is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

Even 7 miles up, your phone can lock onto the odd network mast as you fly over countries. I’ve accidentally had queued text messages sent this way, and yes – it works.

So… how about doing that in reverse?

Well, that’s what the guys at Cambridge Consultants are planning, and they already have Deutsche Telekom on board and funding the project. Working in conjunction with Stratospheric Platforms Limited (SPL), it’s a wireless antenna unlike anything seen before. Put simply, it (currently) involves sticking high-capacity 5G mobile masts into a fleet of “High Altitude Platforms” – currently these are planes, with test flights being conducted in Bavaria using a H3Grob 520 aeroplane which is remotely piloted and flies at 45,000ft.

However, the end goal is to deploy a fleet of zero emissions HAP aircraft at around 65,000 feet (that’s a smidgen higher than Concorde used to fly at), flying effectively in hold patterns for more than a week at a time.

Each “HAP” plane will provide coverage over an area of up to 140 kilometres (87 miles) in diameter. That would remove the need for hundreds of “normal” 5G masts on the ground. A planned fleet of around 60 HAPs could blanket the whole of the United Kingdom with speedy 5G connectivity.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Isn’t this all a bit… mad? A bit .. costly?

One “HAP” pushing 5G to everything in the M25

Well, first you’ve got to consider how many mobile masts are needed to keep our phones going. As an example, here in the UK, Vodafone have 21,000 masts. Each one needs to be built on some land or placed on a building. That costs money and a rental has to be paid. It’s somewhere between £5,000 and £11,000 depending on the location. Then there’s power. More money. Then there’s a high-capacity backhaul (fibre). Loadsa money. Cheap it isn’t.

Imagine being able to turn them all off and instead use some remotely-controlled (or, in the future, computer-controlled) aircraft using zero-emission hydrogen power. It would, according to Stratospheric Platforms Limited, “operate at a fraction of the cost of building and maintaining normal terrestrial masts and infrastructure, with minimal environmental impact”. It would completely rewrite the economics of providing mobile telephony and data.

So, the proof of concept is complete. Once fully ready, the 5G antenna will be large, powerful and lightweight. It’ll sit below the HAP measuring three square meters and will weigh around 120kg.

Best of all? Not much will change. Your current phone will connect to the 5G signal (which will be coming from above instead of alongside you), and the backhaul will be handled without thousands of complex and expensive fibre-optic links.

Imagine just how costly and difficult it currently is to cover Wales with current ground-based masts.

Stratospheric Platforms Limited tell us…

With radically cheaper costs, this new platform has the potential to connect the unconnected in the developing world, to fill gaps in coverage across the developed world and to ensure rural areas aren’t left behind anywhere across the globe. In addition, the hydrogen power system creates a long endurance, low environmental impact aircraft, with low noise, zero CO2 and zero NOx emissions.

Rollout of the first commercial service is anticipated to begin in Germany during 2024.

The clever mobile “masts in the air” will effectively be a modular design which can scale seamlessly. Within the antenna is 480 individual, steerable beams, creating patterns that can be “painted” onto the ground to cover specific areas such as roads, railway lines or towns. Here you can see that the beam has been altered so that the sea isn’t covered…

With the 5G rollout and heavy investment already happening across the UK, the big question is – will networks wait until 2024 and use this instead?

More information on StratosphericPlatforms.com.

The post 5G …. from a plane! is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

Luckily though, a lot of phones now have dual SIM trays, so – even if you don’t want to leave your current provider – you can have a different SIM just for your browsing and streaming needs.

I looked at this SMARTY offering because …

1 – It’s a 30-day deal.
2 – I get a massive 30GB of data per month.
3 – I only need to pay £1 for the first month.
4 – It’s only £10 per month after that.

They also do a 50GB plan for a mere £15. Both have unlimited texts, calls and they use the Three network. If you want to fully move over, this is super-simple. Just text your provider to get your PAC, give that to SMARTY and you’re done.

In my case though, I’d run into the “out of data” problem. I’m happy with my current provider and didn’t necessarily want to move, but I didn’t want to wait until my data allowance rolled around. Also, I didn’t want to pay the relatively high “one off” cost to have a bit more data added.

An extra 1GB of data on my bundle is £8

As you can see above, I could simply boost my current monthly allowance, but I figured that the £8 cost could be better spent elsewhere.

So, this led me to spend just £1 on this SMARTY SIM for a massive 30GB. It arrived in the post a couple of days later. Then, during my brief visit back home, I simply opened the double SIM tray, put the new SMARTY SIM into the second slot, then clicked “Activate” on the SMARTY website.

Once done, you get a dashboard showing how much you have spent (just £1 !) and your remaining data. There’s no app for SMARTY, so you just login via their site to get an update on your allowance.

Next, I set the phone to use the SMARTY SIM for data. Everything else (calls and texts) is going to be kept on my normal SIM. This is easily done in “Settings” and “WiFi and Network”, then into “SIM and Network”..

That’s pretty much it! I should also mention that you also get an extra SIM card to give out to friends or relatives. Nice touch

A typical SMARTY 4G speed test

To get more info, just head to the SMARTY website to choose the SIM that suits you!

Update – Even if you do run out of data on SMARTY, the cost of adding more data is really reasonable…

The post SMARTY – On test is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

In fact, there’s now even more. A launch today is increasing the satellite count to 800, with a total expected deployment of 1,440.

What does all this mean? Well, if you’re unable to get 4G, 5G or decent fixed-line broadband, you may be in a remote area and you may have considered “traditional” satellite broadband. The problem, though, is the latency. Getting your request up there, getting it down again – it takes time because the satellites are over 1000km above you. Here, with Starlink, they’re seeking to offer not just an alternative for satellite broadband, but for anyone wanting an alternative or cheaper web connection.

Their website states…

With performance that far surpasses that of traditional satellite internet, and a global network unbounded by ground infrastructure limitations, Starlink will deliver high speed broadband internet to locations where access has been unreliable, expensive, or completely unavailable.

Starlink is targeting service in the Northern U.S. and Canada in 2020, rapidly expanding to near global coverage of the populated world by 2021.

Their satellites are far lower – spinning around the globe at 550km, with high throughput and lower latency. There’s also a promise that data can be pushed around the Earth faster than it currently can via undersea fibre-optic cabling. Private beta testing is expected to begin later this year, followed by public beta testing, starting with higher latitudes. However, it’s already being used for emergency situations, with Starlink and SpaceX helping out during wildfires in Malden, Washington last month with this ground equipment..

When systems are available, the consumer units are expected to be a little flatter and more compact. A Starlink box needs to be able to see the sky, then this will communicate with the satellites as they pass by and, in turn, the satellites will communicate with each other via lasers.

The post Starlink – Now 800 satellites up in orbit is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

My son and I headed to Wembley a year ago and, while I was in the area, I decided to check out the new 5G connection that had popped up on my phone. Getting 5G back then was a hit-and-miss affair, and it was really only to be found in certain parts of major cities.

The test, which I will admit didn’t benefit from a full signal, resulted in 4G speeds of 71 Mbps and 5G speeds of 130 Mbps.

Today though, I find myself back in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham (due to all this). I’m having more chemo and, although I’ve got free WiFi, I spotted that – right outside my window – there’s a stack of mobile masts on the top of a tower block.

After checking via OpenSignal, I confirmed that my phone was indeed connected directly to that tower. This is something I detailed in my earlier post, and you can find your local mast easily with the app. The mast is, after checking with Google Maps, just 500 metres from me and – because I’m on the sixth floor of the hospital – I’ve got direct line of sight.

So, let’s do the speed tests again shall we? I’m using Vodafone and the Fast.com speed testing site for this. As usual, there’s a stack of caveats – traffic management, the test server and capacity can impact the results. Also, I wouldn’t recommend doing too many speed tests yourself as it’ll soon eat into your data allowance.

My position is at the bottom, looking out of the window. The masts are on the upper left. Not far away at all.

Test one then, and I’m going to force the phone to stick to 4G. You can do this in the settings. I’m not sure why you’d ever want to do this, but you can..

A 68 Mbps download speed on 4G really isn’t bad at all. The upload on this 4G+ connection was around 10 Mbps. Now, let’s do the same test on the 5G connection which is being fed from the same location. Speeds really jump up here, and we end up with a speed that normally would only be seen by people on fibre optic connections at home. A massive 290 Mbps, and I’m sure if I’d done more tests it would’ve nudged a bit higher.

I’ve shown the additional detail on the screenshot below, and you can see that the upload speed has doubled to 20 Mbps

The upshot? Sure, on 4G the 68 Mbps speed is absolutely fine. It’s faster than a lot of home wired connections, but 5G gives a lower latency – a faster response, a bigger capacity and the ability to get things done much more quickly.

The post Another real-world 5G test is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

Of course, this is different for everyone, so always head to the Ofcom mobile coverage comparison to see who’s strongest in your area and the places you’re going to be the most. Check indoor coverage too, because with COVID-19, we’re all going to be inside most of the time.

You can also get a map to see how each network fares..

So, in the places I’m going to be the most, Vodafone is strongest. To get my Vodafone SIM-only deal, I Googled just that. You’ll end up on this Vodafone page, presented with some decent deals and 6 month half-price offerings which definitely looked interesting.

There was a lot of choice but the well-priced unlimited data plans were a bit unnecessary for my needs. The other data-limited plans were a little out of my price range and had extras that I didn’t need, so I ended up heading to the Voxi website instead.

I only needed about 12GB of monthly data and this Voxi deal seemed like the ideal solution. It was the one I was going to go for..

However, as I’m a bargain hunter, I went across to the Uswitch website to double-check and do some comparisons, and that’s where I found this 12GB data offering for the very same £10 price on Vodafone. Wait a minute, I hadn’t seen that on the Vodafone SIM-only pages?

Sure, the Voxi offering is better because it throws in unlimited social media, but in this particular case I chose to stick to Vodafone even though Voxi uses Vodafone masts. So, I headed to the Vodafone website to find the 12GB deal I’d found on the comparison site. I just couldn’t find it. I Googled, I Googled some more, but it was no-where to be seen.

Eventually, after going via a completely different website, I found it.

The deal is part of the Vodafone Basics range. This is a set of SIM-only deals which don’t deliver 5G and don’t deliver roaming. However, they are cheaper because of that. Here’s the differences…

Getting to these “Basics” SIM-only plans can be a bit tricky, so if you’re having trouble, head here to get the Vodafone Basics SIM-only deals.

Here’s a look at all of this in video….

The post The hidden Vodafone SIM-only deals you need to know about is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

Anyways, stop motion filming has long been used in animations and movies such as Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run and so on. It’s basically a process where you move a small model, take a photo, move it a bit more, take a photo and then continue until your footage is done. Put all those individual photos together and the result is rather lovely, but to save the animator going insane, you’ll usually find that the amount of frames (photos) per second is reduced.

