Author: Leigh Geary
Some months ago I ordered this cheap physical button for my phone. It plugs into the audio port and gives you an additional button which you can program to open certain apps or run certain tasks. The cheap button was just £1 but this, the “proper” Pressy button, …
OK now, don’t get too excited, it’s not a great deal of data but still, this is worth investigating if you’re thinking of getting a tablet as a gift. It’s only 100MB, but if you have a tablet or phone that mostly lives near a WiFi hotspot it …
There’s a lot of information about Android Lollipop and we’ve also learned that doing a Google image search for “lollipop” reveals some really risque results. We’re trying to stay the right side of the family-friendly line here, so we’ve gone for the “completely weird pictures of lollipops”. Today …
Whenever a new version of Android appears I get the same question. It’s a question that is sometimes a bit tricky to answer too.. Hey, I heard there’s a new version of Android. Do you know when (insert name of phone) will be getting it? Sadly the rollout …
If you fancy picking up one of the new iPad devices on a contract then we’ve already mentioned that EE will be offering them. Now Three have added their name to the list too. Again, no prices or exact dates, but Three are keen to point out that …
Shortly after the all-new iPads. Both the super-slim new iPad Air 2 (which is just 6.1mm) and the new iPad Mini 3 will be arriving on EE. Both devices will be the WiFi and cellular versions and will be arriving on the superfast 4G network. No prices or …
This is a pretty interesting idea for those of us suffering with LBW (low battery worries). Yes, you can buy a battery pack to charge your smartphone battery on the go, but remembering it and carrying it around is another thing. Even if it’s small it’s another item …
If I’m brutally honest with you, I’d never heard of Rock Jaw before I started writing this review. However, what I did know (after a few minutes of Googling) is that .. a) They have a very cool name b) They’re based up the road in Belper, Derbyshire, …
Vodafone have today announced something called 4.5G. If it’s anything like the 3G improvement we saw with HSDPA (which was dubbed 3.5G), then this sounds promising already, even if the technological explanation is a tad confusing. Their new “4G on Steroids” is known as “Carrier Aggregation” or LTE …
Yes, I did indeed “lift” this from HotUKDeals but, it’s for the greater good. The Tesco Hudl 2 that we look at can actually be in your hands for a bit less cash. It’s priced up at £129 from Tesco.com but we don’t want to pay that. If …
Back in February we were pulled into a room and KAZAM showed us what they were made of. The UK company are headed up by ex-HTC staff but, when they first launched, they were pretty much throwing every type of handset out there to see what would stick. …
Having the latest smartphone or tablet is one thing, but doing something really useful with it is another. Now, in the past we’ve seen security systems here at Coolsmartphone that’ll talk to your iPhone, Android or Windows handset. Remotely monitoring your home or getting informed when there’s movement …
It’s fair to say that there’s quite a few Bluetooth speakers available. I usually put them into three categories. First there’s the many, many Bluetooth speakers you’ll see kicking around for the £15-£30 mark. They usually “do the job” in the sense that they’ll make things louder than …
NOTE – This method no longer works, please see the new article here. Some people have avoided getting a Chromebook purely because Skype isn’t available. However, there is a way to get this working, and when you’ve completed one of these three steps the end product is very …
I’ll let you into a secret. Sometimes, just sometimes, PR agencies get in touch with us and try to promote their product by sending over some sort of survey that they did. It’s usually something like this… Bobs Accessories, makers of the epic Bluetooth Boom Box version 4 …
This one got slipped under the doormat by our friends at Samsung. A new version of their Ace will be hitting the streets on Friday and you’ll be able to get it from Samsung direct or EE and O2. Let’s cut to the chase shall we? It’s going …
Yes, the new pipe camera that HTC launched just the other day doesn’t have an in-built viewfinder. Although you can use your phone as a viewfinder and although it has a 146 degree wide-angle lens, some are questioning just how accurate the “point and hope” shooting will actually …
If you went ahead and bought a Chromecast then you’ll probably be familiar with the rather beautiful images that appear if nothing is actually being “cast” to the screen. It’s all very lovely, but they’re not your images are they? Now you can correct that with the latest …
I had the old HTC Zoe Beta app installed until just a few days ago. The app ran fine on my LG G3 but hey, I want to try the new version which appeared just yesterday. However.. It turns out I can’t. The app isn’t compatible with the …
Sent an image through Snapchat recently? If I’m honest the whole thing was pretty flawed from the outlet. The idea is that you can send an image or video and then, when your friend has viewed it, it’ll disappear from the screen. The image should get removed from …
