Author: Leigh Geary

Linus Torvalds uses an Android phone

It’s not the mosy surprising news in the world, especially when the Android kernel is based on his creation, but the BBC interview with Linus Torvalds is well worth a read. Linus talks about the birth of Linux and why, in his opinion, Linux hasn’t cracked the desktop …

Sony Xperia Tipo – Dual SIM Smartphone

We have recently seen a couple of announcements regarding dual sim phones and whilst these are popular in some parts of the world they have yet to make an impact here in Blighty. Sony have decided however that there is a market for such a device and as …

HTC Desire C – Photo Special

HTC have sent us their new, and very red, Desire C. Previously known as the “Golf” this does remind me of the HTC Wildfire now that I’ve got it in my hand. The Desire C has only a 600MHz CPU and 3.5″ 320×480 pixel screen, but the rather …

A week with … the Samsung Galaxy SIII – Day 3

We’re doing a special week with the Samsung Galaxy SIII and yesterday we noticed that the screen brightness was a bit dimmer on the SIII when compared to the SII. We’ve got to admit that this is actually due to the Battery Saving technology which is built into …

Signal Boost – Just why is there no handover?

Signal Boost is something we’ve covered a few times here at Coolsmartphone. Put simply, it’ll route your mobile calls over the nearest WiFi hotspot at no extra charge. It’ll use your text, picture message and voice bundles so there’s no VoIP twiddling to do. When we mentioned Orange …

Blue Samsung Galaxy SIII in video

So, as you’ll have probably seen from the previous story, we have ourselves not one but TWO Galaxy SIII handsets. One in white and the other in pebble blue. I’ve filmed a quick couple of videos to show the blue handset in the flesh, so click on to …

Picture Special – Samsung Galaxy SIII – Pebble blue vs white

So, the Galaxy SIII. What’s your favourite colour? Well, don’t ask us. It’s not like we can just rustle up the Samsung Galaxy SIII in white and blue is it? I mean, next you’ll be wanting some up-close shots comparing both of them together. You’re kidding, right? These …

A week with … the Samsung Galaxy SIII – Day 2

This one is a little tricky to show, but the Samsung Galaxy SIII has a feature called “SmartStay”. I actually found this to be disabled out of the box, but after turning on it uses the front-facing 1.9 megapixel camera to see if you’re looking at the screen. …

Nearly a million Android devices activated.. daily

Google big-wig Andy Rubin doesn’t tweet much, but when he does we’re all shouting about it. He has no plans to leave the big “G” and claims that 900,000 Android devices are now activated every single day. Oooo.. wouldn’t you like to have growth like that eh? Now, …

ZTE Skate Competition – The winners are..

ZTE were kind enough to give us not one but two ZTE Skate handsets to giveaway. All you had to do to be in with a chance of winning was join our ever expanding forum. The winners, picked at random from ALL of our forum users, were “josh1204” …

Linaro drops a turbo into Android

Long hair. Check. Beard. Check. This guy must be a geek that knows his stuff. I could blind you with science here but the upshot of this video is that the Linaro tweaks will make your Android go faster. Faster is good, m’kay? The people behind CyanogenMod have …

A week with … the Samsung Galaxy SIII

So, this week I’ve got myself a Samsung Galaxy SIII. It’s been loaned to us from UR-Mobile and we’ll be giving you a daily dose of this hot new handset. Simply check back at 9.30 AM every day for the latest video. I’ve had quite a bit of …

HTC Desire V brings us dual-SIM action

Yeah I know, I bet you thought that we’d only see the “One” handsets from HTC this year. Wrong. Since the HTC One X, HTC One V and HTC One S appeared we’ve seen the HTC Desire C and now this, the slightly confusing HTC Desire V. I …

Shares in HTC dip again following lower revenue forecast

A revenue forecast 13% lower than previously projected has sent HTC shares tumbling. The company, which has focused this year on three HTC One handsets, has been rolling with the punches following the continual rise of Samsung devices at one end of the price bracker and handsets from …

What happened to the future of mobile gaming?

A couple of days ago, while you lot were busy enjoying the Jubilee, we mentioned that PlayStation Suite was to be renamed “PlayStation Mobile” and games will no longer be restricted to Sony kit. We also told you that HTC was to be one of the first to …

Status: OMG! WiFi at the Tube station

Use the Tube? Use one of the stations listed below? Hey, you’re in luck. You’ll soon be bathed in free (for a limited time) WiFi while you stand on the platform. Better still, some stations have been turned on today, so you might start seeing people like this …

Google Nexus tablet snapped

On the whole, it’s safe to say that Android tablets haven’t done as well as the iPad. The Android “carpet bomb” approach just doesn’t seem to have worked all that well as far as tablets are concerned. Sure, the Galaxy Tab range has done fantastically well but Google …

O2 and Voda to share network infrastructure

Telefónica UK (O2) and Vodafone UK are to begin “pooling” their two networks – both 900MHz – to create “one national grid running each operator’s independent spectrum.” They’re doing this partially to ensure that 4G coverage can be rolled out as quickly as possible, but also to improve …

Galaxy SIII to be targeted by Apple

So, in perhaps the most unsurprising news in the world, Apple has now begun to try and block the Samsung Galaxy SIII in the US. Apple staff purchased the phone from the UK, checked it and determined that it should be added to the existing injunction motion against …

The Samsung Galaxy S3 and The USA

The Galaxy S3 is finally heading to the United States of America! Samsung have announced the phone for the five mobile carriers over in the United States all in one sweep. The device will start on the biggest four carriers for around $199 on a two year contract and …

Time-lapse video on Android

Some years ago I filmed this summer sunrise on a Windows Mobile phone. Last weekend, with the sun actually beating down on our garden, I decided to try the same thing on Android. I ended up using Controlled Capture Lite which is, if I’m honest, a bit rough …

Fitting a microSD to the Orange San Diego

Paul from MoDaCo has managed to remove the back from the Orange San Diego (Santa Clara / London) and has found a microSD card slot. It follows a post from forum member “Huggyc” here. There’s a few caveats first though. The rear cover isn’t strictly removable, so if …

Win yourself a ZTE Skate !