However, now – with a completely free bit of code and a sprinkling of AI – you can fill in the intermediate frames. This means that a relatively jerky bit of footage suddenly looks silky smooth.

As an example, here’s a Brickfilm animation from LegoEddy using the code..

To grab the code and try it yourself, just head right here. A network called DAIN interpolates your footage, and you can grab the source code from Github.

To see the difference, here’s the original movie..

…and the enhanced interpolated version…

The post Everything is awesome, at 60fps is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

It wasn’t always this way though, and although many companies were setup for remote working, there was a lack of trust between management and workers. After all, without a global pandemic, it would’ve been a very rare to see a CEO send their entire workforce home to work from their spare rooms and kitchens. How could productivity be monitored? Would meetings be the same? Could services and goods be provided in the same way?

In reality, the enforced “work from home” has been something that has surprised many companies. Output from workers has been the same, or it’s increased, and thanks to a wide range of online collaborative tools, your teams can continue to work – no matter where they are.

Business software to help with your accounts means that you can do all your company finances online or on your phone. Meanwhile, Microsoft software has been widely used – Teams, Skype, Outlook and the entire Office suite is now available over the internet and online video meetings are the norm. Other video calls, like Zoom, have not only helped with online meetings but have also ensured that friends and family can keep in touch after work too.

Fast internet connections and the ability to switch from your laptop to your phone in order to keep on working – this is key. If your internet feed is stable and quick, you can do everything that you’d normally do in the office. Plus, with 5G on the rise, the traditional landline requirement is no longer the only option. A web connection from a mobile provider can now be faster and more available than a wired connection.

All of this – faster connections with more coverage, more capable smartphones and online collaborative business software – means that the world of work has changed forever. Getting back to the traditional way of working – sitting on a train, grabbing a sandwich, rushing into the office – may never happen.

The post The new normal has been forced upon us, but it’s here to stay. is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

Back in 2011 we started looking into this, and back then the mobile networks were reporting where all their masts were, however as time went by things changed. Over the years, we’ve looked into this again (2016) and again (2017) and again (2018) and again (2020).

However, today I stumbled over a fairly easy way of locating your local mobile phone mast. There’s a small caveat here, in that you can only see the mast for the mobile network your phone is using, but I think it’s really quite a good solution.

101Mbps on Vodafone 4G. Not bad at all.

It comes in the form of the OpenSignal app, which is available for Android or iOS. The app already tells you how good the signal is in your local area, plus you can do speed tests and report your own signal strength etc.

However, there’s a “Find Signal” tab now which, if you hit the “Cell Towers” button, shows all the local masts for the network you’re on. It shows you which mast your phone is connected to and the Cell IDs, so you can see exactly where those local masts are…

More here…

The post Find your local mobile mast – 2020 Update is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

My wife, for example, somehow ended up with a £59 per-month package for her Samsung phone. She had far too much data included and she somehow got Spotify plus mobile phone insurance added into the mix too. After a “robust conversation”, I’ve now switched her across to a Virgin Mobile deal for £12 per month, and she strangely gets more data too.

Switching networks is now super easy. Just send a text message to your current network and give the provided code to the new network. Bosh. Done.

Less than £300 for this locked iPhone X on eBay

Also, if you’ve come to the end of your contract and you’ve paid everything you owe, you can usually unlock your phone easily by merely asking your current network to do it. They usually won’t charge you for this either. However, if you got your phone from somewhere else – eBay, Gumtree, Shpock etc – you could find yourself buying a phone which is locked to a specific network. Plus, because you’re not the person named on the original contract, you can’t get it unlocked for free.

Cheap reconditioned phones on MusicMagpie

If you’re looking around for a used smartphone, you’ll find that locked phones are generally cheaper to buy. This is because you’ll need to do a bit of extra work to get it unlocked so that you can use it on the network of your choice.

So, when I was buying an a reconditioned iPhone 7 for my son, I spotted quite a few really cheap ones that were locked. Fast forward to today and I’m at it again, this time looking for an iPhone X. If you have a good look around, you can get one for less than £380, however, that’s for a locked one. The next step is to simply hunt out a decent company who will Unlock iPhone X handsets.

Usually you’ll just need a few things…

1 – Details of the network that the phone is locked to.
2 – The IMEI number (which you can get by simply dialling *#06# on your dial-pad)
3 – Payment.

Once you’ve done that, you’ll receive an unlock code which just needs putting into the phone. Don’t forget, if you’re getting an Apple phone, this is just the network unlock code. If your iPhone is locked to a previous owners iCloud account, you will require an iCloud Unlock prior to unlocking your device.

The post Let’s face it, locked second-hand phones are cheaper, and unlocking is so easy is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

It’s used in nearly every US-made movie because, if you try calling it, nothing happens. However, did you know that here in the UK there’s something very similar?

Yes, Ofcom actually blocked out certain sets of numbers here too. They go no-where, but they’re used in UK TV and film productions, plus they add a little more realism because they look more… errm… real.

In London, numbers starting 0207946… are for “dramatic purposes” and elsewhere there’s an entire area code which has been “created” – 01632. So, if you ever want to confuse one of those cold-callers, tell them to call back on your 01632 number – it’ll never work.

For UK mobiles, the prefix 077009 is used, and any digits after that can be added to make it look like a real number in films and TV dramas. Numbers like 07700932323 can appear on TV and, if viewers call, nothing will happen.

The excellent Tom Scott has a brilliant video on all this below..

The post The mobile numbers that will never, ever work is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

Right now I have the Honor 9X Pro on test and it’s yet another brilliant smartphone. Pop-up selfie lens, a 48 megapixel triple rear camera, 6.59″ 2340 x 1080 screen with a near-400ppi resolution, 2.2GHz Kirin CPU, 4000mAh battery, 4GB RAM, 128GB storage and a microSD card. All that for just £219.99. Boom. You can’t go wrong.

It arrives, you drool over the beautiful design and the fantastically reflective rear-end. It’s a whole world of good but then…

..then you turn it on.

Most Android users want a fairly familiar setup sequence. They have an expectation. However, when I got this booted up my face starting screwing up. There’s no Google Account setup screens, no Gmail, no YouTube, no Google Pay, no Google Drive, Play Music, Google Calendar and – worst of all – no Google Play.

Instead you’ll find the Huawei Browser and the AppGallery – the Huawei / Honor app store. Then, when I opened the browser, I found that the default search engine was Bing. Nobody uses Bing. Nobody, and I can say that with confidence. I was in Seattle a few years ago at a Microsoft conference. There were people from all over the world there – thousands crammed into this huge conference centre. Steve Ballmer got on stage (OK, this was a few years ago) and asked everyone who used Bing to put their hands up. Not one person did. Best of all, these guys were all Microsoft fans.

So, how do you make your new Huawei / Honor phone a bit more “Googley”? We’re going to go through a couple of options.

The Huawei Browser and Bing

• Option 1 – Keeping the browser but changing the default search engine. 

Go to “Settings->Search Engine” in the browser and switch the search engine to “Google”. In all honesty the Huawei Browser is pretty decent, and you won’t find too much difference between this and the Chrome browser.

• Option 2 – Installing Chrome. (Entails side-loading an APK)

On your new shiny phone, head to https://apps.evozi.com/apk-downloader/ and enter the Google Play URL for Google Chrome (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.android.chrome&hl=en). It’ll generate a download link, then you need to download the APK file.

Your phone will warn you about installing an APK this way, but you can go ahead and install it.

It’ll install, but you won’t get updates as this particular app isn’t available in the Huawei AppGallery and you can’t communicate with the Google Play store to receive updates.

YouTube

In all honesty, the browser-based version of YouTube isn’t too bad. You can upload videos and watch them in HD, plus you can go full screen and watch videos in landscape orientation too. Sadly there is no “option 2” for this one, as you’ll see in a second…

• Option 1 – Setting a shortcut and placing it on your Homescreen. 

In the Huawei Browser, head to https://m.youtube.com and then select “Add to home screen” from the menu..

As you can see in the third picture above, you end up with a YouTube link on your homescreen.

• Option 2 – Installing the YouTube app.

Sadly this simply doesn’t work because it needs the Google Play Services, and even if you side-load these, it still doesn’t work.

Gmail

Again, the on-board mail application works very well and you can add your Gmail account in seconds. A lot of the functionality is there…

• Option 1 – Use the on-board mail app. (No risk)

I’ve used this and, although the “sync frequency” is 15 minutes, mail seems to arrive very quickly.

• Option 2 – Head to the GMail website and set this as a shortcut. (No risk)

Use your Huawei Browser, go to https://gmail.com and login. Then go to the menu in your browser and choose “Add to home screen”

Again, you can’t load the Gmail app if you try and side-load it because you’ll need Google Play services, which isn’t supported.

Google Maps

The mapping and navigation functions work well from the browser, and again – the app needs Google Play Services so you can’t side-load it in with an APK.

• Set a shortcut to your Home screen for the web version.

Again, go into the Huawei Browser and load Google Maps that way. I found that the GPS location didn’t seem to work, which was a pretty big problem. If you don’t need it for that, you can at least add a shortcut to the web page on your home screen by opening your Huawei web browser and setting the Google Maps web page as a shortcut.

• Use “HERE WeGo – City Navigation”.

Download this from the AppGallery. It has traffic details, transport types and – although there’s no Street View and stuff like that it’ll get you to your destination.

Google Calendar

I had a good look into this one. Google Calendar, if you side-load the APK, just doesn’t seem to fire up at all. You can do the “shortcut the web version to the desktop” thing but your reminders won’t be integrated into the phone and you’ll potentially miss appointments etc unless you’re on the page. So, perhaps the bets and only option here is to go into the Android calendar app which is already pre-installed on your Honor / Huawei phone.

It won’t, though, intergrate with Google. I’ve not found a way around this.

In summary

Right now, although there’s “ways around”, if you’re fully plumbed into the Google world, then moving to an Honor or Huawei phone may require a bit of a rethink.

However, if you just use Google Mail and a bit of YouTube then things probably won’t feel too much different in all honesty. Yes, you’re going to feel some pain when that Google Play link advertised in a shop or online doesn’t work for you, but the general operation of the “No Gapps” Huawei / Honor handsets is bearable. With a few tweaks here and there, and a homescreen looking like this, you’re most of the way there..

The post Huawei or Honor phone? No Play Store? No YouTube? No Gmail? No YouTube? Well, there is an answer is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

There’s various services and, as I covered during my “Leaving Sky TV” feature, I swapped the Sky subscription for streaming services. Shows we’re chose from my phone or through the Netgem TV system, and you can have a read of my Netgem TV review I put up to find out more.

However, one thing I’ve noticed about those services is that, when you have been able to find which streaming service is showing a movie or TV series, there can be confusion of the age rating.

Last night, as an example, I was trying to figure out if my son could watch “The Terminator”. The classic Arnold Schwarzenegger movie is a must-watch but whether it’s “age-appropriate” is another matter.

