Author: Leigh Geary

Hey Android users, how’s that Computer Science going?

Steve Ballmer. He always creates headlines when he makes a speech, but sometimes it’s not for the reasons he’d hoped. The Microsoft boss told the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco that .. You don’t need to be a computer scientist to use a Windows phone (but ) …

HTC Sensation update – Have you got yours?

We’re seeing some HTC Sensation owners on Orange get system updates today. It seems to introduce the rather excellent Signal Boost technology which hooks onto any WiFi and gives you a mobile signal. Ideal for in office environments where those special reflective windows kill mobile signals from normal …

Galaxy Nexus leaks again. This is going to be big… baby

In just a few hours the Samsung Galaxy Nexus will be unveiled and, as usual, we’ll be bringing you all the latest news. Those curves (dare we say teardrop design?) we saw in the teaser video are back in this leaked NTT Docomo advert on ameblo.jp. It pretty …

HTC Lose infringement case against Apple

With lawsuits between phone manufacturers appearing almost daily, today’s Dilbert strip is bang on the money… It’s even more appropriate because HTC have just lost their infringement case in America against Apple. It’s a big set-back for the company and shares have already taken a dive. The US …

Samsung seeks iPhone 4S sales ban

Samsung have ramped up the pressure on Apple this morning by seeking a complete ban of iPhone 4S sales in Japan and Australia. The decision comes after Samsung filed an injunction attempt against the 4S in France and Italy just after the launch, and just days after an …

Windows Phone 7.5 – The improvements

The Nokia 800 is almost ready to roll and Mango, the new version of Windows Phone, is hitting handsets now. But what’s inside? We’ve taken a look at some of the highlights, there’s more details on the Windows Phone UK website. Custom ringtones About this time last year …

Xperia Play less than £150 on O2

If you’ve got £150 lying around it is, as we always say, quite welcome here at coolsmartphone. If you’d rather spend it on one of those phone things then the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is down to £149.99. The white and black. We had a good hands on …

Galaxy Y ? Cus I gotta!

A month after we spotted the Galaxy Y headed to Vodafone … boom, it’s here. Free for just £10.50 per month, it’s powered by Android 2.3 and has a 3″ screen, WIFi, 3G, microSD expansion, GPS, FM radio and a 2 megapixel camera. What? What’s that you say? …

Google Buzz Buzzes off

Hey, come close. Remember when we all fell over ourselves to get Google Buzz invites? Remember when we all thought it would knock Facebook to one side? Yeah…. that didn’t happen.. In a few weeks we’ll shut down Google Buzz and the Buzz API, and focus instead on …

Secret videos filmed by many

Surveys, we love them. A Harris Interactive poll has revealed that 50% Americans would use smartphones to take secret videos. Tskk.. the naughty blighters. More than 2000 adults were questioned, with half of them revealing that they would secretly record people tripping over, wearing embarrassing outfits, cheerleaders, sexy …

5 Essential Gadgets for the mobile professional

Working whilst travelling means having to adapt to a wide range of technology barriers, such as a lack of charging facilities, patchy WiFi / 3G coverage, limited packing space for every gadget, and bad data back ups. Although most travellers wouldn’t think adding to their stack of gadgets …

Android team join Twitter

Wanna get all the latest Android news and information ? Follow us on Twitter, it’s simple enough. If you want more there’s now a Android Twitter account too which is updated by the Android team themselves. They’ve only posted two tweets so far, but there’s nearly 40,000 followers. …

Orange and T-Mobile 3G roaming. Switch begins today?

Last week we started hearing that the T-Mobile and Orange networks were getting ready to flick the switch on their 3G mast-sharing. Customers of both networks have been able to jump onto the other network when they lose signal for a while now but, due to various rather …

iFlashDrive iOS USB stick up for pre-order

iPhone, iPod and iPad users rejoice! You can now move data around easily with the HyperDrive iFlashDrive. On one end it’s a standard USB connector and works just like any other USB stick, but on the other there’s the 30-pin dock connector for connecting to your iPhone or …

ZTE announces the AT&T Avail

The Avail has a 5 megapixel camera, 3.5″ HVGA screen, WiFi, 3G browsing and 512 MB ROM and RAM. It’s a fairly mid-range device by the looks of it and will be available on October 16th in the USA on AT&T. It’s the latest offering in the GoPhone …

BlackBerry problems continue

If you’ve got a BlackBerry (let’s admit it, a few of us have to use them for work phones), then you’ll probably have heard and experienced the issues they’re having at the moment. It’s another day of disruption and a rather worrying admission by RIM, who have tweeted …

ViewPad 10e details emerge

ViewSonic have added a new tablet to their range – the ViewPad 10e. It’s due to arrive next month and there’s Android 2.3 on a 9.7″ 1024×768 screen. ViewSonic have previously launched dual-booting Android / Windows tablets but this is their first pure Android tablet at 9.7″. Powered …

Nokia 800. Are you after one?

With November just around the corner we’re all looking at Nokia to start shipping their Windows Phone-powered device. This is a busy time of year for manufacturers, and we’ve already seen HTC, Samsung and Motorola either launching or preparing to launch their new handsets for Q4. The Nokia …

Motorola start the countdown..