The lovely people at ZTE have give us not one but two Skate handsets. The ZTE Skate has a 4.3″ 480×800 pixel screen, WiFi, GPS, 5 megapixel camera, microSD expansion, 3.5mm audio port and runs Android 2.3. Powered by an 800MHz CPU there’s a 1400mAh battery and access …

HTC One X – Hammer time

The usual warnings apply here. Don’t try this at home kids. If you have, and smashed something or hurt yourself, don’t go running to those “No win, no fee” lawyers expecting a big pay-out just because there wasn’t something saying, “Do not use as a hammer”. OK?

Cheaper MiFi – Huawei E5331

My nan wants to get online so that she can email her daughters. It’s a simple request and she already has a laptop, but she doesn’t want any “messing” with her phone line and she takes the laptop wherever she goes. This could be my solution. The new …

HTC Desire C – Now available on Three

Everyone is pretty skint at the moment so, although we weren’t expecting it, the Desire C is pretty good value. You can pick one up on Pay As You Go with Three for £149.99. Their “All in One 15″ package costs £15 and gives 30-day access to all-you-can-eat …

Win yourself a Samsung Galaxy SIII

Want to win yourself a brand new Samsung Galaxy SIII ? eXpansys are giving away one of these hot new smartphones to one lucky winner. To enter you need to do some Facebook “liking”, some tweeting, following and sign up to their newsletter. The competition ends on June …

Nokia Lumia 900. It’s the Batphone Robin, let’s go!

Fancy getting a Nokia Lumia 900 but want it to be a bit more “individual?” Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight? Well, if you said “Yes” and knew where that quote came from, this could be just for you. It’s the Nokia Lumia …

Galaxy SIII becomes biggest selling handset of the year

Sure we know that the lovely people at Phones 4u are fishing for a free plug here but hey, these are some pretty decent figures. The Samsung Galaxy SIII has become the biggest selling handset of 2012 at the store after pre-orders and first day sales across all …

Vodafone launch the Smart II – A smartphone for £70

We’ve just added our review of the Huawei Y 100 a bargain-basement handset. Now, Vodafone have one too, and they’re selling it for just 70. It’s obviously the follow-up to their Smart and runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and has a 3.2″ HVGA screen. All the usual GPS, WiFi …

Huawei Y 100 Review

  The Huawei Y 100 is a pretty cheap smartphone. It’s only £79.99 and is a diddy little thing which could be the ideal first smartphone for youngsters, pensioners and those that have been scared off smartphones by the price. Specs then, and we start off well with …

RIM Reports operating loss, jobs to go

Overnight Research In Motion (RIM) announced “significant” job cuts and has warned it will make a loss in the latest quarter. Chief Exec, Thorsten Heins, stated that… The on-going competitive environment is impacting our business in the form of lower volumes and highly competitive pricing dynamics in the …

Sky Go not coming to Windows Phone any time soon

On Friday you may have read this story about the availability of iPlayer on Windows Phone. A spokesperson also told them that Sky Go, which is already available for Android and iPhone, wouldn’t be available “for a good few months”. We’ve since heard from a a reliable source …

Samsung Galaxy SIII available to play with, right now

If you’re eager to take a look at the all-new Samsung Galaxy SIII and can’t wait until Thursday, have a stroll down to the Carphone Warehouse store in Oxford Street, London. They’ve got phones in “popup internet cafe” where the computers have instead been replaced by Galaxy SIII …

Facebook Phone rumours get louder

The HTC Salsa and ChaCha have already brought “Facebook Phones” to stores across the UK, but since they were launched early last year there’s been rumour after rumour mentioning a device bearing the Facebook brand. Now the New York Times have echoed earlier rumours from Digitimes stating that …

Nokia Lumia 900 now available SIM free

Looking for the Nokia Lumia 900 unlocked ? The guys at Unlocked Mobiles have the Lumia £445.98 with Next Day delivery. It’s the latest Windows Phone from Nokia and features a 4.3″ 800×480 ClearBlack AMOLED screen and one-piece polycarbonate body. Other specs include WiFI, “all day” 1830mAh battery, …

Got a Lumia 610? We’ve got some bad news

So, as we know, Windows Phone hasn’t quite got the same Angry Birds selection as iPhone or Android. Rovio chief marketing officer stated that Windows Phone was a “big undertaking” and that the “cost of supplying” it to the “smaller platforms” just didn’t add up. There is, however, …

It’s official – No ICS for the Xperia Play

Yesterday the interwebs came alive with rumours that the Xperia Play wouldn’t be getting an update to ICS because it was sneakily left out of a press picture detailing Sony’s update plans. Today unfortunately the rumours have come true; Sony have come out and announced the Xperia Play …

A couple of apps I can’t stop playing

Today I wanted to let you know about a site I found whilst browsing around the t’interweb. After navigating around the wilderness for quite some time, I stumbled across AndroidPIT. Their Android blog has an exhaustive news stream covering everything from the newest Ice Cream Sandwich updates to …