Category: Software (Android)
Remember my old story about getting Strava working on Huawei handsets? It involves disabling the sometimes over-zealous power management on your Huawei phone. Why do this? Well, if you’re running Strava (the running and cycling recording app) on a Huawei phone then the battery control software will see …
Our local health centre is seriously under strain. A number of local GP surgeries have closed as doctors have retired and, with more houses being built an no additional infrastructure being put in, there’s a few battered portacabins and an engaged tone when you call up. In 2017, …
Trust me, it’s not a scary thing. Just recently I had a relative ask why I had two WiFi networks at home. I explained that one was a VPN router, and offered me privacy and security. That, if I’m being honest, made their eyes glaze over a little. …
Here at the Coolsmartphone newsroom (which to be honest is normally a kitchen) we’ve heard rumours that the latest version of the Netflix app is showing as incompatible with rooted devices. Netflix has just confirmed that with the v5.0 update adds some special.. ahem .. “new features”. They’ve …
We were big fans of the MSQRD app when it first came out. It’s quite a fun little gadget which, with the aid of your phone camera, puts masks and hats on your face via augmented reality cleverness. Now there’s another one to add to the collection, it’s …
I get quite a few emails from App Annie. They’re an analyst firm which produces business intelligence tools and market reports, and on their site you can have a look at the most popular games and apps for different mobile operating systems. Advertising is definitely a big driver, …
You may remember my indestructible Audi A4. She’s an old girl now and has been on the road for a decade. I bought a Bluetooth OBD gadget to plug into it just so that I could find out what all those error lights on the dashboard are. Yes, …
Let’s be honest. If you’re buying an Android phone then, if you’re careful and don’t install much, you’re probably not going to be bothered by viruses or other nasties. However, looking at my son’s phone, he’s definitely not careful, and when I’m rushing to find an app to …
You may remember my trip down memory lane when Microsoft launched their classic Solitaire app for both iPhone and Android devices. It was true to the original Windows desktop version, and Microsoft took great pride in promoting the “classic” feel of it, with the same graphics and te …
I’m a big gamer. Absolutely love it. There was a time when, if you wanted a “proper” game, you’d have to wait until you got home. An expensive console was needed. Some expensive games. It was a costly business. Still is. Now, though, if you have a look …
Digital assistants are a thing. Think Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant, or (for a few windows die-hards) Cortana. Samsung also had a such a feature, the universally terrible S Voice. It seems Samsung is having another bite of that cherry. One of the announcements on Wednesdays Samsung Galaxy event …
Have you ever picked up your Bluetooth headphones, then pocketed a pair of wired headphones in case they run out of juice when you’re out? Do you carry a spare pair of backup earphones as you’ve no real idea of the battery level of your Bluetooth earphones? BatON …
Sure, you could get the new / old Nokia 3310 to play Snake on, but it’s not the traditional version. It is, as you may have seen in my hands-on video the other day, a modem jazzed up version. If you want the traditional version, try getting this …
Well, when we saw the launch of the LG G6 we thought that having Google Assistant on it was something special, but not so. It turns out that Google Assistant is coming to Android 6 and 7. Google tell us that .. The Assistant is already available on …
Now yes, I know that there’s probably a few services out there that’ll do this, but I stumbled upon this particular one today and thought it was worth bringing to your attention. It’s a simple (and pretty cheap) idea. It costs nothing for the initial download and is …
If you’ve got an Android device, then you’ll probably know just how easily you can swap keyboards. The latest Google keyboard comes with a raft of Emoji icons, so that you can convey your emotions in a text, a WhatsApp message, or a Facebook update. However, there’s only …
New figures released by the Gambling Commission show that the amount of bets placed in the traditional local bookmaker is on the wane. Now 33% of all gambling is done online and, despite what the high street in your local town might look like, the report shows that …
Just recently I had to admit to something. Somebody asked me to scan a document at work and email it. I was confronted by a very hi-tech printer, plumbed into our network and equipped with a keypad to navigate around the control panel. After a lot of random …
Apps. The ones I download are mostly free because, deep down in my heart, I’m tighter than a gnats backside. How do these apps make money then? How do the developers get paid? How do those big TV advertisements appear on TV if we never actually click “Buy” …
OK. Slightly off-topic today, but the regular readers will no doubt be aware that I film a lot of our product reviews in my car. As an example, my SanDisk iXpand overview or this FM transmitter review. I was even doing this some 10 years ago in glorious …
