Author: Leigh Geary

OK, that was the Mobile World Congress, but wait. This is better.

I know what you lot are like with YouTube videos. You’re either at work and can’t watch them, or you’re using your phone and don’t have any headphones on or you’re a bit low on data… but please, just watch this. This is both brilliant and scary at …

Say goodbye to the Xperia Z series

We paid another visit to the Sony stand yesterday but nobody could tell us quite what was happening with the Z series. Sure, the new Xperia X series phones are beautifully designed, but what of the Z series? Well, according to a Sony rep, it’s now dead, so …

The HTC Desire 530, 630 and 825 at Mobile World Congress

HTC decided to quietly push out this handset here in Barcelona. No big launch, no explosions, just a funky mid-range handset. Well, three actually, but we’ll get to the other two in a minute. They all have an extremely similar design and this, the HTC Desire 530, packs …

EE increases prices as part of their yearly RPI rise

With O2 and Three looking to merge and EE being purchased by BT, the choice of networks in the UK could soon drop to just three. The “virtual operators” who, like a lot of landline broadband providers, sit on top of other networks, are the only option if …

MWC – HTC One M10 coming out of the shadows

The HTC stand of 2016, if I’m brutally honest, has a lot of similarities with the HTC stand of 2015. The HTC Vive is on show and there’s a lot of handsets that were released some months ago. There’s a lot of HTC One A9 devices here, and …

Missing your BlackBerry? Samsung have the answer if you get an S7.

Here at the crazy mobile shin-dig that is Mobile World Congress – if you get a special sticker – you can head backstage. There, amongst the tired exhibitors, you’ll find Samsung showing off their Galaxy S7 devices. We saw these at the exclusive Unpacked event on Sunday (which …

Sony X series – Predictive Hybrid Autofocus video demo

This morning I went over to the Sony stand. We’ve been there before and snapped their X Series handsets, but I wanted to see a bit more. So, I quizzed the guy on the stand about that Xperia Performance which, by the way, is listed on the UK …

FlexEnable – A colour screen on your wrist, it’s here at MWC

Sure, we’ve seen curved screens in the past here at Mobile World Congress, but this is something else. A thin film of plastic has been created here on a prototype line in Cambridge. It’s the product of a very young company – formed only a year ago – …

Fairphone at MWC – Let’s see a real modular smartphone

Yes, LG released a modular smartphone on Sunday, but that’s only partially modular, and it’s modular because it adds functionality. Here, you can argue that the Fairphone 2 is a whole lot more modular, and it’s modular so that you can repair the thing. Here Daria from Fairphone …

A tour around Hall 7, and I have to apologise

I thought it would be a good idea to take you on a tour around Hall 7 here at Mobile World Congress. Indeed, we got to see the Gionee S8 5.5″ Android handset with a full metal body and Intex, with their Cyanogen-based handset. Unfortunately, somewhere along the …

A tour of the Nokia stand at Mobile World Congress

This isn’t the Nokia you know and love(d). This is the network side, but it’s good to see the name getting such massive exposure here in Barcelona. The stand they have here is nothing short of colossal, with lots of unused space just… because they can. There’s a …

A tour of the Intel stand at Mobile World Congress

Intel have quite a few innovations on show here, including tracking sensors and a pair of glasses with a miniature TV screen in to show you how fast you’re running or how far you’ve cycled. The glasses are called the “Recon Jet” (don’t ask me why) and display …

MWC – Huawei MateBook hands-on

This is a very light and very nice looking Windows 2-in-1 tablet. Initial impressions are very good, with a nod to both tech and style. First, let’s get the tech out of the way. This has a 12″ 2160×1440 IPS TFT LCD screen and is powered by a …

MWC – LG G5 and all the toys – Hands on

The concept of this is really rather interesting, and it was pretty freeing to be able to take the LG G5 apart. That slide-out battery, which we initially saw yesterday, slides out from the G5 and then actually detaches from the bottom part too. Let’s get to the …

MWC – Yes, they did say a free Gear VR if you pre-order the S7

During the madness yesterday some of you told us that we must’ve been hearing things when we mentioned the free Gear VR headset that you can get if you pre-order the Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge. Well no, it’s true. Sure, it doesn’t quite look like every network is mentioning this …

MWC – What’s in my bag – Gears

Short version. I’ve been doing this for a good amount of years now and I’ve developed my own way of covering live events. Also, after cycling over the pennines and from London to Paris with nothing more than a backpack, you learn to “go light”. So, here’s my …