First, I had to find a service renting / streaming it. If you head to the Justwatch website then you can easily find these but you’ll notice that the costs (shown above) vary from £2.49 up to £8.99. That’s a bit nuts for starters, and I’m taking the HD / SD quality into the equation.

However, we then get to the age ratings. YouTube movies clearly shows is as an “18 rated” movie…

Google Play Movies, likewise, shows it as an 18 rated movie…

Plex, meanwhile, shows it as an “R Rated” but, here in the UK, there’s not a great deal of people who know what “R Rated” means. Our rating system is different.

Then, just to add to the confusion, Amazon, Rakuten and Netflix show The Terminator as a 15 rated movie…

Confused yet?

Well, it could be that certain streaming services have dropped certain scenes to perhaps make it more acceptable to younger audiences but, why do that? That would surely annoy movie aficionados who’d purposefully subscribed to a certain movie streaming service in order to see an “unspoiled” movie. I checked through a few services and the running time is the same – 1 hour and 47 minutes.

Why the difference in age ratings? Who’s right?

This, then, is where I resorted to the same fix that I always use. I went to the BBFC website. The British Board of Film Classification are the guys who rate films here in the UK, so I use their decision and nothing else.

After a very quick search, it turns out that The Terminator is indeed rated 15. At least, the “shown to UK cinema audiences” version is.

Why the heck there’s an “R rating” and an “18 rating” I’ve no idea. Either these are different editions of the movie or the streaming service in question have made up their own minds. I think, at the end of the day, it’s up to the parents to make the final decision.

The post Is a film age-appropriate? Streaming services can’t agree. is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

Recommended in a report prepared for Glastonbury Town Council, and mentioned heavily in the 5G conspiracy forums / Facebook groups, 5GBioShield is said to protect you from the “impact” of 5G. You can buy one bioshield for £283 or a pack of three for £799.

Sure, that seems a bit much, but it’s a shield which (and I quote) prevents the “devastating effects caused by non-natural magneto-electric waves” including 5G. The product name makes you think of a personal forcefield and the images on their website add to this idea.

The manufacturers are certainly good at throwing complex and scientific-sounding words at you. It’s almost like watching a shampoo advert…

A breakthrough quantum holographic nano-layer catalyzer technology

Wowser. These guys should be working for NASA. What the hell are they doing selling these holographic shields to normal folk for only £283 !?

They’ve only recently made their “quantum nano-layer technology” though, as their company was registered in January of this year. Polish national Ms Anna Grochowalska and Italian Mr Valerio Laghezza are the people who have stumbled on this “unique” solution to “electric oscillations” and, with their 5GBioShield, you can remove the “fog induced by all (electronic) devices”.

The list of benefits seems almost endless. It can “balance electric fields, geo-biological disturbances” and restore “harmonisation” to “all biological organisms, such as animal, plant and/or human”.

Using the shield will help to prevent you coming into contact with the “highly toxic and ultimately lethal” electric fields.

Trouble is, of course, the “shield” isn’t a shield. It’s a cheap USB stick and nothing more. Requiring power from one of those nasty “electronic chargers”, it’ll apparently balance all electric and “geo-biological” fields within 40m metres.

Wait though, because the “inventors” have gone one step further. In their product description, which is laden with grammatical errors and barely makes sense, they state that…

When not plugged in, the provides an active field-effect of permanent protective ‘plasmic shield’ within the sphere of minimum 8 meters in diameter.

Woaha! Forget NASA! These guys should be billionaires overnight! They’ve managed to create a USB stick / BioShield which operates without power or batteries. Not only that, but instead of blocking your WiFi and phone, it converts those frequencies into “life-affirming” frequencies. Wowsers! Why don’t they just plug these things directly into mobile phone masts? We could all be bathed in life-affirming goodness!

So, I could go into further details about the complete nonsense listed in the product description or the rest of their site (the USB stick creates an “array of balanced life force frequencies ensuring full-spectrum harmonisation of the body, which adjusts according to the resonance effect”) but believe me, all you need to know is that this is total and utter bollocks.

Pen Test Partners have taken the thing apart and it’s basically just a 128MB USB stick (yes, 128MB!) inside a branded bag.

Now to make some serious cash!

We decided to try and work out how much “BioShield Distribution Ltd” are spending to make these things. What are their costs, and what profit are they making?

After all, Pen Test Partners have revealed that the USB stick simply contains a 25 page PDF version of the material from the 5GBioShield website. The tear down reveals no additional electrical components or circuitry, aside from a small sticker placed on top of the USB stick. This, I’m assuming, may have been a way to track which USB sticks BioShield Distribution had copied their PDF’s onto.

OK. Let’s get the stick. We headed to USB2U.co.uk. You can upload a logo and add it to a USB stick so it looks like the below. BioShield have done the same – uploading their (pinched) logo and perhaps ordering a hundred or so. We asked the guys at USB2U.co.uk how much it would be to have our Coolsmartphone logo whacked on a hundred 128MB sticks like this..

They came back within minutes with the following quote…

OK, so £2.62 per USB stick. We could no doubt get it cheaper if we ordered more, but hey – let’s not go crazy. Now we need a fancy bag. The people selling these things are putting them in branded bags like this..

We headed to Made-in-China.com and found the exact same bags. Again, you can upload a logo to the maker and they’ll slap it on the bag…

The price again depends on how many you order, but for less than 5000 of these it’s 30c per bag. That works out at 24p per pouch / bag depending on the exchange rate. Let’s order 100 of these – that’ll be £24.

So, our expenditure so far is £262 for one hundred USB sticks plus £24 for one hundred fancy bags to put them in. Grand total is £286, making the cost of each product £2.86.

Now, I think that the people behind this operation may have bought a few more and possibly got it down to £2.83 per “product”, then – just as a “laugh”, they stuck some zeroes on the end to make the retail price £283 each.

OK, back to our £2.86 cost though. I’m going to add in £5 for postage, packing and the time taken to copy the files. Let’s call it £7.86 per stick. To sell them for £283 means you’re making more than £278 per sale.

I mean sure, I haven’t added in the cost of running their website or the office / warehouse costs (if they have any), but still – that’s a massive profit. If they work 5 days a week and sell 10 per day, that’s nearly £14,000 straight profit per week. I’d be interested to see their first accounts filing on Companies House… if they do indeed declare all the earnings.

Madness. Absolute madness. Even factoring in postage and the time spent writing utter nonsense on their website / PDF material, this is nothing more than a massive con. It’s preying on those who believe that 5G caused the coronavirus. There’s nothing in this for you as a customer – it’s all about making someone rich.

A fool and his money are soon parted. Avoid.

The post The 5GBioShield. How to make money easily. is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

This, then, is where I started to get distracted. There’s boxes and boxes of random stuff in the loft that needs to be moved so that I can put the cabling and light fittings into place. First, I moved box number one and got covered in Christmas decorations. Then I moved box number two and lots of old photos fell out.

My Peugeot 205 GTi. Still wish I had it.

Yeah, I spent over an hour looking at them, then another hour. These were photos from the pre-digital era, when you only ever took photos on film and had them developed. They’re not stored on a hard drive anywhere, so I become massively peoccupied.

Many hours later, I moved onto the next box, and it was heavy. Very heavy. I couldn’t understand why, but after digging down I found this Compaq Armada 1510 laptop.

It’s from many, many years ago – originally launched in 1997. Powered by a 120MHz Intel Pentium CPU and fearturing an IDE PC Card (PCMCIA) this was my laptop once. In fact, I used it when this site first came into being back in 2003 (yes, we’ve been online over 17 years).

Windows 98 runs (just about) on this – it’s got a massive 32MB of RAM and was sold, back in the day, as “the laptop for users who require maximum performance in a mainstream Laptop”.

It’s hugely thick. It’s really heavy. The screen is terrible (it’s a bit broken) and it takes forever to boot. So what would a 12 year-old kid think of it? Well, I gave it to my son to find out…

Whats your thoughts? Bin it or keep it?

The post What does a kid think of a laptop from 1997? is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

So, if your horn isn’t up to scratch, here’s something I tried yesterday (I think the coronavirus lockdown is getting to me). There’s a huge amount of caveats here, but I was bored and I’m running out of jobs.

Whilst filming another “in car smartphone review”, I found a relatively cheap way to pimp up your car horn. It involves a Bluetooth speaker and one of the random apps available on Google Play or iTunes which are filled with air horns, truck horns or some other noise sound.

This is generally a bad idea unless you know what you’re doing.

If you were to do this properly, you would..

1 – Properly mount a Bluetooth speaker in the engine bay of your car, ensuring that you place it away from anything that is likely to leak, get hot or move.
2 – Connect the Bluetooth speaker to an “always on” power source to ensure it’s charged or powered up.
3 – Replace your horn “button” on your steering wheel with a Bluetooth activation which plays the sound.

I was literally just mucking about, so grabbed a Bluetooth speaker and filmed this.. It might at least give you some ideas if you’re struggling to find things to do on the lockdown

If I had my first car and I was 17 again, I’d definitely be doing this – just for a laugh. However, now I’ve got a grown-up car and more electronics and safety stuff to worry about, I don’t think I’ll be strapping anything in the engine bay.

The post Pimp my horn! is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

Over the weekend, in the midst of a global pandemic and a lockdown here in the UK, some people have taken it upon themselves to not stay at home. Instead they’re out setting fire to crucial mobile phone infrastructure and abusing engineers installing and repairing masts.

At least 20 masts have been damaged or vandalised and hardly any of them were actual 5G ones. Instead the destruction has prevented critical comms during a worldwide period of crisis.

I’m not going to embed these here – you can watch someone called “Heapy Fullsesh against 5G” bullying staff here and here. The engineers are described in these YouTube videos as “murderers” and “scumbags” who are installing “death machines” and … err.. (checks notes) “kill grids”. These videos were all recorded during the lockdown.

Wait though, what’s this all about? Initially the “Stop 5G” groups seemed to start from a relatively simple theory -that the higher frequencies used in 5G cause health problems. If you’re talking about the 60GHz mmWave frequency then I’d be prepared to have a chat about this, but the fact is that 5G in the UK doesn’t use the 60GHz frequency and probably never will.

The 5G masts here operate between 3.4 and 3.6GHz – a lot lower than the frequency that modern WiFi routers use (5GHz). Indeed, your neighbours probably have 5GHz WiFi beaming into your brain right now without you knowing. Here’s a scan from my lounge – all these WiFi access points are pumping out at a frequency higher than the ones used by 5G..

All of these are 5GHz WiFi access points.

Unless you rip out every WiFi router in your neighbourhood, you’re not going to stop frequencies higher than UK 5G entering your home.