It’s that time of the week when you’re hopefully thinking of spending a bit of cash on yourself. Expansys are kicking out the 2012 model of the Google Nexus 7. The reconditioned Asus-built device comes with a free dark grey travel cover. It’s the one we first reviewed …
If you like watching Eastenders on repeat or nails being dragged along a blackboard you’ll probably like this. Windows 95 is probably running on some office PCs somewhere still (probably on the PC of a Director / Manager who says it’s “essential” to their work. Colin Davenport has …
A fancy new phone usually means new features that are only available on that device. However, the new HTC EYE Experience that’ll be part of the new HTC Desire EYE is also coming to the HTC One (M7), HTC One (M8), HTC One E8, HTC One mini, HTC …
The beta version of the HTC Zoe app received a “mixed” reception (we’re being kind here) and became available for all Android devices a couple of months ago. Last night HTC announced a new improved version, which has just popped up on Google Play. It’s coming to iOS …
You’re the gadget man. You’re the one with the latest kit. You’ve got yourself one of those hot new Android Wear smartwatches. Now. Now you need some apps that’ll talk to it. Yeah. That’s going to take a while. Getting the latest bleeding-edge kit means that you have …
If you’ve seen our coverage of the new digital camera from HTC you’ll probably want to know just how much it’ll cost. We were hoping for it to be around the £99.99 mark, but it looks to be a tad more expensive than that. The orange model will …
Compared to how things were just a few years ago, it feels like ages since the last Desire appeared. This, the Desire EYE, certainly feels like it’s got a sense of 820 about it. All the usual HTC goodies are here – all the stuff we love. BoomSound, …
Back in September we noticed this, and James guessed it to be an add-on camera. I thought it would be a selfie-camera of some kind but now we’ve got the full details – it’s called the RE. Instantly I’m taken back to Religious Education lessons from school, but …
It’s that time of year again and HTC have a big stage primed and ready for some new products to keep us warm this winter. We’re guessing that there’ll be a new handset and some sort of clever camera gadget, but you’ll find out more at 9PM UK …
You’ve seen those clever “OK Google” adverts on TV. There’s plenty of them and here in Old Blighty but one I spotted last night doesn’t actually work. It’s this one.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbKK-ia0wKY We’ve tested this particular scenario on iOS, Android and even the Chrome browser on a PC. The …
A set-top box still isn’t unusual, even with the large amount of clever TVs on the market. Sky, YouView, Virgin and others already have their own solutions already, but now it’s the turn of EE, who have just announced their own. This particular one is pretty clever because …
Down my local Co-op they have Fairtrade bananas, Fairtrade coffee and lots of lovely, lovely bottles of beer. That last bit isn’t important though, well…. It’s not an important part of this news story anyway. The Co-op, which seem to have outlets all over our little town, has …
The mighty Samsung might finally be reaching a plateau after the company announced a 60% fall in quarterly operating profit. Sales of their Galaxy handsets has slowed of late and Samsung are expecting an operating income of 2.5 billion for Q3 – much lower than expected. Samsung are …
There’s something about the new iPhone 6 that is both a positive and a negative at the same time. Fans and owners will tell you that the device is “reassuringly expensive”. This is a good thing for some, but at the same time it means that most will …
Let me tell you a story. I’ll try not to get too personal with this but, over the last year or so, there’s been a significant shift from HTC. Not too long ago we were getting bombarded with news from the HTC PR team and their social channels. …
Back in February we took a look at a rather fantastic touchless interface from Elliptic Labs. Not many sites covered the technology, and if you’re following one of those lesser sites then they’ll probably only be covering them for the first time today. Tskk. Anyways, eight months ago …
If you read the site often then you’ll probably already know that Microsoft have been making quite a bit of money from Android. Various amounts have been mentioned over the years, but now we have some concrete figures – from Samsung at least. Samsung alone was giving Microsoft …
Going out running, cycling or even for a quick stroll is great for your health. Trouble is, if you get stuck or if your loved ones don’t know where you are, it can be tricky for them to call you. Especially when you’re bombing along on your bike …
We see a lot of cases here at Coolsmartphone but we’ve been seeing an increasing profile from the people at Dog and Bone. This one is a bit special because it’s a case which makes your phone charge wirelessly and it comes with a clever charging base too. …
There’s no better deal than free, so it’s great to see a few albums popping up on Google Play costing a grand total of nothing each. Artists include Michael Jackson, ELO, Daft Punk, Foo Fighters and more. There’s only one problem though. You’re kinda led to believe that …
