Author: Simon Allum

Google I/O: Google Confirm Nexus 7 Tablet

Google have today confirmed the new Nexus tablet manufactured in conjunction with Asus. Called Nexus 7 and running Android 4.1 Jellybean, the display is 1280×800 HD, a Tegra 3 Quad Core CPU and a 12 Core GPU, Front facing camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, with 9 hours video playback …

Google I/O Live

Google I/O is happening and Google have confirmed the launch of Android 4.1  Jellybean. Jellybean .includes project “Butter” aimed at making your device buttery smooth, offline voice typing and improved dictionaries. Camera improvements include quick view of photos just taken and swipe to delete. Notifications have been overhauled …

Bargain!!!!! Sim Free Nokia Lumia 800 for only £200

Bought to our attention by HotUKDeals, you can now purchase a Nokia Lumia 800 for the princely sum of £200.  A quick Google search reveals that the price is normally upwards of £300. The smooth one-piece body flows right around the floating 3.7″ ClearBlack AMOLED display. And the …

Patent Wars: US Bans Sales of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

We have reported many times on the ongoing wars between Apple, Samsung, Microsoft and a plethora of other mobile companies so it comes as no surprise to be writing once again about a Samsung product that has had an injunction upheld against it following an application by Apple. …

Everything Everywhere 4G LTE trial in Cumbria Benefiting Local Businesses

As regulars visitors will know we here at Coolsmartphone are supporters of 4G Britain, Everything Everywhere’s campaign to increase awareness of the consumer and business benefits that faster, more reliable fourth generation mobile services will bring to the UK. A very good example of these benefits can be see …

Carphone Warehouse Launch “Bill Angel”

Carphone Warehouse have today announced the launch of a new app that they have called “Bill Angel”. Designed to  track your call, text and data usage, the app will warn you when you reach your limits thus making it easier to stick to your tariff allowances. Currently available for …

Wimbledon App Now Available on iTunes and Google Play

The football may be over for England but the great British summer of sport rolls on with the Wimbledon Tennis Championships starting today and we bring you news of the official Wimbledon app!! Follow all the action LIVE during the fortnight with the official Wimbledon app. The All …

Opinion: Apple And The New Connector

As regular readers will probably be aware I am an Android fan.  I don’t particularly dislike Apple but I have no love for them either.  For me iOS is a bland piece of software that is only bought to life by the plethora of apps that is available …

Samsung Woos iPhone Users with Free Software

Samsung have stepped up their undeclared war with Apple by offering free software to help users defecting from iOS transfer their media, contacts and archived text messages. The software also enables users to continue to use Apple’s iTunes software to manage their Android handset…a sure selling point. Easy …

Run For Your Lives…It’s The Killer Phone!

It could be said that Samsung are clearly misleading people when they claim that the new Galaxy S III is “Made for Humans”.  As the pictures show, it may be designed to murder them viciously and without remorse. Pictures posted by an angry unsuspecting member of the public calling …

Flipboard For Android Now On Google Play

A little while ago we bought you news that the iOS exclusive app was coming to Android via the Samsung Galaxy SIII. Following leaks and several beta releases we bring you the news that Flipboard is now available on Google Play. The app, specially optimised for smartphones (the blurb specifically mentions …

Coolsmartphone App Review: Alarmdroid

For quite a while I have been looking for an Alarm app as an alternative to the one supplied in the stock version of Ice Cream Sandwich.  I put a post  asking for recommendations over on our forums and a fellow writer suggested Alarmdroid. Developed by Fabian Lueghausen, the app …

More Partners for 4G Britain

Some weeks ago we announced that Coolsmartphone became an official supporter of 4G Britain. Now another 8 companies have joined the calls to enable Britain to have a fully fledged 4G network as soon as possible. The new supporters are  Kier Group, Macworld, Muzicall, Myallsearch.com, Net Trajectory, PC World, Stuff magazine and Zentek Forensics.  This list goes …