In recent weeks the conspiracy theories have morphed into higher levels of craziness, including…

• People calling themselves “nurses” and suggesting that 5G is to blame for coronavirus deaths.
• Friends of “Doctors” reporting that coronavirus patients are being moved away from family members so that the “truth” can’t be revealed.
• That “smart dust” is in the air and is being transmitted by masts into your body.
• 5G is “remote assassination” and areas can be “targeted ad-hoc”.
• 50GHz mmWave transmissions are being “secretly tested” in the UK.
• 5G “Chemtrails” can get into your system and a mask should be worn at all times.
• The coronavirus lockdown is really a “house arrest” so that 5G deployment can be accelerated.

Believe me, if you hang around these Facebook groups for long enough, it goes even deeper. Some are even suggesting that the current coronavirus restrictions should be “ignored” and masts should be “burned quickly” to stop the coronavirus. This is a dangerous, baseless and crazy world where reality simply doesn’t get a look in. Instead it’s a link to a YouTube video featuring a “doctor” or a recording of “an ex-boss from Vodafone” or a “friend of someone who knows”.

It’s garbage. Absolute, complete, un-checked garbage, but – as I’ve mentioned before –  there’s a growing distrust in mainstream media and scientists. It’s amplified by President Trump, who calls news outlets “fake news” and even disagrees with medical experts to recommend random drugs as a treatment for COVID-19. Our belief system is being altered and twisted.

The people burning masts and abusing engineers are capturing content on smartphones which connect to the very masts they’re destroying. They’re destroying our ability to keep in touch with loved ones during this global emergency and, ironically, the way in which others watch these videos.

Why are people being duped by this? Why are people too lazy to look at the facts? Why don’t they ask basic questions like..

Despite having glorious 5G coverage, why does nobody who stays inside get coronavirus?

It’s a puzzler isn’t it? But the conspiracy theorists will just adapt their posts to work around this.

We can take a look at the 5G coverage and amount of 5G masts-per-state in the USA…

And then we can compare that map to the coronavirus cases in the US. There’s no correlation, but if you mention this fact within the Facebook groups it’ll just start another theory – in this case that the 5G “kill grid” is “targeting certain areas only”.

Now, you won’t get many websites saying this, but this whole 5G coronavirus conspiracy theory nonsense is a Flat Earth level of bonkers. It’s people setting fire to masts that they “think” are 5G (heck, they might not be) and abusing key workers who are trying to ensure that we can all keep connected during a global pandemic. It’s insane garbage which is allowed to propagate on Facebook and other social media outlets without a great deal of control.

Some people who do post reasoned or questioning responses to the conspiracy theories in the “Stop 5G” Facebook groups get their remarks deleted by moderators. There’s a constant hype and hysteria, an admiration and glorification of criminal acts and nonsense “evidence” being wheeled out on a daily basis.

All of this has led to all UK networks joining together to publish the following letter..

In addition, the culture secretary is now to order social media companies to come down harder on these crackpot conspiracy theories.

The post Masts on fire as insane 5G coronavirus conspiracies continue is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

Trouble is, that’s really not a good plan. As an example, here’s a photo I took during my COVID-19 exercise outing…

The original photo is right here. Go ahead, open it up and take a look at it. If you want to see it fully, right click the link and say, “Open link in new tab”.

On my phone it’s got a resolution of 4224 x 3136 and is some 5.42MB in size…

The image above is great if you want to take it to the shops and turn it into a printed photograph. You can stick it on the wall and the quality will show through. It’ll look good on a big screen too. However, if you send it through WhatsApp you’re going to lose a huge amount of quality.

Here’s that very same image after it’s been forwarded through WhatsApp…

Again, we have to condense images on the site a bit when they’re displayed on your phone, so here’s the original WhatsApp picture that got sent. Right-click on the link again and open in a new tab or you can perhaps click the “Expand the image” button on the upper right of the opened shot if you see that. It’s now a much smaller file – just 354KB instead of the 5.42MB original – and has a 1599 x 1187 resolution. On your phone, both photos seem the same. Indeed, it’s tricky to perhaps decipher the difference with the images I’m showing here, but the “sent through WhatsApp” image will be a more blurry and will lack quality if you want to look at it on your TV or turn it into a photo to put on the wall.

Zoom in a little on the original (seen on the left below) and you can see the house in the far distance. It’s still fairly clear (this is a 12 megapixel 4:3 photo), but on the WhatsApp image (right), things go wrong when you try to zoom into the same level..

Again, because we do some rather clever stuff on the site to make it all super-speedy on your phone, it’s worth looking at the original version of the above comparison.

Here’s some more examples. First, a 2666 x 2574 pixel shot (roughly 1.05MB) of our cat. The original image is here so you can zoom in on it.

And now, the “after it’s been through WhatsApp” version. Check the direct-off-the-WhatsApp-message version here. It’s now 165 KB and 1333 x 1287 pixels.

This is a bit trickier to compare because it’s more close-up but the whiskers become a bit “digitized” on the lower-quality version. You can see that in the example below, or get the full-sized comparison here.

Lastly, a photo of my favourite thing. This is a 4000 x 3000 pixel image and is 6.53MB. Don’t forget to click here for the original shot off my phone.

After the WhatsApp compression, we’re left with a 1600 x 1200 pixel image at 428KB. Here’s the original WhatsApp attachment..

Put the two alongside each other and, again, you get an element of pixelization. It’s best to check the original version of this comparison.

But, there is a way to send images over WhatsApp without compression. It’ll maintain all the picture attributes and the quality if you do this too.

Just click attach “Document” instead of “Gallery”. This way, you’ll force WhatsApp to treat it as a PDF / Word or other document and it won’t compress it. The image will come out the other end with the same file size, the same attributes and the same quality..

Here’s a video showing how to do that..

As you can see below, it works really well..

The post Sending precious photos on WhatsApp? Here’s some essential advice. is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

A campaign sticker on a lamppost 

On Monday Ofcom published the results of 5G testing which proved that radiation levels in the UK were at “tiny fractions” of safe limits. However, this testing comes against a backdrop of conspiracy theories, critical stories on click-driven newspaper websites and totally unsubstantiated claims on Facebook. The latter is a particularly strange place to be at times, as multiple “Stop 5G” groups seek to spread videos and scare stories of the technology.

I read the BBC news story about this where reporter Rory Cellen-Jones looked into some of these Facebook posts..

Put the term “5G” into Facebook’s search box and you can rapidly disappear down a rabbit hole. Take a group called Working Together to Keep Devon 5G Free – the first post is a YouTube video advancing the theory the coronavirus originated in Wuhan because the Chinese city had rolled out 5G.

Believe me, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

First though, let me state that I’m open minded. In truth, the 5G technology hasn’t been deployed fully as yet. The testing done so far hasn’t been for constant daily exposure, so the long-term effects really aren’t known.

That said, it’s all too easy to get an alternative message about 5G technology.

The way you consume “news” is changing.

We’re entering a bit of a perfect storm in terms of how our opinions are formed. We’ve covered how news stories and social media can create lies which are never corrected and we’re also watching the traditional print media dying. Those newspapers now rely on click-bait articles to create shock and anger so that you go to their site, leave a comment and have adverts rammed down your throat. They sit alongside other websites which also pump out “news” and it means that the average smartphone user can’t really decipher what’s real and what’s not.

As an example, there’s snow forecast in the next few days, but nobody will click on a story that says, “Snow predicted for days ahead”. But, if there’s one that says “Snow bomb to blast Britain this week”, you probably will click it. Then, once you’ve clicked that, there needs to be some more shocking follow-up articles so that the newspaper or website in question can show you even more ads and get more revenue.

One which says Warnings EXTENDED: EIGHT inches of snow to blanket UK” should do it, and CAPITAL LETTERS will ENHANCE the IMPACT. Then, you’ll need more shock and awe in order stoke the fear and the worry. “Heavy snow to bring travel chaos” sounds good, followed by “Britain covered by TWO WEEKS of snow as -12C freeze hits nation”. Boom! The newspaper gets revenue and, because this is the internet, there’s no need to wait for the next print run or publication date. Screw your mental state. We’ve got some cash.

As we’ve mentioned before, investigative journalism is expensive. It takes a long time and it doesn’t always earn the newspaper much revenue. So, newspapers take on “writers” who may not be trained journalists for their web outlets. They scour social media (or create stories with the aid of social media) to pump out regular, eye-catching and click-worthy news items which will earn the newspaper the most amount of money. It’s cheap to do and it earns the most.

On Facebook it’s worse. There’s not even a thin veneer of fact-checking. People can just post any old rubbish and, especially if it’s in a group of like-minded individuals, it’s not challenged – instead it’s augmented. It’s amplified.

An image from the “Stop 5G” Facebook group. One of their many theories is that 5G changes behaviour.

It’s a win-win. Facebook gets more people on the platform, more chatter, more stickiness, more adverts. For the newspapers it’s also a win-win. They can use the comments and Facebook posts and call them, “concerned residents”, “locals” or “action groups”. It doesn’t matter that it’s some mad echo-chamber of like-minded people posting unsubstantiated or misleading guff. Screw the consequences, there’s advertising revenue to think about.

Let’s have a deeper look at that Facebook coverage..

5G. The opinion from the “Stop 5G” groups on social media

There’s multiple videos the Stop 5G” groups. The one below is entitled “The Truth about 5G” and it tries to draw a link between the coronavirus and 5G being deployed in Wuhan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtfqUtW_8AA

The video, which has had some 90,000 views in less than two days, has a lady spelling out the word “F.I.V.E- G” continually and how 60GHz microwaves “impact the uptake of oxygen via the hemoglobin”. The video goes on to say that 60GHz is “absorbed by oxygen”.

Now OK, Wuhan was one of the first places to try 5G, but there was a load of other Chinese cities too – Shanghai, Beijing and others. Wuhan only has a limited 5G coverage even now. There’s also no evidence that 5G can harm humans or the immune system, but hey – this is Facebook, this is YouTube. Reality and fact-checking really doesn’t matter, does it? In fact, there’s a mistrust of fact-checking services too..

This “link” between the coronavirus and 5G is maintained throughout a lot of these “Stop 5G” groups on Facebook. They will seek to explain that the 5G or WiFi on the Diamond Princess Cruise ship (where a coronavirus outbreak occurred) was a contributing factor and so on.

This taken from a post showing the “evidence of 5G radiation on the Diamond Princess Cruise ship “

It goes on, and any reported “outbreak” is quickly followed by “evidence” of 5G operating in that area. I’ve yet to see how 5G apparently caused the virus to spread in Iran though. More people there have died from the virus than anywhere else outside China but 5G hasn’t been installed in Iran yet.

This “theory” seems close to the plot of the film “Kingsman: The Secret Service” where an evil megalomaniac gives away free SIM cards that grant free lifetime mobile and internet connectivity.  They’re then “activated” remotely to turn the owner into a violent murderer.

I’m going to post just a few of the comments and “evidence backed” posts here. A lot are cross-posts, or based on “what was posted elsewhere on Facebook”. There’s also posts displaying “secret 5G networks” which are actually 5GHz WiFi access points.