Back in the day, when we used to have nightclubs and you’d go outside to meet other people instead of “swiping” them, I always wanted to be the DJ. The nearest I got was doing the lights in a local nightclub, and I made the mistake of leaving …
In 2011, Nokia took the now-fateful decision to abandon the “burning platform” of Symbian and moved over to Windows Phone. This decision was close one; in those days the smartphone market was very different with multiple OS’s having a reasonable foothold (as opposed to the duopoly of today …
In a way I’m not overly happy that a service like this exists, or has to exist. The NHS here in the UK is crumbling. There’s many reasons for it, and we could argue about them all day, but fact is – it’s broken. We’re now in a …
It seems that there’s no love lost between Cyanogen Inc and CyanogenMod. The CyanogenMod.org website is now dead. It comes just hours after this blog post from the developers behind it. When the CyanogenMod team announced that they were going to fork the source code yesterday we simply …
Well, we didn’t want this to come (especially so late on Christmas Eve when we’re all full of mince pies) but it has. Following our earlier news that Cyanogen OS is to be retired, it now looks like CyanogenMod in its current form is toast too. However, there’s …
Enjoy Twitter? Or are you a Facebook fan? I’m definitely more of a Twitter person myself, and have the official app installed on my Android phone. I have a bit of a love / hate relationship with the app because it tends to conveniently “forget” my settings every …
This looks to be the “next big thing” on mobile. Today Super Mario Run will finally launch for iOS devices and, although it looks a bit like the traditional Super Mario Bros, this is an “autorunner”, so the clever little plumber moves forward at all times. That means …
A new game is now available on Android and iPhone which encourages you to steal (virtually, that is) from others. After downloading “Snatch” you can win prizes by grabbing virtual parcels. Within those parcels are real prizes, including a year’s free pizza from Pizza Hut and a year …
This one kinda raised some immediate red flags with me. Sure, the idea is great – it’s an app which will automatically put money into a special savings account based on your affordability. It’s a great idea, but when the developers told me that you had to “link …
If you’ve ever gone into Boots or another store selling makeup and beauty products, you’ll no doubt have seen the orange-faced girls who are more than keep to plaster your moosh with lipstick and eyeliner. The result may or may not be what you’re looking for, but orange-faced …
The Wileyfox Spark X we reviewed recently ran an OS based on Android called “CyanogenMod”. Think of it as an Android OS with extra goodness. We tested out the theming support and the privacy guard in our review but there’s also FLAC audio support, CPU overclocking, an unlockable …
After watching two weeks of “The Grand Tour”, I’ve realised that both me and my son are calling it “New Top Gear”. It’s totally blown away any BBC attempt at the show, with the crazy antics turned up to 11 and the 4K footage beautifully filmed, it’s proving …
Years ago, before flat screen monitors, we had big chunky PC’s with big chunky CRT monitors. Laptops weighed half a tonne and smartphones were just a dream. The internet? You’re joking son. If you were at work in these times (which, granted, seems like something from the prehistoric …
Matchmaking. Internet dating. Online relationships. These are all words and phrases that used to carry a certain amount of embarrassment, but those days are now in the distant past. Now there’s all manner of dating and relationship apps, from the sublime to the ridiculous. This one claims a …
After being rumoured for a while, and then available through a beta build, WhatsApp continues on its quest for global domination of its messaging platform with video calling. Whilst it is arguably the biggest cross-platform messaging service, with a 1 billion users, WhatsApp has fallen behind competitors such …
If you’re wanting to keep an eye on your child and want a no-frills way of finding out where they are, here’s a way I recently stumbled across. What you’ll need, in this particular setup, is a cheap Android phone for your son or daughter. These are everywhere …
Used a free WiFi hotspot recently? If I’m honest, I try not to use them when I’m in my home country. I, like many others, tend to use my phone as my main gadget now – no laptop or tablet – so I’ve usually got a mobile network …
Want to know your future? Got some questions that you need answering? Well, if you’ve been to Blackpool or another one of our seaside resorts you might’ve seen a brightly coloured tent with various promises of answers to your questions – whatever those questions may be. I’ve never …
If you’re on a train journey to an unfamiliar station then Virgin Trains has launched an app that’ll help you find your way around shops and platforms. The app delivers real-time automatic sign translation too, so if you’re coming to the UK from further afield, it’ll let you …
Heard of Shoptimix? It’s available for both Apple and Android and basically lets you create shopping lists and manage them in a fast and easy way. Yesterday they launched a new Android version which adds a new “Speedy Shopping”. It’ll let you whizz through the products and then …