Cheap Data Roaming Bundles from T-Mobile

Following recently announced roaming deals from Vodaphone and Three, T-Mobile are the latest to announce their roaming offering ahead of the new EU billing rules that apply from 1st July 2012. Known as Internet and Broadband Travel Boosters and available from 19th June, the operator is making several choices …

Coolsmartphone New Tech Watch: Tactus & Tactile Layer Technology

If any of you have heard the Coolsmartphone Podcast you will have noticed several of our writers mention the loss of a physical keyboard. Many moons ago I owned a Blackberry Bold 9700, the keyboard on the handset was fantastic, I seemed to type more and quicker. Now …

Kickstarter Recommended Project: Plugbook

We here at Coolsmartphone are always on the lookout for new technology, technology that can enhance your lifestyle or make a job easier. One such technology that is currently looking for backing on Kickstarter is Plugbook, an innovative solution to the common problem of not having a charger …

Microsoft To Unveil Own Branded Tablet??

  Monday June 18, 3.30pm, A secret venue somewhere in Los Angeles. That is the time the Microsoft has set aside for a cloak and dagger operation where a big announcement is scheduled within which it is speculated that they will reveal their own branded tablet challenger to …

Nokia cuts another 10,000 Jobs – Acquires Scalado

Nokia is cutting another 10,000 jobs with a warning that its losses in the second quarter of 2012 will be bigger than expected. Times are not good for the beleaguered manufacturer with its shares being downgraded to junk status and losing 70% of their value since February 2011.  The …

Pureview Coming to Windows Phone?

We had Sony Ericsson’s original K range of handsets, then we had the Nokia N range and we have had the iPhone.  The one thing that all these phones have in common is an rather good camera. Now though we have moved into a different league with the …

Where is the Killer Feature??

Before I start I want to make clear that I am an Android user. I’ve had a play on iOS for a while in its various guises both jailbroken and not and on iPhones and an iPod Touch. I am not a particular fan of Apple devices but …

New Samsung GT-B9120 Android Flip Phone Announced For China

The flip form factor has suffered a rapid decline since the heady days of the original Motorola Razr and the Samsung A300. The touchscreen revolution and the emergence of the smartphone almost put paid to thoughts of any revival.  Until now. Samsung have announced a re-emergence of the …

Sony’s Next Xperia – Your Help Needed for a Big Announcement

Sony would seem to have something that they want to share. A new Facebook page has appeared with a countdown urging users to participate in order to bring Sony’s big announcement forward. Currently we can only speculate as to the nature of the announcement, the new flagship LT29i-Hayabusa has now …

Coolsmartphone Recommended Android App – 0800 Wizard

We’ve all seen the adverts that say “call us free on this number now” or “freephone 0800 blah blah blah”. That’s all well and good but from most mobile networks freephone numbers are not free…yet.  In fact they can cost up to 21p per minute. Ofcom recently announced …

From Russia with Love…The Lambo Smartphone!

We’ve had Ferrari and Asus, Porsche and Blackberry, and now the latest supercar manufacturer to enter the hi-tech world of computing and communications is Lamborghini! As well as a couple of rather lo-tech feature handsets, the maker of such classics as the Countach and the Aventador is launching …

Euro 2012 is coming…….

Euro 2012 is about to kick off and every avid footy fan in Europe and across the world is due to be glued to the telly box watching the beautiful game. There are those who are destined to miss the games due to other commitments.  Work, the dreaded …

Samsung Galaxy Mini 2 Launch Date Revealed

With all the furore surrounding the launch of the Samsung Galaxy SIII it’s easy to forget that there are plenty of  other phones in the Galaxy range and they are not all aimed at high end users that require copious amounts of processing power and  the ultimate in today’s …

Samsung Galaxy SIII v Apple iPhone 4s Drop Test

They are the two best selling smart phones on the planet.  With over 40 million handsets between them in circulation it only stands to reason that some are going to be dropped or broken. In order to see which would fare better if everyone’s nightmare happens and you …

Google Acquires Quick Office – Android Integration imminent?