I’m prepared to bet that a lot of these posts were from smartphones connected to that “dangerous” WiFi or 4G signal. The bigger problem though, is that despite the fact that there’s little evidence, people seem to put more trust in random Facebook posts than content from BBC News, CNN, The Times, The Telegraph or other mainstream news outlets.

This, then, is where things get properly dangerous. We’ve seen the constant “Fake News” mantra from Presidents and Prime Ministers. They cast doubt on our long-trusted sources of news so that we instead get sucked in by baseless claims, buzzwords and catchy social media posts. It’s a slippery slope but it’s become a tried and tested method of “controlling the message”.

People are disgusted and embarrassed by the Fake News Media, as headed by the @nytimes, @washingtonpost, @comcast & MSDNC, @ABC, @CBSNews and more. They no longer believe what they see and read, and for good reason. Fake News is, indeed, THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2020

The steps from the people in power are usually as follows..

1. Publicly denounce the trustworthiness of mainstream news.
2. Employ bot-farms to add comments, tweets and Facebook messages which cast doubt on researched news articles.
3. Push out catchy and easy-to-remember phrases. “Make America Great Again” or “Level up” or “Get Brexit Done”. Get bot-farms to agree with your message across newspaper comments sections, Facebook, Instgram and Twitter.
4. Stop talking to traditional media. Split the few reporters you trust, play them off against each other with the promise of exclusive interviews and special coverage.

It leaves us believing traditional media less and trusting “friends” on social media instead.

Next, a video from here in the UK. This is someone showing, and I quote, “Dangerous levels of microwave radiation” from mobile masts at Exeter train station…

Aside from the fact that it’s filmed in portrait (which is perhaps the ultimate sin), there’s an official-looking meter in use. What is that thing? Well, it’s an Acousticom Radio Frequency Meter and appears to show flashes of 6 V/m. This, along with the noise the meter is making does seem scary, but remember how close the person is to the masts.

The “V/m” reading is how electromagnetic fields (EMFs) are measured. The higher the “V/m” (volts per meter), the stronger the EMF.

If you check the the World Health Organisation website you’ll find that a modern electric oven pumps out a stronger electric field. Stand under an electric pylon (let’s not forget that many houses are built underneath them too) and you’ll get a 10,000 V/m EMF.

Yes, mobile phone masts will kick out 6 V/m, but so does a TV transmitter.

WiFi in your house produces EMF as does many other things (microwaves, Bluetooth, RFID systems, radio masts and so on).

Across the UK the 5G networks will initially be launched on sub-6GHz frequencies, primarily between 3.4 and 3.6GHz (4G operates between 800MHz and 2.6GHz in the UK). WiFi in your home, at work, at the coffee shop – that’ll be 2.4GHz or 5GHz. The latter 5GHz WiFi is obviously higher than the 5G frequency that will be deployed in the UK.

Is it safe? Well, right now it’s probably a better idea to trust the scientists and the regulators rather than social media posts. Some sections on the media, in a bid to survive, aren’t doing that. Meanwhile, other sections of the media are steering clear of asking challenging questions. The result is a world of people, sat on the toilet, getting their daily view of the world from Twitter, Facebook and questionable newspaper websites.

The post Wait, what? 5G caused the coronavirus? is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

Update – We’ve recently posted an additional update to this story here.

Many years ago, mobile networks gave the location of their masts to Ofcom. That was back in 2011 though, and after a bit they ditched it. Mobile companies didn’t have to map the location of masts, but we managed to get the data to view a few years later and then we bagged a newer version. However, after the Google Fusion Tables we were using got discontinued, we all lost the quick way of finding those masts.

With masts getting hidden in telegraph poles and other street furniture, you can’t always be sure just where they are.

So, step forward mastdata.com – they’ve got a website and you simply need to whack in your postcode or town name to see where these masts are and who runs or owns them. Today, in addition to all this, there’s an Android app on the Google Play Store which will grab your location and show the masts in your local area or further afield.

After setting up an account and logging in, you can see existing telecoms infrastructure including mobile phone base stations, offered sites and British Telecom (BT) Exchanges. Additional information is available for individual installations including operator, site reference or name, latitude/longitude and line of sight (LoS) coverage.

There’s an iPhone version coming soon.

The post Find your local mobile mast – 2020 Edition is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

Some 9 years ago I performed a test of radio streaming over the internet. I was fed up with the slim choice of very “samey” FM radio station so, with the aid of some cabling (or a smartphone FM transmitter) I fed the audio output of my smartphone through my car radio.

The result? Well, it worked very well and I came to the conclusion that a 128kbps steam consumed around 1MB per minute. In reality it’s actually 0.94MB, but 1MB per minute sounds better in my head.

So, if you’re listening to a “standard” 128kbps radio stream on something like TuneIn for an hour on your smartphone, it’s going to consume 60MB (or 56.25MB to be precise) of data.

So you can now drive to work and you’re not just restricted to CD’s or FM radio any more. We’ve got DAB radio and music via Spotify or radio stations streamed over the internet. Better still, most of the time the internet audio streams are better quality than DAB stations.

Nowadays most modern cars have in-built Bluetooth, so your phone will just connect your smartphone and streamed music blasts out without the need to buy an FM Transmitter.

Great. Now, let’s assume that you’re spending an hour getting to work and an hour back. You listen constantly on 3G / 4G / 5G to a 128kbps stream. You’re going to use around 120MB (rounded up).

So, simple maths. 1MB per minute is 60MB per hour. 2 hours per day is 120MB. 10 hours a week is 600MB.

I’ve looked this up and there’s 4.34524 weeks per month on average. 600MB multiplied by that is 2,607.14 MB. Call it 2.6GB per month. That’s assuming you do this every work day (based on 5 days a week). It’s good to keep an eye on how much data you get through.

However, there’s an element of confusion because it’s not always a 128kbps feed you’re listening to. If you’ve got a favourite radio station then you’ll probably find that they’re pushing their own app. They do this so that you can listen no matter where you are. After all, we don’t all have DAB radios all the time and we’re not always in the same broadcast area.

But what bitrate are you listening to? It’s really hard to find out.

Alex P. Remember him?

At the moment I’m a big fan of CentreForce 88.3. It used to be a pirate radio station back in the day, but now those DJ’s have all grown up and they’ve got a proper DAB licence across London. I love it, but the problem is, I’m not in London.

OK – I mentioned those radio apps. CentreForce have an app too. You won’t necessarily know what stream they’ve chosen, but the good news is that…

• You can check how much data you’re getting through with apps like My Data Manager
• It’s in the interests of the developers / radio station that you don’t consume loads of data, else you’ll probably uninstall their app.
• New encoding formats, like those using AAC, mean that you can get high-quality audio at lower bit-rates. This means that you get the same quality sound without the data hit.
• You’re probably listening to a 128kbps stream, but you might be getting a 96kbps or even a 48kbps stream. Less is better in terms of your data usage.

I decided to really go for broke. Instead of using the official app, I used TuneIn and selected the absolute highest quality stream that the station had available.

As you can see above, that’s 320kbps. I left that running on a drive into work for 40 minutes. There was a couple of drop-outs during the drive (dodgy signal areas) but here’s the result…

In 40 minutes then, I used 95.6MB. Round that up and add in a margin for error and you’re looking at about 150MB per hour or 2.5MB per minute. As you can see, it’s a significant jump up. That car journey I mentioned earlier suddenly becomes 300MB per day or 1.5GB per week. That’s over 6.5GB per month.

In short then, if you’ve got a good data plan, using your smartphone to stream audio or internet radio is fantastic. Just keep an eye on that data plan. I’m on a 12GB monthly deal at the moment, and my trip to work and back does take a couple of GB per month. It’s worth it though, because instead of relying on some terrible local morning breakfast show, I can listen to exactly what I want, no matter where I am.

For all the mathematics in this story, I used this Techex calculator, taking the “File recording” figures as the data required.

The post How much data does your radio app really consume? is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

However, back in 1998 things were decidedly different. Fatboy Slim released his hit, “Rockafeller Skank” and it’s still a well-known tune some 22 years later…

However, this wasn’t created with some stiched-together MP3’s or an Apple MacBook. Oh no.

Fatboy, real name Norman Cook, used a keyboard, an Akai S-950 and a host of other gadgets to make his tunes. At the heart of all this was an Atari ST. Yes, an Atari ST.

For those who don’t know or remember, this was a home computer that went head-to-head with my fave – the Amiga. This was a machine you could buy from any store and it suddenly made music-making a little more approachable. Strap in a sequencer called “Creator” and you can start creating tunes – saving them onto a floppy disk.

Indeed, Norman was still using this setup until 2012, when he told MusicRadar that he’d finally bit the bullet and got a couple of MacBook Pro’s.

Yeah, I’ve been dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century. But the problem is that I’m still struggling to get my head around it. Welcome to the future, eh!

He still used the Atari ST though, and said …

I’ve been making music on the Atari for over 20 years. Most electronic musicians of a certain age probably started in exactly the same way – the Atari and the S950. With just those two bits of kit and a mixing desk, you could make a tune. I made You’ve Come A Long Way, Baby that way. The Atari and the Akais bought this house. They changed my life.

This video, explaining his Atari ST setup and how he created the Rockafeller Skank, is really interesting. He spent weeks and weeks in record shops, looking for samples to use in his creations. In 2020 you can just browse the web and grab the sample in seconds. Back then, it was a labour-intensive job…

Nowadays you can whack a tune together on a smartphone – there’s sequencers, drum machines and other music makers in the app store alongside mixing and DJ apps. It’s so easy to try it out now.

The post Fatboy Slim – When hits were stored on a floppy disk and created with an Atari ST is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

The disconnection of an apparently unused line might seem logical, but not everyone keeps track of how often they’re using their phone. So, if you’re on Vodafone and you’ve got a Pay As You Go deal, be aware that it could be disconnected if you don’t use it for 90 days.

We thought this whole situation needed a bit of focus, so here’s the details from each of the main networks. If your network isn’t listed here (we can’t go through all of them), then have a look-see in the FAQ’s.

Vodafone Pay As You Go

According this support page, they state that…

…you need to use it for at least one chargeable activity – like sending a text or topping up – every 180 days.

That’s a little different to the advice that Steve got in the tweet, so we dug further and found…

If you don’t top up or use any credit, we’ll send you a text explaining that your account will expire in the next 90 days. .. if you don’t use your phone within that 90-day period, your mobile number will be disconnected and will no longer work.

 

EE Pay As You Go

According to this EE forum post, it’s about the same..

EE PAYG SIMs are deactivated after 6 months of non-use. You then have a further 3 months to call EE to reactivate it before it is lost completely.

Indeed, from what we’ve seen elsewhere, you have 180 days on EE PAYG before an inactivity timer kicks in.

O2 Pay As You Go

Again, we found ourselves scouring the forums on this one and found this post which states..

A chargeable call or text every 6 months is sufficient to keep the SIM active.

