Category: Android

Flipin’ ‘eck – Samsung to bring back the clamshell

Personally I can’t see this one appearing in Europe anytime soon, but the Samsung SM-W2014, equipped with a quad core 2.3Ghz Snapdragon 800, could mark the return of the flip phone. The handset is rumoured to have two 3.67″ Super AMOLED screens at 800 x 480 pixels, a …

Ring, ring, ring, banana phone!

LG are going to be producing displays that are thin enough and strong enough to curve, producing phones with interesting new shapes. Perhaps even a banana-shaped handset. Sadly they’ve already been beaten to the punch by Samsung, who’ve launched the Galaxy Round this morning. They’ll be curved but …

HTC Sense 5.5 Screenshots emerge

The next version of HTC Sense seems to be leaking out onto the web quite a bit, and yet more screenshots have now made their way onto servers across the planet. The new version contains a lot of features that already in version 5 but are currently disabled. …

Gold HTC One official… with a twist

Gold seems to be the new “in thing” at the moment. With Apple making a new gold iPhone 5S there could be a mad rush for manufacturers to start making phones in this colour. HTC have stepped forward with a very limited edition gold HTC One. When o …

Skype updated for tablets

Skype have just updated their tablet app for Android. It’ll now allow a much better experience including a higher resolution video, something very handy if you use video chat for work or for family use. As well as increasing the resolution and a new UI, Skype have also …

Samsung Galaxy Round Officially announced in Korea

Only a few short hours ago images of an “absurd” looking Samsung smartphone leaked with a curved display. Well, the leaks have proved accurate as Samsung have now officially unveiled the Samsung Galaxy Round. The handset has a 5.7″ Full HD Super AMOLED curved display, is 7.9mm thick and …

The Samsung curved display phone looks absurd

For a few weeks now we’ve been hearing about curved screen devices and flexible devices. We also heard that LG and Samsung were going to be the brave pioneers in this new rather odd direction for mobile phones. Tonight serial leaker @evleaks has posted some images of what …

New Samsung Galaxy Gear ad seems to ape first iPhone advert

You may not remember the first ever iPhone commercial. After all, it was 6 years ago. It featured scenes of people using various telephones in movies and TV shows. At the end the first ever iPhone is displayed with a catchy strapline. Matthew Panzarino (@panzer), remembers this well …

The Smartphone Evolution (or LGs version of it anyway)

Device manufacturers certainly like to remind us that they have a place in history. With most companies claiming a few “firsts” here and there. As part of the ongoing promotion to the LG G2, LG have released a snazzy infographic showing their place in time. Just click the …

Acer Liquid Z3 Duo – Review

Small things have a place in life, small phones definitely do too. Not everyone wants a huge device and not everyone wants a super complicated device covered in widgets and shortcuts. Good Points DTS Audio Small and compact Several different launchers designed for kids and the elderly Dual …

Muvit Stick N Stand Case for Xperia Z Ultra

The Xperia Z Ultra is a great bit of kit but with the giant screen I am worried that I will break all that lovely glass in my bag or pocket (yes you can put this beast in a pocket). So the first thing I did after getting …

Another day another Nexus 5 leak

The imminent arrival of any device these days is accompanied by a flood of leaks. It serves to ramp up excitement about a device and it also does away with any element of surprise during the press launch. Over the weekend an internal service manual for the LG-D821 …

Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 arriving in stores this weekend

We knew it was coming, but this weekend you can get the Galaxy Ace 3. It’s an updated version of the Ace 2, but with the addition of 4G. It’ll be in shops from October 5th with EE stores stocking it first. Carphone Warehouse and Tesco adding it …

New Nexus 7 now on Three.. WiFi-only version though

Three have just sent out a press release confirming the latest Nexus 7 tablet is now available in the UK via their network. This is the WiFi model costing £199.99 and can be paired with either a PAYG or Contract MiFi for browsing access. Wait, you want to …

Xbox Music for Android adds Intel chip support

For a small sub sector of Android users who not only have a device with an Intel chip in and who also have an Xbox Music account today is their day. Xbox Music has just been updated to support their devices. So mainly people using either the Motorola …

HTC continue to slide as Samsung posts record profits

It really shouldn’t be happening. HTC make great handsets. The HTC One is, quite simply, brilliant. The HTC One mini is great too, but the Samsung steam-roller has blasted the opposition away with sexy phones and an advertising budget that would make a lottery winner feel poor. This …

HTC and Microsoft discuss handsets

It is no secret that HTC are struggling, they recently revealed that have made a loss for the first time ever and the leaks and rumours only really point to one device that is rather underwhelming (One Max). So what do they do next? Android just isn’t working …

Android Version Figures updated, but does it matter anymore?

