Author: Leigh Geary
Following the O2 announcement it now looks like Vodafone are ready to show their hand, with a 4G launch date of August 29th – the very same date that O2 will launch their 4G offering. So, in a little over three weeks you’ll be able to get 4G …
Update your Twitter app baby. Version 4.1.4 on Android has now added two-factor authentication so your account is now a bit more secure than it was before. Other improvements include a new gallery view for photos in the search results and some bug fixes. Twitter have also added …
Saving money. Secretly we all love to do it. Whether it’s a necessity or not, saving a few quid here means that you can have a beer there. Over on HotUKDeals they have a frequently updated thread detailing the latest SIM-only deals. The prices are already low, but …
If you’ve followed my posts recently then you may have noticed a bit of a theme developing. I’ve written about switching from a contract to a monthly rolling SIM-only plan (which could see your monthly charge go from around £40 to £12) and I’ve had a look at …
You may not know it, but HTC actually stands for High Tech Computer… Umm.. Corporation. However, this new video sees the company tweaking the letters to stand for something else. “Here’s To Change” ..it states, as they confidently slap down their huge chopper. The teaser video apparently features …
We’re all expecting this to be the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and we’ve already heard rumours that the event would be on a September 4th. Now Samsung have confirmed the event via this tweet. We’ve added the text below and I’ve put a small amount …
We’re going to try something this week, but we hit a problem instantly. It’s the same old problem that we continually bump into on a daily basis. Battery life. It’s just not good enough. It’s not kept up. In recent years I’ve seen really low-tech Nokia featurephones getting …
Boom! Lets blow those eardrums to …err… heck! These JVC HAFX1X Xtreme Xplosives In Ear Canal Headphones (I know, catchy right?) are normally £24.99 but right now they’re down to just £7.90 via Amazon. Now yes, that Super Saver Delivery has now changed so you’ll need to spend …
Just the other day we told you about Android Device Manager. Now it looks to be arriving via a new version of Google Play Services. If you’ve not got that then you can download it here. This is early stuff at the minute, and it may be worth …
Happy Saturday people. Meet the silver Asus Fonepad. It’s now available on Three for £12.53 per month for 1GB of data (and a £29.99 up-front charge on a 24 month contract) or a rolling monthly £7.50 deal which gives you the same data with a £179 up-front cost. …
Remember how we ran a survey about 4G? Remember how you told us that extra speed really wasn’t a big deal? Well, now Ofcom have done a similar survey and they’ve reached the same conclusion. Just under a quarter have absolutely no intention of going 4G. It seems …
Samsung looks to be readying the Samsung Galaxy Note III for an IFA2013 announcement on September 4th. As with a lot of Samsung announcements, they do like to announce their kit outside of the major industry events, so this looks to be a couple of days ahead of …
We’ve covered the wafer thin Xperia Tablet Z quite a bit recently. Our review posts are below and, if it tickles your fancy, you can get it on Three right now. Sony Xperia Tablet Z review part one Sony Xperia Tablet Z review part two Sony Xperia Tablet …
Installed one of those intelligent fast on-screen keyboards? Are you having to re-teach the keyboard all your favourite words and phrases when you switch handsets? Well worry no more my little sausage, because SwiftKey Cloud Beta is here to save us. Not only does it do super-fast intelligent …
Kenny Loggins has just emailed in with a cryptic email about taking the highway to the Beta Zone. We checked it out, and it looks like that’s where the BBM cross-platform beta lives at the moment. If you’re a bit special and you registered with the BlackBerry Beta …
An Android handset for £39.99? Well, straight up we know it’s not going to have a quad-core CPU, hi-res screen and an 8 megapixel camera. But, if you want a cheap and cheerful Android then Alcatel have a solution. It’ll be available today with Virgin Mobile on Pay …
Here in lovely Britain you can walk down any high street, past the rows of empty shops and then into a massive out-of-town shopping centre. In said shopping centre, where the parking is free and there’s actual people, you can ask anyone about “Sky” and they’ll instantly know …
So, that Android 4.3 update has arrived on Nexus 4. Now, if you have a Nexus 7 quick, go and pick it up right now, because it’s your turn. The OTA update is arriving right now, so go into Settings-> About-> System Update-> Check now. Let us know …
The “economic climate”, a “period of austerity” or “the downturn”, call it what you will. We’re all a bit skint. Recently we’ve covered ways to cut down on your mobile spending. Cheaper phones, SIM only deals and basically switching to a better plan. Today it’s another cheap phone …
You know something. I’ve been meaning to write about these guys since Mobile World Congress. I popped into see their official launch in Barcelona. It’s basically a slick solution using a building-block system, which lets you easily create a a professional app for yourself or someone else in …