Just what are Motorola planning to launch next week? Whatever it is, Motorola are throwing quite a bif of weight behind it. The teaser video we showed you yesterday has now been joined by a countdown timer on the Motorola Mobility website. Let the guessing games commence. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFlZ4DWAxdA&feature=player_embedded …

Galaxy SII Wins again – Phone of the Year

Come on, we told you it was a good phone. The Galaxy SII has already swept the board at the Mobile Choice awards and it’s now won Phone Of The Year in the T3 Gadget Awards too. More than 950,000 readers voted and T3 Judges also gave their …

Photos from the HTC Beats party

Last week HTC announced the new Sensation XL. Following the launch, a string of celebrities including Lady Gaga, Will.i.am, Fedde Le Grand, Dirty South and Cheryl Cole turned up to dance the night away at The Roundhouse in Camden. The whole thing got broadcast live but, if you …

Play Android apps on your desktop PC

Want to run Android apps on your PC ? Grab Bluestacks. It’s a free app which is now available to download and seems to run the majority of Android apps we’ve thrown at it. The app runs on Windows and there’s a Pro version in the works which …

Samsung Galaxy W now available on Three

Hey, if you’re one of those lovely people who check us daily (and follow us on that Twitter mularky) you’ll already know that the Galaxy W has shown up in Three catalogues. Now we’ve had the official stuff from their PR people, so you should find it in …

The Galaxy S II cleans up in Mobile Choice Awards

Mobile Choice have dished out their Consumer Awards for 2011. The event was hosted in London with 10,000 readers voting in an online survey. The results are as follows… Tablet of the year – Apple iPad 2 Phone of the year – Samsung Galaxy S II Best camera …

Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman in stock and ready to go

OK, story so far. Sony Ericsson launched the Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman. Three then announced that they would carry it. Now, it’s ready to buy. Pick it up for £27 a month and you’ll get 2000 minutes, 5000 texts and all-you-can-eat data on the 24-month One Plan …

Samsung Galaxy WiFi arrives

Most of us are probably familiar with the Apple iPod. It was, and still is, a fantastic music player. In 2007 Apple stuck all the phone technology into it and .. boom.. out came the iPhone. Samsung have now decided to do something similar, but in reverse, by …

Samsung Galaxy Ace, available in purple from O2

Want a purple phone ? O2 have plonked the Galaxy Ace online (we reviewed it here) and you can bag it for free for a mere £10.50 per month with 50 minutes and 250 texts. You can get data connectivity for another fiver on top per month. The …

Motorola’s Next… something

Motorola have sent us this rather lovely video, with the simple text “Four Reasons To Get Excited”. It gives a launch date of October 18… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFlZ4DWAxdA Hmm.. it features bullets, razors and the number 42. The four key points are “faster, thinner, smarter and stronger”. Could this be …

Everything Everywhere begin 3G roaming next week

At last, the “big switch-on” is coming. Last year, as many of you may remember, Orange and T-Mobile began sharing their networks. Customers could enjoy the seamless swap-over to the other network if their normal network lost coverage. There was, however, one problem. Data roaming was restricted to …

A Skinny Flavored Latte and some free Wi-Fi please

Getting a coffee today ? If you’re a Starbucks customer you can now enjoy free WiFi – a service previously only available to members of their Rewards programme. Brian Waring, VP of Marketing for Starbucks UK & Ireland said.. Our customers told us that they liked our free …

Google Books now available in the UK

Checked Android Market recently ? If you’re lucky the latest update should have arrived and books can now be purchased. Here in the UK this has taken a while to arrive, but the eBooks system is easy enough to use. Just hop in the Android Market, choose your …

Films on YouTube goes live

Want full-length movies on your Android tablet? Yeah sure, you can find various illegal ways of doing it, but if you just want to pick up your tablet or phone and start watching a film it can be a bit cumbersome. Now you can use YouTube Movies. Oh …

Nexus Prime launch moved back

For reasons that are as yet unknown, Samsung and Google have delayed the launch of their Nexus Prime. The wording of the announcement is as follows.. Samsung and Google decide to postpone the new product announcement at CTIA Fall. We agree that it is just not the right …

iPhone 4S Available to pre-order on Vodafone

The new iPhone 4S is now up for pre-order on Vodafone. The 16GB version is available for free on £46 per month (!) plans or you can get it on a £26 per month plan if you’re prepared to shell out £359 up-front. If you’re wanting the 64GB …

Nexus Prime gets sneaky video demo

Someone has now managed to get their hands onto a Nexus Prime. The video, from mobilissimo.ro (translated) shows the Prime running Android 4.0 – Ice Cream Sandwich. There’s screenshots from the OS too and, despite the video being removed, it’s now found a way back onto YouTube.. Link …

4G Goes live in the UK.. on trial

Just 5 months ago Cornwall was chosen as the UK’s first county to get 4G. Everything Everywhere have now flicked the switch and are delivering 4G LTE technology to 200 people on the trial. It’s the first mobile (Everything Everywhere) and fixed line (BT Wholesale) broadband network collaboration. …

Win tickets to the London International Technology Show

Not entered our Skinflips competition yet ? Come on, there’s 25% off for everyone that enters and some great prizes up for grabs. We’ve got something else to give away today – two tickets to the London International Technology Show. Everything kicks off on October 21st and HiDrive …

Apple store updating, 4S pre-orders starting

Are you planning on getting one? I’m going to be agonising over it later today – on the one hand, my wife needs a phone and she’d be happy with my iPhone4.. on the other, does buying the released-out-of-Apple’s-usual-annual-schedule 4S update mean the iPhone5 will be launched next June?? In …

HTC Beats Event Live Broadcast

Lady Gaga, Cheryl Cole, Will.i.am and more are at the Roundhouse in London as part of the Beats Audio and HTC Sensation XL Launch. Yes, we said Lady Gaga. 🙂 Join in with the LIVE broadcast below.. Link – Join in at Livebeats.co.uk

Helicopter. Smartphone. Video camera. Want.

I have no reason to, but for some reason I suddenly want one of these. Put simply it’s a helicopter that you control .. with your phone. The Parrot AR Drone is quite expensive (£259.99) but, when combined with the iPhone or Android app you get to use …