Category: Google (Android)

Ouya receives boost from Square Enix

The Ouya Android console has now received support from makers of Final Fantasy III, Square Enix. The Android powered device, which is expected to retail for around £63 ($99) has now received more than £3 million ($5 million) in funding through the Kickstarter website. Effectively the console is …

Time2Touch 7″ Android 4.0 Tablet for £79.99

No, I’ve never heard of Time2Touch either, but their MC7403A tablet usually sells for £189.99 according to their website. It has a 7″ 800 x 480 pixel capacitive screen, 1.5GHz CPU, WiFi, 1.3 megapixel camera and runs Android Ice Cream Sandwich. There’s access to Google Play too. A …

Google add another Nexus 7 video, this time it’s Google Now

So over the last week Google has been adding a variety of videos to their Google Nexus YouTube channel. Today is the turn of Google Now and the cards. After watching this I was still none the wiser. I guess I should just use Google Now more. But information …

Nexus 7 Accessory Lineup Leaked – Coming Soon

So, you have your shiny new Nexus 7, you’ve installed all your apps and got it running exactly as you want it.  But what about those official accessories to go with it.  After all those pesky iPad’s have them in their thousands! Well, according to Nordic Hardware the official …

Google Nexus 7 review – Final Conclusion

By now you will have hopefully read our selection of reviews for the Nexus 7. General consensus is that it is a great piece of kit. Jelly Bean is great. People are just going to go mad buying these. Amazon are screwed unless the next Kindle Fire is …

Google Nexus tablet group review – Video Comparisons

We have written a lot about the Nexus 7 recently, we have looked at every aspect of the device and even took looked at how to hack the thing as well. But how does it compare to other devices? It has been well documented that Google are not …

Google Nexus 7 review – Software

Software review (by Ravi Patel) I’m here to put a slight downer on things. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Nexus 7. Pound for pound it could very well be the best gadget ever. But it isn’t perfect (what is?) and I wanted to point out some …

Google Nexus 7 review – Photo special

We have talked quite a bit today about the Nexus 7, we have looked at every possible aspect of it & we have compared it on video to whatever other tablets we could get our hands on. One thing we haven’t looked at is some pictures of the …

Google Nexus 7 review – Hardware, Design and Performance

Continuing the Coolsmartphone group review of the Nexus 7 tablet. Now we have Stephen and Garry covering the hardware side of things. Nexus 7 Hardware & Design (by Stephen Murray) Well, where do I begin…? Maybe the bit I found most surprising. The Nexus 7 is light, it …

Google Nexus 7 review – Introduction

It is now time for us at Coolsmartphone to review the Google / Asus Nexus 7 tablet. Over the years we have been sent devices for review, we have blagged devices from suppliers for review and heaven forbid we have even bought devices ourselves for review. With this …

Today Google posted another Nexus 7 video

This one again is aimed at beginners and it shows you how to arrange your apps and widgets. Yes it is basic but I feel this is a good thing for Google, it will certainly help new users. But how many off them will find the Google Nexus …

Google posts a getting started video for the Nexus 7 tablet

So you’re new to the whole Android thing. You accidentally bought a Nexus 7 in the last few weeks. How on earth are you meant to set it up? Well Google have the answers in the form of a nice little video. No camping this time. If you …

Hidden Sleep Function On Nexus 7 Revealed

A video released today demonstrates a previously hidden and rather useful feature on the Nexus 7 tablet. iPad and Blackberry owners will be aware of the sleep function that activates when your device is placed within a compatible case and this feature has also been included on the …

Google now has an advert for the Nexus 7

One thing I kept thinking throughout this video was “battery life”. Although far fetched the video does showcase some of the features of the Nexus 7 in a consumer friendly manner. Lets just hope they can sort out their stock and delivery issues. 🙂 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqiSE-ukmgc Via – Android …

Google buys Sparrow

iPhone and Mac users may already be familiar with Sparrow and their apps for those platforms. Originally Mac only, Sparrow came to the iPhone  back in March and has quickly gathered a following as the go to email/Gmail app for iOS. The buzz seems to have caught Google’s …

Nexus 7 and iPad get dropped in the name of science

Don’t ask me. We get PR companies sending us emails and sometimes I think, “Are they alright? Did they have too much to drink last night?” This time we’ve received a video from SquareTrade. They sell warranties or something, and if you watch this video to the end …

Jelly Bean arriving on Galaxy Nexus devices through Vodafone

Vodafone customers! Come close! If you bought the Galaxy Nexus it’s probably worth checking for updates. The all-new Android Jelly Bean has arrived and we’ve had people upgrading this morning. Jelly Bean, aka Android 4.1, has a smooth interface (codenamed “Project Butter”), Android Beam for NFC transfers, an …

Nexus 7: first impressions

You know what they say about third time lucky. Having made and then cancelled orders with Google and Currys, I decided to try my luck with Ebuyer yesterday afternoon as they were advertising the Nexus 7 as in stock and ready for delivery today. Roughly 16 hours later …

Up-close and personal with the Nexus 7

So, we’ve seen the launch, the stock pictures and the press releases. Now we’ve got the thing in our hands, so we figured you’d like to see what the new Google tablet actually looked like in the flesh. No computer-generated mock-ups here. We’ve got stacks of shots taken …

Opinion: Nexus 7 – Dawn of a new age, or failure of an existing one?

