Category: Software (Android)

Feel more connected at work, and be more efficient.

What do your facial expressions say about you during meetings? Getting meetings right can be tricky. Whilst some are productive and full of ideas, others can be a snooze-fest filled with a stack of irrelevant information and death-by-PowerPoint moments. CheatSheet says that small businesses waste about 37 billion …

The M6 Toll – Not quite contactless, actually

Yesterday, for a special treat, I used the M6 Toll road. It’s just a couple of miles from my house and takes around 20 minutes off my journey but I, along with many, many, many other people, simply don’t use it due to the insane cost. At £5.50 …

In-app purchases on Android. This is broken. Sort this out. Now.

I’ve just wasted an hour and a half trying to get a refund on an in-app purchase that my son mistakenly made within Real Racing 3. It’s a great EA game and you can improve your experience by purchasing items for varying quantities of cash. Writing about smartphones …

OK Google – Is it me or are you getting better at this?

On a drive home last week I remembered that I had to get some supplies for the regular “Dad Camp” that I take my son on twice a year. It’s a weekend away with a number of other dads where we completely ban gadgets and take the kids …

RATED – The BBC iPlayer Radio app

Welcome to the first in a series of articles celebrating apps which are an example to others on how things should be done. I’m probably preaching to the converted, but I wanted to talk about the BBC iPlayer Radio app. It’s available for iPhone,, Android and Kindle. For …

I think I’ve got the Weather Bug

As much as I hate to admit it, we’re now definitely in the Autumn. The leaves are falling off the trees and I can no longer sit outside the pub without several coats on. It’s a bit naff, but if you time the weather right, there’s still the …

Do you really know what your child is doing online in today’s world?

There’s a definite increase in popularity for mobile trackers. Many attach negative connotations with the software, perhaps thinking that their only purpose is to track and secretly spy on partners. However, with the traditional PC now leaving our homes, more and more kids are using the internet in …

Play a game, get rewards in Las Vegas

Having a dabble online with one of the many betting and casino sites is something that some may shy away from. It involves spending money and maybe, perhaps, winning some back. The part in the middle – where you’re actually playing those games and enjoying them – can be the …

Find out more about yourself and your friends – Personality Match

At school I played a game to see how well me and my friends “matched” each other. It was a bit like the origami paper game where you’d create a folding “fortune teller” device which had a concealed message. You’d ask each other questions and then, based on …

Ofcom wants to know about your not-spots

Not being able to get a signal in the middle of a city is still, in 2016, all too easy. In Lichfield I can walk out of a Vodafone or EE store and, just a few metres from the door, I’ll have no signal at all. Even with …

Protecting your teenager against sexting

When I was in my teens, smartphones weren’t really a “thing”. Sure, we had mobile phones, but they were big clunky things and you couldn’t even text on them unless you paid for the texting “service”. Plus, they were pretty much confined to older people, not “grandpa” old, …

Games appear to be creeping onto my phone.. and staying there

Not too long ago you could pick up my phone and find it to be a productivity powerhouse. I’d have my email, my Citrix Receiver, Office 365, my calendar and not much else. It was a portable office. Now though, after coming back from holiday, I’ve found that …

Handling my finances on the move

Sure, I use my phone for playing games on. I use it to get the latest news too, but I don’t think I’m alone in using it for one very important task, and that’s keeping an eye on my finances. We’ve touched upon ways of making money with …

VPN made simpler – Hide My Ass

I won’t beat around the bush. If you’re doing anything that you’d like to be kept a bit secret from your ISP then you need a VPN. Whether it be streaming, torrents or something in-between, online privacy is something you need to be looking at. However, it’s always …

Mobile games are poised to get console-like graphics

Checking Facebook, Twitter and your email. It’s something we all do on our mobiles and it’s something that smartphones will do with ease. However, it’s only the tip of the iceberg and, whether it be due to not knowing or not wanting to deplete our all-important batteries, the …

WhatsApp will now share your data with Facebook.

It’s a move that we could almost feel coming after the application became free. Facebook will now be able to see phone numbers from WhatsApp to allow “better friend suggestions”. Not only that, but they want to let third parties send you “marketing texts” through WhatsApp instead of …

An Ode to Touchwiz…Surprisingly!

Regular readers of our website will probably read about my latest #firstworldproblem… the search for a (cheap) 10inch Android Tablet. After my #EpicFail with the unbranded variety. I scoured eBay for something else. In the end, I settled on an Xperia Z2 Tablet (not bad for £149). It reminded …

Like Pokémon Go? How about a Pokémon holiday?