Operating loss.. what’s that then? Well, if you’re not into your economics this might not mean a great deal. Put simply it’s the point at which a company’s operating expenses exceed its income. This is what could well happen at HTC very soon. They’ve today warned that Q3 …
Hello. I’ve had 2 hours sleep. No matter! I’ve got some news for you fair reader. Did you know that in America it’s now illegal to unlock your phone? Yep. Illegal. Here in the UK we’ll soon have a smut filter while Americans are unable to cut their …
The HTC One is the best handset that HTC have made, in my opinion at least. Now they’ve shrunk it down, but only a little bit. Whilst writing this review I’ve shown this new HTC One mini handset to three HTC One owners and they’re all pretty impressed …
Here in the UK the internet is changing. The classic flavour of “the web”, where people can say and do what they want and download anything without fear of traffic management or data limits, is long gone. We now heavy a heavily controlled, heavily monitored and heavily firewalled …
It’s no secret, I love this thing. I’m using it right now to write this very story and it has a lot of the features that I also love about the iPad. Firstly, the design. Somehow this tablet is better than the Xperia Z phone. It’s beautifully built …
Let’s be honest here, there’s one thing holding us all back. It’s about time we talked about it openly because we all try not to mention the massive and obvious problems that we all have… Batteries. They’re a bit rubbish really aren’t they? They’re limiting the range of …
Is it really 6 inches or is he holding it really close to the screen? Ha! That old trick. This, supposedly, is part of the upcoming phablet from Nokia. When they finish putting it together it’ll be yet another addition to their Lumia line, as Nokia continue to …
Sunglasses … with a frickin’ hidden camera. Honestly, it’s like something out of Austin Powers. I don’t know where to start. Back in 2002 I was happy to review a phone that had a colour screen. Now I’ve got a pair of sunglasses which look and feel like …
Well, this is simple enough really. It looks like a little green robot and parks itself neatly around a UK electrical socket. Once you plug it in it’ll hold your phone and keep the endless cables nice and tidy in the clever little fingers in each “hand”. Made …
Rubber keyboards. We’ve seen them kicking around for a bit now, but the myType Bluetooth keyboard is easily folded down into your pocket and has keys which are spaced for touch typing, unlike most portable keyboards. When you need it, the myType keyboard connects to your device via …
I’ve had 8 press releases this morning which play on the word “Prince”. The “Prince of sales” or paying the “Princely sum”. Yes, it’s a sure sign that my ex-girlfriend Kate Middleton has had a baby. Luckily she’s not asking for any maintenance as she’s decided to get …
We’ve got a few precious days with the ever-so-slightly-smaller brother of the HTC One. Sure, the CPU, memory and storage on the HTC One mini is not quite as good as the bigger HTC One, but it’s still a gorgeous looking handset which packs the BoomSound technology, Beats …
Looking to get yourself the HTC One mini? Well, we’ve already got some up-close shots, but today a man in a van dropped off the handset so that we can have a bit of time with it. If you’re a long-time reader then you’ll probably remember something we’ve …
We’ve got up-close videos, we’ve got pictures, we’ve got all the details. Sure, it was announced and shown off at Mobile World Congress last year, but the Sony Xperia U still has a fairly OK spec-sheet and now it’s down to just £124.99 SIM-free from the boys at …
There I was last night, watching the second-by-second Royal baby news (short version, she’s had a boy), and an advert popped up for Aviva insurance. Nothing new there. It features Paul Whitehouse being utterly unfunny, but at least he’s not Barry Scott (BANG! And the dirt is gone!) …
Sometimes I try to hide it, but quickly people realise that I have a bit of a “thing” about phones and, invariably, I get asked lots of questions. “What phone should I have next? Is this one any good?” This. This I get asked a lot. Once I …
We do get some slightly strange requests here at Coolsmartphone. BeeWi have sent us a car. Yes, an actual car. There was a bit of a fight to review it. Sadly it wasn’t a full-sized motor but a remote controlled Mini Cooper Coupé. Now, while we wait for …
Want to spend £399? Fancy buying a Nokia Lumia 1020 on eBay and maybe even receiving it…. possibly ? How about ten of them? This eBay listing is offering just that, although the description lacks any sort of.. eerrr.. description… LOT OF 10 Nokia Lumia 1020 Smartphone, 32GB, …
Let’s be honest, times are hard. The next smartphone you buy will probably be bought in one of two different ways. You’ll either get an unlocked phone or you can get a contract handset and sign up for two years or so. Getting out of that contract, by …
Evening my lovely people. Friday here in merry ‘ole England feels like Cancun. The heat is rising but luckily we’ve all got bottles of water to keep us cool. In no way is it beer. Back in Barcelona we chatted with Motorola and spoke to Senior Marketing Director, …