 

Three Pay As You Go

Tucked away in this PDF it discusses the disconnection of inactive Pay As You Go plans..

If within a 6 month period you have not (i) activated a Pay As You Go Voucher on your account or (ii) made any chargeable events or activities (for example, made telephone calls, sent text or photo messages, accessed content or the internet or any other Three Services for which a charge is made), we may also suspend our Services or disconnect you.

Others..

There’s also some excellent information on PAYG SIM inactivity on this Ofcom page, which states..

The length of time before a mobile provider deems a phone inactive varies: for some providers it can be as little as 70 days, while others wait six months or longer.

We’ve found that iD Mobile will disconnect you after just 90 days of inactivity. Others, like giffgaff, Tesco Mobile, Virgin Mobile, Asda Mobile and VOXI, all appear to be either 6 months or 180 days.

The post Using Pay As You Go? Use it or lose it! is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

Trouble is, despite all my saving, I’m not getting close to affording one. Even the i5 8GB / 256GB drive version is £1,199.99. The i7 16GB / 512GB drive model is another £100.

Google Pixelbook

I mean sure, it’s got a touch screen, it has an SSD, it has that clever design and can switch from laptop, tablet or “tent” mode but…. I’m as tight as a duck’s bottom. So over £1,000 for all that seems like a lot.

So, here’s my solution. A Dell Inspiron 13 5000 Series 13″ Laptop running the Chrome OS…

Woah there – let me tell you how this happened. I initially got browsing on eBay to get something similar to a Pixelbook. I started looking at the Dell Inspiron 13 – 5000 series because – whilst not as slim – they’re similar in many other ways.

Sure, the scren isn’t quite as good (it’s 1920×1080) but it has touchscreen capabilites and it’ll also fold over so that you can use it in a tablet or “tent” mode. It’s got an SSD too, so a nice speedy experience. Whilst there’s a lot of versions available, the one I was hunting for was an i7 so that it would compete with the top-end Pixelbook. It was looking for 16GB of RAM too, so I scoured eBay for one and eventally managed to bag a used one for exactly £400. You can get better and professionally refurbished ones for a smidge more, like this one…

Next up, adding the Chrome OS. To do this, there’s a completely free offering called CloudReady from Neverware. You basically download / create a boot image, whack that on a USB stick, then shove it in the laptop you want to install the Chrome OS onto.

As an aside, the Chromebook craze has now grown and you can also get Chromebox devices (which are like mini PC’s) for less than £100. However, the Home Edition of CloudReady will give you the Chromebook experience on a laptop that you may have given up on recently. Seriously, if you have a laptop which is running slowly and you’re about to consign it to the bin, get CloudReady and whack it on.

The solution works really well. I’ve always like Chromebooks. They’re well priced and – for 95% of users – you can do everything you need to do on them. No virus problems, no slow-downs, no blue screens or lengthy patching – just the experience you want.

Sure, I’ll admit that at times I’m inside that 5% and I’ll need to get into SQL Management Studio or setup something within a Windows Server in my lab – but you can install RDP clients on Chromebooks and within the Chrome OS which let you hop into a Windows box elsewhere. Heck, with the version of CloudReady I’m using now I can use Linux and install too, so I can install VirtualBox and then run Windows as a virtual machine. Effectively that means I can use both OS’s at the same time.

RDP-ing into a Windows machine

But hey, I’m in that 5% just some of the time. For the rest of the time you’ll be using a browser, because that’s all you need today.

Sure, there’s some minor caveats. This doesn’t have absolutely everything that a normal Chromebook would have. Android apps aren’t on there (this due to multiple legal and technical constraints), but you can install a growing selection of Linux apps via Flathub.

Confused? Well, I’ve got me a video to show you

If you’ve got an old laptop, give it a try – seriously. Even if you hide the big old laptop in a cupboard and put a keyboard, mouse and monitor on it – don’t go spending money when you can make use of it.

For me, I’ve now got an i7 Chromebook for a lot, lot less than it would cost me to get a Pixel.

Update – Just in case anyone decides to do this and has problems with videos (like YouTube) loading, you have to install the media components within CloudReady. This is done like so…

The post My Google “Pixelbook” .. for less than half the money is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

The delivery of our internet is now done via Virgin Media Business. Their service, compared to the residential offering, is like night and day.

It’s solid, blisteringly quick (hitting 440Mbps, sometimes higher, but I’m only paying for 330Mbps) and I shovel everything down it – TV, Netflix, on-demand content, music (Spotify, BBC Sounds, Mixcloud etc) – the lot.

Cable internet here in the UK tends to be much faster because – although a fibre connection is sent to your local street cabinet (like the BT “Fibre To The Cabinet” / FTTC offering) – the last few metres are over coaxial cable. With the BT or a non-cable offering, it’s over two bits of copper wire, which isn’t as good at all.

That wire is usually hanging off a pole, flapping in the breeze. It was also probably installed many, many decades ago.Think about Cable TV here in the UK and you might remember (if you’re old enough) the rather chaotic roll-out. Things started in the early 80’s, and companies such as Croydon Cable, Rediffusion Cablevision, Swindon Cable, Aberdeen Cable / Atlantic and others. They gradually got swallowed up by bigger players as the years went by.

There’s a great video on YouTube from Andrew Clewes showing these early days…

CableTel, Cable & Wireless and Telewest began to be the household names – then CableTel became NTL. In 2005 we saw NTL and Telewest rolling out video-on-demand and then, a year later, HD. In that very same year, NTL and Telewest merged. They then did a deal to licence the Virgin name and branding. The rest is history.

Cable, for many people here in the UK, is the fastest internet option and Virgin are pushing hard with the coverage. Now owned by Liberty Global, they’re engaged in a significant expansion and upgrade programme. Their Euro DOCSIS Hybrid Fibre Coax system gets to around 60% of UK households. In addition, they’re also cutting a lot of the “standard definition” channels – pushing HD more and more.

But wait. Did Cable TV really start in the UK in the 80’s ? That was late compared to the USA.

Well no. In reality Cable TV can be traced back as far as 1938. It was first implemented because normal TV signals weren’t always easy to receive, and big, ugly aerials had to be strapped to chimneys – sometimes falling over and causing damage. Early BBC transmissions were on the low-end of VHF and, if you lived in a valley or too far away, you were flat out of luck. Cable TV, for some, was an alternative, sometimes the only, option. Houses in Bristol used this system for TV and, years before that in Swindon, they used a similar system to get radio – that was in 1928!

Indeed, a company called Rediffusion (a trading name of “Broadcast Relay Service”) supplied “Piped TV” and also operated across the British colonies – Barbados received a relay service in 1934 and Malta got it in 1935.

This forgotten method of broadcasting filled gaps in the signal, so they called it a “relay”. Companies such as British Relay Wireless popped up. It was effectively like having a speaker on the end of a really, really long cable. Council houses and schools had the system and it meant no unsightly aerials and no signal loss.

The method seems a little bonkers by today’s standards – big power amplifiers would pump out 10kW or more, which would then be stepped down at a local cabinet.

As things progressed, in the 1960’s, Pay TV was actually a possibility too. TV pictures were being broadcast to houses and schools over copper cabling.

Cable Pay TV, 1960’s style

Each twisted pair would carry a single TV or radio station, and a rotary switch would select which station would come through to the inner two cables which fed your TV.

By the 1960’s, the company had rebranded to “British Relay Television”. It’s perhaps a slightly confusing name, as today we associate “Relay Television” with smaller local TV masts which “boost” the signal from biggest masts further away. Below we’ve got a YouTube video showing how this early version cable television worked. Don’t forget – this was nearly 60 years ago!!

By the 1980’s Rediffusion had abandoned this method of sending TV and radio, and many engineers were learning from US counterparts who had started using more advanced methods of delivering TV and radio. In the US, the grid structure of cities and their more concentrated populations made cable a more worthwhile and easy solution, however in the UK we’ve lagged behind because the telegraph poles are owned by BT, who wouldn’t let Cable TV operators near, so a lot of digging had to happen instead.

Fast forward a few years, and when the UK was being cabled up, the bandwidth requirements of our modern internet needs really weren’t considered. Over the years, systems have had to be upgraded to cope. For more on that, have a read of my earlier feature on cable internet and Cable TV.

The post Cable TV – The origins in the UK are older than you think is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

Lower quality, yes, but you do get more choice. As an example, I’m loving the fact that an ex-pirate radio station like Centre Force can enter into the market legally without too much financial strain. Personally it’s great to be able to listen to stations like this because they’re so different to the usual commercial radio stations.

However, as we touched on before, mono broadcasts are quite common. The broadcasters will validate this by saying, “Well hey, you’re listening on your smart speaker or DAB kitchen radio, you’ve only got one speaker anyway”, but in the car it sounds ruddy awful.

However, in addition to the mono sound and low bitrate, we have another issue. There’s not just one type of DAB.

Here in the UK, the traditional DAB audio signal is getting quite old now. It’s encoded in MP2, which is the ancestor of MP3. The traditional 128kbps streams might only be used by the big BBC stations now, and in other places you’ll find much lower quality streams on DAB.

So, a new format came out. It’s called “DAB Plus”, or just DAB+, and it’s much more efficient. It uses the same masts, the same infrastructure, but the audio is encoded in aacPlus. Put simply, this means that the audio sounds better at lower bitrates, and you’ll find signals in stereo more often too.

In recent times, we’ve seen more DAB stations switch over to DAB+ or introduce additional “sister” stations onto DAB+. If you listen to Gold, Jazz FM, Fun Kids UK, Smooth Extra, Capital XTRA, Capital XTRA Reloaded, JACK, Union Jack, Heart Extra, Heart 70s or Heart 90s – you’ll be listening on DAB+.

However, if you’ve got DAB but you’ve never seen these stations listed, chances are that you’ve got a DAB radio that can’t do DAB+. This, then, is where more problems start. Although some digital radios can be upgraded to receive DAB+, many just can’t. This means that, despite having a relatively new DAB radio, you’ll need to throw it in the bin – even if it’s in the car – and buy a new one to get the full list of digital stations.

With the more efficient system attracting more and more stations, this is tripping up a number of listeners. Several stations are switching across to DAB+, and many DAB radios that don’t do “Plus” will simply see them disappear.

Stations that have recently come onto the platform include Virgin Radio Anthems, Heart Dance, Virgin Radio Chilled and – most recently – Radio X.

This last one has caused quite a bit of fuss, with listeners constantly asking where the station has “gone” – not realising that it’s a format change.

Radio X is selling the switch as beneficial because you’ll be “able to hear us in stereo” (which, in 2019, really should be a given). They made the full switch over a few weeks back, but listeners haven’t been kind. It’s led the breakfast presenter, ex-Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles, to respond with this…

It looks like more and more stations will be switching, so check that your DAB radio has DAB+. If not, your choice of stations will be dropping over the coming months..