MWC – Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge – The launch

OK, we’re at the launch event watching the madness but we now have the specifications. The always-on display on the super AMOLED screen is smart enough to know when it’s in your pocket or face down. It’s not just the date and time, oh no, you can customise …

MWC – Samsung Unpacked – Watch LIVE

Well, we’re here in Barcelona and it’s time for the big Samsung launch. We’re in the huge CCIB exhibition centre but wait – the good news is that you can join us for the fun! Watch the YouTube video live below, or keep an eye on our Twitter …

MWC – LG G5 Launch event – Watch LIVE

Join us here in Barcelona for the best seat in the house. Things here will kick off at 1PM UK time, which is 2PM in the rest of Europe. https://youtu.be/mSb4upgFq-I LG have already announced a number of handsets, but this is definitely the big one. My last couple …

Three set to block online advertising

The parent company behind Three run several European networks, and they’ve made a name for themselves by being “different” to other mobile networks. They built their network here in the UK for data primarily, and they priced their plans aggressively. Now though, they’ve tweaked mobile packages and caused …

Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge – Further details and photos

Usually the Samsung leaks are kept to a minimum ahead of Mobile World Congress, but with marketing material hitting stores, we’re getting a deluge of data on the two new Galaxy devices. As we mentioned recently, the IP68 dust and water protection has returned and will be available …

A Samsung Galaxy S6 edge with a bit of 007 technology added

Want to buy a Samsung Galaxy S6 edge that’s just a little bit.. different ? Head to Spy Equipment UK where you can pick up a rather special version with in-built spy software. There’s a number of reasons why you’d want to spy on someone, but we won’t …

3 in 1 Lens Set – Review

Taking snaps on your phone is something everybody does. Taking artistic ones, well… that’s maybe a bit tricky unless you have something like this. Now, you may have seen these clip-on lens gadgets before. It’s a simple idea. You use a clip which is almost like a soft …

Are Samsung bringing back the waterproof Galaxy?

At the Samsung Galaxy S6 launch event in Barcelona last year there was a lot of chatter about what had been removed from the handset. Gone was the microSD card slot, gone was the replaceable battery and gone too was the waterproof protection. All features of the S5. …

Mobile World Congress 2016 from Coolsmartphone

Hello again. You may remember that we recently asked for your help to get to Mobile World Congress. Usually, when we head over to Barcelona, we’ll have a sponsor or two helping us out, but this year we had a number of problems which basically meant that we …

The mobile ZX Spectrum is to become a reality

Sadly I’m old enough to give you several paragraphs of memories revolving around the rubber-keyed Spectrum 48k. It’s quite an old computer but helped to kick-start the idea of having a machine in every home. Back then we would plug “the Speccy” into the a big hefty TV …

MSQRD now adds additional masks as the app becomes more successful

A short while ago I stumbled across the hugely excellent MSQRD app. It’s an iPhone app which cleverly follows your face and places a digital mask on your moosh. Now there’s additional set of masks, so either update or install it and you’ll see Iron Man, Harry Potter …

LG Stylus 2 announced ahead of Mobile World Congress

I’ve never really been a big fan of using phones with a stylus, but if you are, the LG Stylus 2 could be right up your street. It’s not, as you might initially think, a stylus. “Stylus” is actually the name of the phone. It’s an enhanced version …

findxone tracker from Vodafone – Review

I mentioned this rather handy gadget back in December last year. Vodafone, like a few other networks, are offering up some rather clever connected gadgets now and this, the findxone, is one of them. In effect it’s a little box that you can hang onto something or put …

The Hitcase PRO – Review

Putting your phone in a case, especially if it’s an iPhone, has now become a requirement if you want to keep your handset looking pristine. However, if you want to take it out with you on a bike or perhaps a boat, canoe or speedboat, you’re going to …

Microsoft Lumia 650 – Official specs revealed

Will this be the last Lumia? Well, it’s certainly what Microsoft have done well at recently. Cheaper Windows Phone devices seem to sell, even if it’s still not quite as many as they’d hoped. So step forward the Lumia 650, it runs Windows 10 Mobile and the specifications …

LG goes specialist with the  X Series 

Mobile World Congress is now tantalising close, and already LG have revealed some of the kit due to be shown off at the event. Their new devices are set to include “premium features without the premium price” and we will see the first two phones in the X …