Author: Leigh Geary

LG G3 QuickCircle Snap-on case now available

You read our LG G3 review, right? If you liked it, bought one, want to keep it in good condition and you’re looking for a case, give this a whirl. The highly sought after official QuickCircle Snap-on case has arrived at Mobile Fun this morning and this is …

Mini Ninjas, now free

Nope. I’ve never heard of it. Sorry. Apparently though, lots of people have. This thing has had over 6 million downloads. It’s been available for 99c or 69p (yes, yes, I know that 99c is, in fact, 58p, but …) … now it’s free. You can get it …

Switching? Wait!

I got asked a quite simple question last night, and it got me thinking… @gears is Three a good network now? I remember you could never get a signal. I only want to renew with networks that offer unlimited data. — Sean Dale (@SeanDale) July 15, 2014 Changing …

Apple hook up with IBM to get further into your business

I remember laughing when business people started buying iPads. “Pah. They’ve got it all wrong”, I thought, “that’s not a business tool”. Even though a lot of tasks were still perhaps better done on a Windows laptop at the time, the iPad and iPhones took over and they …

A big-screen solution for any smartphone

Smartphones are great, no argument there, but there’s a bit of a problem. Most people like a phones with a screen between 4″ and 4.7″, then you’re edging into phablet and then tablet territory. Devices of this size are great too, but you end up with a bigger …

HTC Dot View Case gets clever

We liked it to begin with, but now the HTC Dot View app has now got even better. You can now alter the wallpaper and you can swipe through email, voicemail, text and call notifications. The app can be tailored to your requirements and owners of the HTC …

Edit your video footage on the go – Video Tuner for Lumia handsets

Having all our video footage securely stored on our smartphones is great, but editing it can be a bit of a pain. If you’re using Windows Phone then it’s well worth giving Video Tuner a spin. Available for Lumia handsets, it’ll give Windows Phone 8.1 users the ability …

Screw this in, make a noise and light up your life

Ask any Coolsmartphone reader and they’ll tell you that they love playing with their bulbs. Fiddling with them until they go a funny colour is a particularly popular pastime, so MIPOW have created this, the “PLAYBULB”. Ta-daaarrr!!!! For £59.99 you get more than just a light bulb. This …

New Sonic game hits Fever pitch

Apologies in advance for that “local free newspaper”-style headline that crow-bars the word “Fever” from “Sonic Jump Fever” in, it’s still early. 🙂 Sega, who are perhaps best known for this intro sound would like me to mention their new Sonic game. It’s called “Jump Fever” and is …

Getting hold of a OnePlus One. Invites snapped up super quick

Many moons ago I watched a programme about how kids are basically really interested in stuff they can’t have. If it’s in front if them, but they’re told that it’s special and shouldn’t touch, they’ll want whatever it is that they’re not supposed to have. From memory the …

New clip-on Bluetooth speaker from JBL

In case you’re wondering, these are definitely made by JBL and they shouldn’t be confused with the perils at JML who make mops and strange foot massage things … Further details below, or get it next month from Currys, John Lewis, Amazon UK and the JBL website.

blinkbox music – The new boy on the streaming scene

Tesco have sent me something. I think it’s because I’ve started shopping in Aldi more. Who knows, but they are trying to grab my attention. They own blinkbox music, which is another offering alongside their blinkbox TV and movie streaming service. Considering they’ve not sent the Coolsmartphone team …

Megalo Mini hits target, mini charger going into production soon

No! Must resist the urge to mention another Kickstarter campaign! Oh wait, this one has already been featured here and they’ve now reached and breached the funding goal, so it’ll be in production and you should be seeing it soon. The Megalo Mini is basically a tiny charger …

Saving battery power on your Android – LeanDroid

I was going to open this particular story by discussing battery life, and how it’s generally pretty rubbish, but you know all that already. There’s a few ways to fix this. You can get a portable charger, you can plug your phone in every few hours, you can …

Sammy Galaxy Note 2 gets covered in KitKat chocolate

Got yourself one of these on Three? It’s the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and, if you go searching for updates, you should find that the freshly-baked Android KitKat 4.4.2 has arrived. Download the update and enjoy everything that KitKat has to offer. We have Lee Burnip to thank …

Up-close with the LG G Watch

Packing an always-on display, 400mAh battery (which is enough for a day of activity) and powered by Android Wear, this is the LG G Watch. It’s both dust and water resistant, plus you can just say “OK Google” to ask it questions, such as “Come on KITT buddy, …

Samsung refresh their app store.

I tell you what Android needs. Another app store. That’s what it needs. Yeah. Never mind the fact that there’s already the Amazon App Store, GetJar, AppsLib, F-Droid and various other ones that appear on those “couldn’t quite get Google certification” handsets. We need more. Luckily Samsung are …

Rumour – Three to return to Carphone Warehouse?