  The numbers are in and it’s official, Jellybeans are taking over the world……nearly! Earlier this year Google announced that they had hit 1 billion Android activations which, looking at the table below, means that over 480 million devices are now on Android Jellybean. Version Codename API Distribution …

Android 4.4 Screenshots Leak

The recently announced Android KitKat (version 4.4) is edging ever nearer to release….we think! The amount of supposed leaks are growing by the day and now, thanks to Gadgethelpline we actually have a leak of what appear to be some early screenshots. So early in fact that they still …

Curved screen device from LG to be called the G Flex

Curved screens aren’t a new thing in the mobile world, we saw a curved screen on the Samsung Nexus S a few years ago. The curve is meant to help the phone mould to the shape of your head. Rumours about LGs next big device keep mentioning a …

Tesco Hudl Initial Impressions

Tesco have worked quite hard in the recent past to increase their digital offering.  They have bought Blinkbox for video streaming, We7 for music streaming and Mobcast for digital books.  They have created Clubcard TV and merged their acquisitions in order to create an all in one streaming …

Note 3 benchmarking scores artificially increased

The Note 3 is a very impressively specced handset with a 2.3GHz quad core Snapdragon 800 processor and 3GB of RAM so you would expect it to be towards the top end of all the various benchmark applications and it does. However it appears that like with the …

Hands on with the LG G2 at the UK launch party

    The LG G2 was announced on the 7th of August in New York and in true LG style the UK sort of got left behind, the G2 is only just starting to appear at retailers and networks. Last night we attended the UK launch party in …

Chrome for Android updated with Gesture Support

Google has announced an update to the stable channel of Chrome for Android which brings gesture support to the browser. According to the latest Google blog post, in Chrome for Android, you’ll be able to: Swipe horizontally across the top toolbar to quickly switch tabs. Drag vertically down …

The LG G2 UK launch

Tonight we’re going to one of those little launch parties. For the LG G2, that is getting it’s UK launch today. We’ll bring you the full story tomorrow. But in the meantime, if you’re interested in the G2 and you want us to test something out leave a …

TubeMate – Downloading YouTube videos on your Android

Ahh screw it. I’m going to let you know about because, let’s face it, there’s only about 12 people that don’t know about this particular app. Now, come close to the screen my dear friends. Closer. Closer… Hey have you been eating onions? So, if you want to …

LG G2 Now available on Three

With it’s 5.2″ screen and rear volume rocker, the new flagship powerhouse from LG, the LG G2 is now available from 3 stores or online. The handset features a full HD 1920 x 1080 screen, a 13MP rear camera with Optical Image Stabilisation, is 4G ready and combines …

Galaxy Note 3 Cases – Get some

If you’ve bought one of those shiny new Samsung Galaxy Note 3 handsets you’ll probably want to protect it. These cases are now available on Mobile Fun and include this case with funky laces. Look at that! It’s like having a foot against your head (and believe me, …

The upcoming Nexus 5 appears again

I’m guessing that you’re aware of the upcoming LG made Nexus 5? The successor to the current glass backed LG Nexus 4. The phone that a lot of people are currently holding out for. Well it seems to have appeared online again. This time it has appeared on …

Acer Liquid S1 – Review

I’ll come out and say it, I love enormous phones, call them phablets, small tablets, massive phones or just plain old stupid. I’m a convert, I’ve come to terms with the fact I’m never going to be able to wear super skinny jeans and own a large phone. …

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 – Initial Impressions

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 arrived on my desk a few days ago. The Note 3 marks the third generation of the Galaxy Note range, it also marks the third Galaxy Note that I’ve owned. So as is often the case with a new device here at Coolsmartphone …

Sony Smartwatch 2 – Review

Do you remember back to when you were a kid and you used to watch Knight Rider? Remember looking wistfully at the Hoff’s watch communicator that he used to talk with Kitt? I did anyway. Now we’re getting a step closer to this becoming a reality. I present …

HTC off-load remaining Beats shares

Well, we kinda knew it was on the cards, now it has indeed happened. HTC has sold the remaining shares in Beats Electronics. Bloomberg reports that the deal is expected to complete in the fourth quarter and will raise $265 million for the rather battered HTC. HTC originally …

Galaxy Note 3 – Not quite locked in the way we all assumed

So we have a couple of bits of news following the revelation that the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 will be locked down to the region it’s sold in. Firstly, it seems that there is a way around this, and that’s to.. a) Put a local SIM into the …

Speedtest for Android gets a rather snazzy looking update

App updates usually fall into two kinds, an update that adds features or fixes a bug and the other kind is where they’ve redesigned the app and made it look all pretty. Last night’s Speedtest update has done exactly that. Oh and to give them their due, they’ve …

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 available on Three

Now, if you’re in the cool gang and follow us on Twitter, you’ll already know that we’ve had a full hands-on with the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. You’ll also know that it’s popped up on Three already, but we’ve now got the official press release, which is brimming …