The post Radio is moving to DAB+, so best keep up now to avoid losing your favourite station. is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

Smartphones and technology, as we’ve mentioned before, are stopping us talking to each other. My nephew looked at me in horror at the weekend after I told him that he’d have to actually talk to another human being in order to approve the Apple Pay connection to his bank card.

Can’t I push some buttons instead?

Nope. Some things, thankfully, still involve a real and personal bit of contact. The list, though, is growing smaller each day, and I’ve already mentioned how I could spend an entire day shopping, eating, banking and buying petrol – all without interacting with anyone else. It’s only the local chip shop and barbers where I’m not using a self-serve machine or tapping my card against a payment terminal.

In part this has all increased the amount of loneliness in this country. There are nine million lonely people in the UK and four million of them are older people. Sending a text or a funny emoji isn’t enough. We need to talk to each other, properly. With everything that’s happening with Brexit and politics right now, it just shows the distrust and disagreement that can build up if we don’t talk properly with our fellow man – whether it be in this country or abroad.

We’re all the same at the end of the day, so give a little friendship and support to others. Start small, say “Hello”, ask a question, enquire about the welfare of others and smile.

There’s now a campaign to end lonliness and they’ve just put out this video. It features comedian Andy Parsons approaching what is now a standard sight – a group of people staring at their phones – and actually interacting with them. It’s something many of us would never do, but these small moments can really help..

The post Let’s start talking again is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

Then there was something that you guys will probably never understand or indeed experience now You simply couldn’t find the book you wanted when you were trying to research a topic or complete an essay.

The reason? Well, back when I was at school the internet was in its infancy. Add to that the fact that your entire class were told to go and research or write about farming in the 1920’s (for example) and you’d have to head to the library. You couldn’t go on the internet, there were no smartphones so instead you’d rely on books and the library. That’s when your problems would get worse, because all your classmates were doing the exact same thing. That meant that all the books on historical farming, or any kind of farming, weren’t available. You were stuck.

Yes, to the smartphone generation of today it seems like a different planet. What I can only equate it to now is if you get on a plane and don’t have any WiFi. That moment when, some 30-odd thousand feet up, you have that need to Google something and you suddenly remember you can’t. It’s basically like that.

Now though, we’re in a totally different world – at least when there’s an internet connection. You can grab information, white papers and research documents about anything, at any time. It makes researching a topic so much simpler and easier, plus you don’t even need to go into a separate room to fire up an old-school PC any more. Remember that? That was just yesterday. Now we’ve got laptops that we can stuff down the back of the sofa and smartphones that are in our pockets all the time.

In addition, there’s now websites like https://studymoose.com/ where you can look through old essays that others have written. We’ve moved up to another level now – not just finding bits of research and information – but actually getting targeted and precise guidance on how that research should be applied and how you should compose and construct an essay or thesis.

In addition there’s time management apps for your phone plus study planners, guides and revision help. That thing in our pocket, although it can be a massive distraction and a big time waster, can – if used properly – be a benefit and a helper at the same time.

The post Smartphones – Changing learning and teaching is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

However, I noticed that over the years my £36 monthly contract had somehow ballooned to north of £55.

Sure, some would call that inflation, but the super-expensive phones were hitting my pocket hard. That’s when I started to look at handsets from Honor and Xiaomi – they were offering better value phones which were so close to the expensive Samsung and Sony handsets that I really couldn’t warrant paying extra for them.

However, when you look at SIM-only you’re met with an immediate problem. Getting even a well-priced phone requires a few hundred quid. Most of us don’t have that in the bank account, and the temptation to go with a contract via a smaller monthly proves too much. It isn’t as difficult as you think though. There’s plenty of trade-in options and online recycling sites that will pay you for your old phone. You can, if you have a dig around your garage or loft, probably find a load of old kit you could sell too. In addition, there’s now finance options which will let you do a small monthly payment to get you the phone. These are moatly better than a contract because you have more control over how long you want to be paying – a 12 month 0% finance deal on a £300 smartphone will cost you £25 per month, then it’s just a matter of finding you a SIM only plan.

Oh and of course, after that 12 months has passed, you only have to pay for the SIM only deal.

Then it gets even better, because you can swap and change most SIM only deals more often. A 30-day option is great if you want to try out a network, and now with the text-to-switch facility, you can carry your number around really easily. It means that you can also get the best deal, using any of the “big four” (EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three) or one of the many “virtual networks” that operate on their masts.

As an example, you can get 8GB monthly from Three for £10 per month or the same deal with Sky (operating on the O2 masts) for the same price.

Best of all? Next time you’re down the pub and your mate is moaning about paying over £50 per month for his mobile (and the fact that he’s stuck in a lengthy contract), you can tell him that you only pay a tenna.

I tend to compare it to a package holiday. Sure, you can just go to a travel agents and give them a whole load of cash, or you could get the flight and hotel yourself and grab a cab. Go on, give it a try.

The post Don’t just renew your contract. Go SIM only. is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

Today marks the start of a new method of changing networks. For all too long people here in the UK have had to call the infamous “Retentions Team”. They will try lots of things to keep hold of you as a customer. Sometimes this process has a good end result, and you can come away with a far better deal. Indeed, our 2016 feature on switching networks has enabled many of you to come away with a better offering. However, for others the experience feels pressured, complicated and confusing. Many want to leave but end up staying because they either don’t want the fuss or see it as a long and complex process.

Now, though, you can circumvent the Retentions Team to an extent. It’s been over two years since we first reported on the new proposals to make switching networks easier, but now they’re live, so here’s how it all works.

It now takes a simple text message. All mobile networks MUST use the same “short codes”, so no matter which UK network you’re with, this is the process…

• Text ‘INFO’ to 87075 – To find out if you are still in contract and have to pay exit charges.
• Text ‘PAC’ to 65075 – To leave your current network and keep existing mobile number.
• Text ‘STAC’ to 75075 – To leave your current network, dump your number and get a new one with your new provider.

With some networks, you’ll need to add your date of birth to the end of these messages. So if you’re requesting a PAC then you might need to send “PAC 061181” (if your date of birth is November 6th 1981) to 65075

What replies will you get? Here’s the info…

INFO to 87075

Your current network will respond with the outstanding balance on your account. You may also get information on contract termination charges and outstanding handset costs.

PAC to 65075

Your provider will respond with the PAC (Porting Authorisation Code). This will be delivered usually immediately but must happen within two business days. It’s valid for 30 days. You give this to your new service provider and they’ll magically transfer your number across. You don’t have to use it though.

STAC to 75075

You’ll get the STAC (Service Termination Authorisation Code) immediately but again, the provider has a limit of two business days to do this. Once you’ve got your STAC it’s valid for 30 days. Give this to your new provider and they will handle everything out from there. Again, there’s nothing to say that you have to use the code.

Mobile providers are now banned from charging for notice periods after the handover date, so no more paying for old and new contracts at the same time.

Other options

You don’t just need to text!

1. You can call your provider. You’ll probably end up with the Retentions Team but they could do you a better deal.
2. You can go through your online account management system where all networks must now offer a way of leaving via the web.

Don’t forget that even if you already have your PAC or STAC code  you don’t have to use it immediately or AT ALL. You have 30 days, but if you don’t do anything then your contract will remain as is.

Also, let’s be honest here, if you do request your PAC or STAC and get the code delivered, your existing provider may call you to try and convince you to stay if you’ve not used that code, and you could end up speaking to the Retentions Team anyway.

The post Changing networks – Text to Switch Explained is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

Have a look at most UK homes and there is normally an alarm box situated at the front with the blinking LED. Let’s be honest though, how many of us actually go and investigate if the alarm starts blaring? Truth be told, not many.

“Well my alarm sends me a message when it activates”, some may say. Great. You know your alarm is going off, but why ?

False alarm ?

Unsavoury characters stealing your prized possessions ?

You’ll just have to wait until you’re home or someone can check on your behalf, all of which takes time.

Well this is where a smart home security camera comes in. It has the ability to send your phone a push notification. Then you can check the live feed from your home instantly and either dismiss the notification or call the police to say, “Errm… someone is in my house”. You’ll have the evidence right there, ready available.

I’ve been sent through the latest home wireless security camera from Ezviz for review.

Good Points:

• Easy to set up.
• Both local (microSD card) and cloud storage for your footage.
• Full 1080p HD recordings.
• Night vision
• Motion tracking
• Ability to pan and tilt to allow a much-increased area of coverage.
• Motion detection notification to phone.
• Privacy Mode.

Bad Points:

• Cloud Storage a little expensive.
• Movement can be a bit noisy.
• Micro USB charging port rather than USB Type C

Features:

• Smart Motion Tracking.
• Pan & Tilt.
• Privacy Mode.
• Night Vision up to 33ft/10m.
• 2 way talk 16 ft/5m mic pick up.
• Link to alarm sensors.
• SD card support up to 128GB.
• 340 degrees of horizontal rotation.
• 105 degrees upward and 15 degrees downward vertical rotation.

Design:

In the box comes the camera, a nice and long micro USB charging lead, charging plug, mounting plate, screws and raw plugs and instructions.

Size-wise, the Ezviz C6T is 113 mm high, with a diameter of 87mm and weighs just 220g. Unlike traditional pan and tilt cameras, this one is a nice and compact affair, not much larger than a good-sized orange. This camera does look more like a security camera, unlike the Ezviz C6T camera I looked at last year – that looked more like an air freshener.

The Ezviz CTQ6C offers Full HD 1080P recording at 15FPS and 720P recording at 30FPS. It has a lens that is 4mm at F2.2, featuring a horizontal view angle of 72° and a diagonal viewing angle of 92°. The camera can tilt upwards by 105° but downwards by only 15°, with a panning angle up to 340°. It includes a built-in speaker and microphone for two-way communication, and the night vision has a range up to 10 metres via the infrared LEDs.

If you’re worried about being “spied on whilst at home” the CTQ6C offers a one-touch privacy option and once activated the camera lens rotates completely out of view and no footage produced

Round the back of the device is a micro USB charging port, which is an improvement on the previous camera from Ezviz, ( that one came with a proprietary charging port) but it would have been nice to see a USB Type-C charging port, also there’s an ethernet port if you want to use a wired connection to the internet.

In Use:

Set up of the CTQ6C is a really simple affair; install the Ezviz app (iOS or Android), create a user account, turn on the camera, register the camera using the barcode stickers on the base of the camera, and then connect it to your home WiFi… and that’s it – you’re all set up. I just wished my outdoor home security cameras were as easy to set up. The app can be secured to use fingerprint login in order to restrict to stop any unwanted access.

Unlike a traditional fixed IP camera, the CTQ6C can pan and tilt, so there are no motion detection zones to set up within the app. The camera will pan and tilt to track any movement, which would render setting up any motion zones pointless. The app allows for a good level of customisation, such as setting up a notification schedule, motion detection sensitivity and notification sound levels.