Despite most sales being direct and, despite withdrawing from Carphone Warehouse last year, Three look to be coming back again. There’s no official announcement just yet, but we understand from a trusted source that the Three network will be offered up again by the high street retailer soon …

Podcast 101 – Just like the olden days

Remember when the podcast used to be recorded in my car? Remember when it was just me? Well, prepare for a flashback, because last night our local telephone exchange went bang, so the end result was no real internet connection for recording the podcast. This week, direct from …

Cast your Android screen using the new beta

If you’ve got one of those clever Chromecast devices and you have one of the devices mentioned below, listen up… Nexus 4 Nexus 5 Nexus 7 (2013) Nexus 10 Samsung Galaxy S4 Samsung Galaxy S4 (Google Play Edition) Samsung Galaxy S5 Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Samsung Galaxy Note …

LG announce a kid friendly wristband

It had to happen, but we really didn’t think it would be so soon. A new wearable has been announced by LG which is designed for pre-school and primary school children. It’s designed to help parents keep track of the child’s location at all times, presumably should they …

Drive down the cost of your next smartphone

I’ve probably mentioned this before in passing, but if you’re in the market for a new phone or SIM-only plan then you’ll probably be getting a bit dizzy by now. There’s stacks of options out there and finding the best one can be a bit time consuming to …

HTC One mini 2 Review

You might be confused already. A phone with two numbers in the title – one written as a word, one as a digit? It’s basically the shrunken-down version of the HTC One M8 which I spent a week with very recently, but of course you’re going to going …

WordPress for Windows Phone… About to end?

Now, although the official WordPress app is still available in the Windows Phone store, the WordPress website site doesn’t list a Windows Phone version any longer. It’s looking like the Windows Phone app might be getting quietly dropped, or development dropped at least, as the last update to …

Vodafone launch WorldTraveller, but…

If you’re a regular reader then you’re probably already aware of the Three Feel At Home service. It costs nothing if you’re a Three customer and it automatically lets you use your bundled data, minutes and texts in 16 different countries just as if you were back in …

Lloyds Bank mobile app switched off for root users

Got yourself a bank account with Lloyds? Keep getting sold stuff in their “account reviews” that you don’t need or want? Paying a monthly fee for some additional extras and a breakdown service that’d probably cost you less if you went direct? Welcome my friends. If you’ve ticked …

Three issues an apology

I’ve got to give it to the ad people, this one is rather clever. Three have issued the following TV commercial to formally apologise to the great British public.. It is, of course, to promote their Feel At Home service, which lets you travel to one of 16 …

Moto G 4G – £149 at Amazon

Just the other day we saw the Moto G 4G at Tesco for £139. It looks to be out of stock now. So, if you can’t find one in your local store or don’t want to go to the bother of unlocking it, head over to Amazon when …

What has Glastonbury and this hard drive got in common?

This is a 2.5TB hard drive. It can store stacks of pictures, plus there’s room for all those “specially backed-up DVD’s” you have too. Now, imagine downloading everything off this drive onto your phone. That’d take quite a while wouldn’t it? Somehow this is how much data was …

Moto G 4G going cheap..ey?

If you want a cheap Android phone you’ll probably have the Moto G on your shortlist. The 4G version is now available but it’s a tad more expensive than the 3G model. It’s not by much, but if you’re on a budget, a few quid can mean a …

Lost your phone? Who needs GPS location when you have your mouth?

Yes, that headline confused me too, but back in the day when we only had a few dozen TV channels instead of a few thousand, we located things without GPS. Back then, when people lost their keys, they could buy a little gadget, which I’ll call a “doo-hickey”, …

Phones 4u start selling the Lumia 635. Available today

The 4G version of the Nokia Lumia 630 is this, the Lumia 635. If it tickles your fancy you can head down to a Phones 4u store or get online to bag one today. It’s completely free from just £18.99 per month on a 4G contract or, if …

Cheap physical button for your audio hole

Just a few days ago we published our look at Pressy. It is, if you’ve not spotted our updates, a button which sits in your 3.5mm audio jack and lets you quickly access apps or functions on your phone. Now, how about getting one that’s almost the same …

Google Cardboard – The cheap virtual reality headset

Remember our review of the Luckies Smartphone Projector ? It’s a rather clever cardboard construction which will send the image from your smartphone screen over to a wall or another flat surface. On the whole it worked jolly well and you can see our review here. However, the …

Vodafone Red 4G customers, come get your Netflix

If you are using Vodafone UK and have opted for a Red 4G package costing v mir than £26 per month, you can now opt for six months of Netflix pre-paid. TV box sets including original series such as House of Cards and Arrested Development are available, plus …

Nokia Lumia 630 Review

This is a special one for me, because – apart from using Windows Phone in a few example videos over the years, I’ve been a really big Android and iPhone user. Put it this way, Windows Phone has a big hill to climb with me. It’s going to …

WinZip for iOS – Now with Google Drive and OneDrive support

The people from WinZip contacted me. I figured I’d listen because I’ve pretty much used their software for absolutely ages, so I owe them. Anyhoo, they’ve now announced a new iOS app which costs a mere £1.49 (provided you buy it either today or tomorrow). There’s now support …

Samsung Galaxy S5 mini announced

As expected, a smaller version of the Samsung Galaxy S5 has been announced today. It features a 4.5″ HD (720×1280) pixel Super AMOLED screen and a quad core 1.4GHz CPU with Android KitKat, so it’s no slouch. Around back there’s an 8 megapixel camera with autofocus and a …

Windows Phone 8.1 – Now it’s my turn

OK, here is the short version. I’ve not really gone near Windows Phone for a while now. Years in fact. Some of you have taken exception to my first thoughts of the OS whist looking at the new Lumia 630 yesterday. However, I want to tell you a …