Personally I thought that the buzz surrounding this have would’ve died down, but it shows no signs of abating. People at the park, in the queue at the local bus stop, walking to work and even at the pub. Yes the pub, they’re all doing it. Now, amongst …

New Pokémon Go maps launched for passionate gamers

Pokémon Go is the game that is captivating everyone’s attention at the moment. It’s because many of us remember playing it when we were kids. If you are one of those players and you’ve been wondering where you can find Electabuzz or Pikachu, it’s worth knowing that Pokémon …

New safety feature getting added to Strava – Beacon

I sit on my fat backside for most of the day, so getting out and actually moving around is a bit important. I tend to cycle, be it mountain biking or road biking, and after trying the alternatives I’ve ended up using Strava. It seems to be the …

Flippin’ fantastic – But do you actually use it?

I’ve been lucky enough to try a number of phones over the years. When you’re reviewing them there’s a number of features and apps to try out, but one I tend to always skip is Flipboard. It’s available for both Android and iOS and, although it looks very …

Colin McRae Rally – Just 10p

Fancy a bit of nostalgia? Yeah you do. How about a classic rally game, packed with all those brilliant cars that you probably still see boy racers driving around in today? Colin McCray Rally has got the graphics, the gameplay and the foot-down fun. Plus, as I type, it’s …

Pokémon Go – I’ve never seen anything like it.

I write this from the shiny Coolsmartphone HQ which, as you know, is my kitchen. On Friday afternoon I got back from work to find that my son had downloaded Pokemon Go. He’d seem it on TV and got it. He’s a bit young and I didn’t want …

Pokémon Go now in the UK too

Following on from my story yesterday, I can now confirm that the game everyone is talking about is available in UK app stores. Android and iPhone users just need to head to their respective places and grab the download the normal way. Yesterday we detailed a get-around that …

How to download Pokémon Go on Android in the UK now

OK. It’s turned into a dream for the PR company this one. Everybody seems to be talking about it, even here in the UK where you can’t actually download the thing just yet. Pokémon has returned and the ’90s have come back too (Robot Wars was on TV …

Phones that will revolutionise mobile gaming

Every year mobile gaming becomes more involved and sophisticated with new games, better ways to play them and even greater connectivity with friends through social media. And, as this march of progress continues, the technology to play the games on moves forward too. At the forefront of these …

666 is the Legacy of the Beast!

For those lucky few who caught our live broadcast last week, you will know we have had a copy of Legacy of the Beast. This is a game dedicated to the British music legends, Iron Maiden. The game celebrates every single album by taking you through worlds based on …

Emojis – Even I’m using them now

There was a time, not too long ago, when I’d be pretty annoyed at using an emoji. My wife loves them, but when she sent me a text message my phone wouldn’t be able to understand it and I’d just get a stack of question marks where the …

Your home, in your hand…

You’ve seen a few of our recent camera reviews covering security gadgets for your home. Most of the time it’s security cameras, but they’re not always the fixed ones we’ve checked out – we’ve also used our smartphones to control cameras, to control the heating and more. Home …

Monitoring a smartphone, without revealing yourself

We’ve covered monitoring solutions in the past and, as I’ve pointed out previously, there’s a number of reasons why you’d want them. First though, let me explain a bit more, because the one I’ve been looking at here will monitor phone activity and report back – all without …

Rebtel’s Cheap International Calls app – Review

Rebtel’s Cheap International Calls App Review It’s that time of year again. The sun is out and those big school holidays are just around the corner, so it’s time to fill a suitcase and head off abroad for … even more sunshine. Trouble is, when you’re abroad, the …

Virgin add entertainment to your train journeys

A journey for me to London usually falls into two categories. I either take a “cheap” train which takes a couple of hours, stops at places I’ve never heard of and has no on-board “booster” so the signal on your phone is totally pants. If, however, I pay …

Has TeamViewer Been Hacked?

The popular remote desktop app TeamViewer has apparently been hacked. However, TeamViewer claim the issue lies with its users reusing the same password across multiple sites which makes sense…. until reports started to surface users with 2FA were also affected. It appears hackers gained control of victims’ TeamViewer …

Getting started with Android Pay – A 6-step guide

Getting started with Android Pay is ridiculously easy and follows similar steps that iPhone users may be familiar with. As Android Pay has only become available in the UK today, we thought it wise to give you a brief look at the setup process, which goes a little …

Swytch now offers a weekly mobile deal

You may have already heard about Swytch. Just grab the app and you can instantly have additional mobile numbers piped through to your phone. You can have a line for your business or one for friends. There’s no commitment and, provided you have a fast data connection or …

Blocking nuisance calls – CPR Call Blocker now in an app

Remember the CPR Call Blocker that we reviewed some months back? That gadget plugs into your home phone and, with the help of an in-build database and a one-button blocking system, you could get rid of nuisance callers. However, it’s not just your home phone that gets those …

ChatSim Review

I saw these guys at Mobile World Congress and their offering is certainly an interesting one, and remarkably simple too.. Start with the ChatSim chat plan. It’s €10 a year and this will let you send unlimited and free text messages and emoji anywhere in the world. Wait …