Well most people will be waking up this morning to the news that Ebuyer and Google either are, or will shortly be dispatching Google’s new Flagship Nexus device, the Nexus 7 tablet, running Jelly Bean 4.1 OS. Let’s just run through the key specs of Google’s newest device: …

Android 4.1.1 Rolling Out to Nexus 7 & Galaxy Nexus

If you are one of those lucky enough to already have your hands on the Nexus 7 then expect an update to be heading your way rather soon. Google has started to roll out Android 4.1.1, build JRO03C which includes Google Wallet. The update is also rolling out to …

Patent Wars: Now Galaxy Nexus Sales Ban Overturned

In what could be seen as a surprise move the ban on the sales of Google’s flagship Galaxy Nexus handset has been overturned by the appeals court. No reason has been given for the overturning however Apple have until Thursday to appeal.  The full trial is due to …

Nexus 7 root achieved (already)

Yes, you read that right. The new Google Nexus 7 has been rooted, only two days after it was given to Google I/O attendees and around two weeks before the tablet is released to the general public. A user called ‘birdman’ on RootzWiki has posted a guide on …

Jellybean for the Galaxy Nexus hits XDA

Well that didn’t take long. Although Android 4.1 will officially be coming in July as an OTA update for existing devices, those wizards over at XDA already have the stock version released yesterday at Google IO available to download and flash to your device. If you know how …

Google Tablet “confirmed”. To launch at I/O

The Google Nexus Tablet hasn’t exactly been a well-kept secret so far, and now there’s confirmation from Asus themselves. Bloomberg also quotes “two people familiar with the matter” that a 7″ sub-$200 Google-branded tablet running the new Android OS – Jelly Bean is about to launch. An Asustek …

Jellybean coming soon as Android 4.1

Just days ahead of Google IO, news of the next version of Android has leaked via an unlikely source: Google’s very own Play Store. Jellybean will officially be Android 4.1 and will apparently be with us soon, according to the listing for the HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus. Not much …

OS Updates and Fragmentation

While Android OEMs have continually shown a tendency to not support their handsets with updates, either promptly or at all, Apple have just announced that the 3GS will receive its 3rd major update with iOS 6. The fact that only 7% of devices accessing the Play Store are …

Breaking: Google Wins Phase 2 of Patent Case

News just in from the courts of California says that Google has won the second phase its patent trial against Oracle. Oracle filed a suit in October 2010 alleging that Google’s Android operating system infringes on patents relating to its programming language Java.  Google responded by saying that …

Multiple Nexus devices coming from several manufacturers?

The WSJ and The Verge are reporting that Google will open up the Nexus program to 5 manufacturers’ this Autumn, allowing each to build a Nexus device which Google will then sell directly. This news comes amidst growing concern regarding the possibility of Motorola being given preferential treatment. …

Latest Figures Showing Sharp Rise In ICS Usage.

The latest figures released by Google on the Android Developers site have shown a sharp increase in the number of devices that have Ice Cream Sandwich using Google Play. It has been revealed that ICS (Android version 4.0.x) now accounts for 4.9% of all devices, an increase powered …

Chrome for Android set to leave beta…

Google released a beta version of Chrome for Android back in February, but according to the Senior Vice President of Chrome and Apps for Google, Sundar Pichai, Chrome for Android will leave beta status “in a matter of weeks”. He didn’t reveal anything more precise about this date, but its …

US: MGM Joins the Play Revolution

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer have today joined forces with Google Play and You Tube to add over 600 titles for rental in the United States and Canada. This means there are now five of the six major studios and over ten independent movie studios, currently offering movies for rent on YouTube and …

ICS coming to the Vodafone branded Galaxy S2 very soon

Samsung Galaxy S2 users on Vodafone rejoice – you’ll soon be getting your hands on Android Ice Cream Sandwich. The latest version of Google’s Android platform will begin rolling out in the UK on April 12. Vodafone confirmed the news via its forum. Here is the official line: …

The G-Tablet: Coming Soon?

Yes, you did read it correctly, Google are set to release their own branded tablet. It is rumoured that Google are preparing an on-line store, selling directly to consumers, much like they tried (and failed) to do with the original Nexus. The store will sell the Google branded …

MWC – Orange to release Intel’s Santa Clara

Remember the Orange London we mentioned a short while back? Well, it turns out that this is real after all. It’s had a slight name-change, but the Intel innards are right there. The Orange Santa Clara will use an Intel Atom Z2460  CPU and will feature a fast …

Galaxy Nexus price drop – Today only

If you’re looking to get the Galaxy Nexus then eXpansys is worth a visit right now. The Nexus is available for £399.99, but it’s for today only. They’ve only got limited stock at this price, so you’ll have to be fairly quick. We’ve got a full review to …

Face Unlock… a gimmick or actually usable?

For me, one of the stand out features that Google presented to the world when they announced the Google Galaxy Nexus, was Face Unlock. My thoughts ran wild with ideas about how this technology could be useful… at least for me. Shortly after their announcement, various people demonstrated that …

Chrome for Android now available

In something of a surprise move, Google have today released a beta of Chrome for Android onto the Market. Unfortunately for you non-Nexus/non-flashing folks, it’s only available for ICS. At least for now. I’ve been having a play around with it and am really liking some of the …

Galaxy Nexus 32GB coming to Expansys soon

Storage. There’s just never enough. Cast your mind back to 2005 when the Samsung SGH-i300 came out. Powered by Windows Mobile it had a hard drive on board. Yes, you heard right… a hard drive on a phone. Now, try not to laugh here, because this seemed like …