Storage of footage is of two flavours: local storage via a cicroSD card, and a separate cloud-based service. A nice surprise coming from Ezviz is 30 days of free trial of the cloud storage when you first install the CTQ6C. This is unlike the usual 7 day trial offered by other suppliers, but to continue to have the cloud option enabled, you either need to pay £4.99 per month, per camera. For this you get 7 days of storage, or £9.99 per month, per camera for 30 days storage. Videos can be downloaded to your phone at any time but a subscription will be needed for recording. It’s a tad pricey, given that if you choose the £9.99 option you will have paid more than the camera itself in just 9 months. But with such a low RRP, it’s no surprise Ezviz is looking at alternative sources of revenue.

One of the most important features in any sort of connected home security setup is a decent notification system: with the Ezviz CTQ6C, you will receive an alert on your phone within a couple of seconds after motion has been detected. The video is available to view just a few seconds later, which does mean you can very quickly check if the intrusion is cause for concern or just the cat wandering around.

I found that the motion tracking was particularly good, and the camera will instantly pick you up and track your movements as you walk across the room. Be aware that anything more than a walk means that the panning motor is a little slow to keep up, and was a little noisy in operation.

The CTQ6C provides impressive 1080p recordings in both daylight and night vision, with a good switch between the two. In good light conditions or with night vision, the recorded image quality is excellent and is more than capable enough to identify faces at a distance, or any other detail that might be relevant.

One good feature is the ability to record footage straight from the app and then upload it to YouTube. Below this are a couple of examples of both day and night vision (allowing for YouTube compression) I just placed the camera on the side in the conservatory.

Conclusion:

The CTQ6C is a superb home security camera packed with features and options, and it is at an excellent price point currently available from Amazon for just £44.99. The camera is easy to set up and use, with the only limitation I could find was the speed of which the camera was able to pan in some situations. But if you after a connected camera that gives more than a limited view, the Ezviz CTQ6C is well worth a look.

The post Ezviz CTQ6C Wireless Security Camera – Review is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

The reason? Well, here in the UK at least, cars must not display a speed which is slower than your actual speed. If this were to happen, it would mean that you could merrily be driving at 50mph according to your car speedometer, but you could actually be doing 55mph, for example. You end up with a speeding ticket and you’ve no idea why.

So, most of the time, it’s the other way round, and you’ll actually be driving slower than the speed displayed on your dashboard. Here’s an video showing just that, at 50mph, 60mph and 70mph. At slower speeds it’s a bit more accurate.

Now, I realise that the Google Maps speedometer is a bit small, so I tried again with a GPS speed app which has a bigger display..

Obviously, you should always stick to the speed limit and follow the speed on your dashboard, but it’s interesting to think that radar guns and average speed cameras will be showing a different speed to the one on your car speedometer.

The post Your car speedometer versus GPS speed. A test. is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

So DAB should, by now, have knocked FM into touch. We should be living in a world of crystal-clear DAB with a wider choice of stations. However, what we’ve ended up with is a big choice of very low-quality audio streams.

If you’ve got your geek hat on, you can read my article about the mediocre, sometimes mono DAB stations that you can receive here in the UK.

Basically digital radio is just that – digital. You effectively listen to a stream, just like you do over the internet or through an app on your phone. Your favourite station will probably be wanting you to download an app for you to listen to them on. It effectively wraps their audio stream, which is fed over your 4G data connection, and adds a load of additional “helpful” content about the station. However, rather bizarrely, you’ll probably be getting a better quality stream this way than you can on DAB.

Bit-rates and audio quality

I might blind you with science in a minute, so let’s talk about bit-rates and explain what they are.

Generally, the higher the bit-rate, the better the audio quality. Popular streaming websites like Spotify and Pandora typically use a bit-rate of 160 kbps, which is less than that of MP3s. If you upgrade to Spotify Premium, you get 320 kbps tracks, which is equivalent to MP3s.

Back in the day we used to use something called a “CD” (remember them?!). The bit-rate on a CD is 1,411 kbps. Yeah, I know. CD wins, by a long way.

What this means for you..

As an example, Jazz FM (which is called that but broadcasts on DAB too) has a 112kbps stream on TuneIn. You can also get higher quality internet streams if you want or, for the full beans, perhaps use your Sky TV box on channel 0202 and get it fed down from the Astra satellites up in space.

However, if you want to listen to Jazz FM on your swish DAB radio, or in your car on DAB, you’re going to get a relatively rubbish 32kbps stream, encoded via AAC.

A 32kbps stream? When there’s a 320kbps stream on the internet?

Why?

Well, stations here in the UK are now mostly owned by just a few big media companies. Global, as an example, runs Capital, Heart, Classic FM, Smooth, LBC and Radio X to name just a few. There’s also Bauer Radio running Absolute, Heat, Kiss and so on. You’ll also find the Wireless Group, who run Talksport and Virgin Radio.

We’ve got the choice, even if it is via a few big media companies, but the margins and costs just aren’t stacking up. On FM you have to try to please as many people as possible. That results in a lot of stations that sound pretty similar. They’re expensive to run, so you have to maximise the advertising by appealing to a broad church.

If a radio station isn’t going to pay for itself, it just can’t carry on running. So, with DAB, paying for a relatively expensive, high bit-rate, high-bandwidth transmission across the whole of the UK has to be squared off against your advertising revenue.

Most of the time, that can’t be done. There’s not quite enough people listening to DAB and those that are chose to switch to it for that increase in choice. They don’t want that generic “Bob and Sue in the mornings” or “The big drive home with Zak”. They want something different – oldies, dance, talk, rock, sport and so on. All of this has resulted in a large amount of cheaper DAB stations appearing. Some without DJs, some without many adverts and most with either a low-quality audio feed or mono broadcasting.

That bugged me, especially when you consider the other selling point of DAB.

In addition to the choice, the relatively expensive DAB equipment is sold on how “superior” the sound is meant to be. It’s what spurred me into writing this earlier article, because a lot of people just aren’t aware that it just isn’t that way at all. I mean sure, if you’re comparing it to those MW stations that have traditionally offered extra and alternative categories of stations, then yes – it is clearer, but it’s not as good as it could be and it’s not as wonderful as the marketing makes out.

It’s almost like we’ve gone backwards in a way, especially as there was such huge fanfare when stations used to promote the high-grade audio and stereo part of their FM transmissions back in the 1980’s.

Now? Well, now we’re all using Bluetooth speakers or listening to music through the external speakers on our phones. It means that the rather inefficient MP2 encoding format that DAB traditionally used is being dropped to a lower and lower quality in order for more stations to appear. It’s being dropped lower than was ever intended or even recommended by the early DAB pioneers. Sure, a new (and more efficient) encoding method has come onto the scene now, but again – the bit-rate is being dropped to reduce the “cost of entry” for radio stations.

So that all brings me onto this. On YouTube there’s a rather excellent channel called Techmoan which I heartily recommend. A guy called Mat does some properly in-depth tech videos, covering the inner workings of old radios, dash cams, tape recorders, TVs, Laserdiscs, cameras and everything in-between. It’s a brilliant channel and he’s filmed a very informative video which puts a lot of my earlier waffle into a very slick presentation.

In the video below Mat is showing off a DAB radio he’s purchased, but at around 8 minutes 30 (it should start at that point below) he explains all about the problems we have with DAB here in the UK..

The post DAB in the UK. Quantity, not quality. is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

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 thanks to the speed at which things will happen. You’ll be able to complete tasks quicker, which means you’ll have more time to move onto other tasks. More downloading, streaming and browsing can be performed in the very same length of time.

Speed!

Here’s a video just to show the speed of 5G and how it compares to 4G..

It’s an EE speed test and they managed to get 40 Mbps on 4G. That’s about right. I’ve just done a test in a field here in Cornwall and I’ve got 49Mbps on Vodafone 4G.

The 5G speed, which hit 440Mbps, was crazy quick. However, I should point out that the EE 5G network is pretty much empty. It does, though, have a huge amount of capacity so you can probably expect speeds to stay near that.

Consumption!

This is where I need to stay on this first point. If you get yourself a 5G phone and start hammering speed tests, you’re going to blow through your data allowance in no time at all. 10GB per month is nothing because you’ll get through it so quickly.

New internet options

The second thing I need to mention is the fact that 5G is going to be far quicker than a lot of home broadband connections too. At home I’ve got a Virgin Business Voom Fibre connection which is “up to” 350Mbps. I get, for reasons I’m not entirely sure of, more than that. Here’s a speed test I’ve just done…

I should be getting 350Mbps, but I’m getting 410Mbps. Virgin Business also offer 500Mbps speeds but let’s not get into that right now. Let’s just say that 5G is going to be around as fast as a very, very quick Virgin Business cable connection. That’s faster than most of Virgin Media home broadband connections. Faster than the connection you might get in your office at work.

But.. at home, on my Virgin Cable connection, I’m not worried about how much data I’m using. I can stream on Netflix, listen to tunes on Spotify, grab my geeky ISO images, download big attachments. All quickly. All without buffering. It’s quick, it’s easy.

With 5G, some networks will no doubt throw in “data free” services which let you stream video and play music without it impacting your data allowance. However, for other things you might be doing on your phone, that data package is going to burn up quickly, and you’ll no doubt have one eye on your allowance all the time.

That all said, as things move forward, as competition builds, as packages become more affordable with more data and the technology becomes more widespread; we’re going to see 5G become a viable alternative to traditional fixed-line solutions. It’ll be faster than most current ADSL and FTTC-delivered internet connections and you can no doubt see why BT were so keen to take on EE.

The post Compared – 4G vs 5G is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

Some 118 trackers were tested over a marathon distance – 26.2 miles (42km) – and they found that some trackers underestimated the distance whilst some overestimated. The Garmin Vivosmart 4 underestimated the distance by 10.8 miles, meaning that the person testing it ran 37 miles instead of 26.2.

However, what confused me is the fact that all of these trackers were only wrong when they were tested indoors on a treadmill.

And?

That’s been the case for quite some time. Fact is, when you’re inside and you’re effectively not moving anywhere, there’s no GPS track and no real way for the tracker to accurately record your distance. It has to make a guess based on your stride length. Indeed, a spokesman for Huawei pointed this out to Which? by stating..

With regards to running indoors, as this particular test was carried out on a treadmill, the algorithm of Huawei Watch 2 Sport calculates the user’s stride length from the acceleration sensor data while running at different speeds.

This is why, and it’s something any gym-bunny will know, you always rely on the actual distance shown on the treadmill itself. The treadmill knows how fast it’s operating and how far you’ve actually run. You can’t rely on your tracker for that.

Most trackers are great at step-counting, heart-rate monitoring and showing how many calories you’ve burned. If you’re using your heart-rate monitoring at the gym then this will definitely be more beneficial. Also, if they have GPS, they’re good at tracking your runs, cycles and outdoor swims.

Inside though? When the GPS data either isn’t available or says you’re static? Best rely on the treadmill on-screen display.

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