Google have today announced the acquisition of Quickoffice, the office productivity company. Google say: We’re happy to announce that we have acquired Quickoffice, a leader in office productivity solutions. Today, consumers, businesses and schools use Google Apps to get stuff done from anywhere, with anyone and on any …

Nokia Maps Updated, now includes personalised photos and reviews.

An update to the Nokia Maps application has today been released to the Windows Marketplace.   It’s available for download for free from Nokia exclusively for Nokia Lumia. One of the best ways to make a difference in location-based services is posting photos and reviews: that’s how you remember …

Google v Microsoft…and the wars go on

At first there was the US Department of Justice, then there was the European Union.  More recently there have been battles with HTC, Samsung, Motorola and now a war of attrition seems to be building with Google. Microsoft’s lawyers must be laughing all the way to the bank. …

Coolsmartphone Survey: Customer Service and Mobile Operators

This is a liveblog……. We at Coolsmartphone are in the process of compiling a survey around Customer service from the major mobile operators in the UK. For this we need your help.  We need your experiences, good, bad or indifferent, in order to give us a general overview …

Everything Everywhere redesigns Customer Service, to be Handset based

Everything Everywhere, the company formed by the merger of Orange and T-Mobile have revealed a complete revamp of their customer service division with what they claim is a revolutionary change in the way their service is delivered. Everything Everywhere are to invest £50 million on stores, customer facing …

HSBC Release Fast Balance App for Android

Following our article on the major banking apps, HSBC have today released their Fast Balance app for Android smartphones. After a short registration process whereby you have to confirm your telephone number and personal details as well as entering your card numbers and setting up a security code, …

Deal Of The Day: 12 month SIM-only with £100 Cashback

Posted over in our forums today by Nitram_cpr is a rather good deal on the Three network. I am currently on Tesco PayG but am always looking for good deals and found this: http://www.quidco.com/three/ Basically if you sign up for a 12 month sim only deal you’ll get £100 …

Vodafone Price Changes for Pay Monthly Customers

Vodafone have made some changes to their charges for certain elements for pay monthly customers. From 1st July 2012, customers who go over their monthly data allowance will have a charge of £5 for an additional 250MB levied,  also the cost of calling 118 500 or 118 404 …

Motorola Razr Maxx Review

Recently we reported on the launch of the new Motorola RAZR Maxx, Motorola’s new flagship handset and we have very kindly been donated a review model to have a play with. At the beginning of the year Dan reviewed the first RAZR to carry the Android operating system.  …

Samsung Announces Music Hub, iTunes Beware!

Samsung today announced the launch of Music Hub, their own version of Google Music, Spotify and iTunes. Initially launching in the UK, Italy, Germany, France and Spain for the Galaxy SIII, Samsung claim that the new service integrates all your music experiences in one place, millions of songs, …

LG Debuts First Full HD Smartphone Screen

LG has today revealed the worlds first “Full HD” handset screen.  It is an Advanced High Performance In-Plane Switching LCD ith a 1920 x 1080 resolution.  This means a pixel density of 440ppi and is equivalent to the resolution now found on most flatscreen TV’s. LG has been rumoured to …

Motorola ICS Videos released

Motorola have released videos demonstrating their forthcoming release of Ice Cream Sandwich on their handsets. The videos detail the differences between the current Gingerbread complete with Motoblur and the near stock Ice Cream Sandwich. The videos show an updated lock screen complete with 4 unlock options instead of …

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 16GB for £269.99…..Bargain!!

Word has reached us here at Coolsmartphone of a rather good deal on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 16gb. Expansys will be selling the highly rated tabled for only £269.99 and stocks are due to arrive on Tuesday 29th May. Available in Black or White the tablet has some …