Category: Android

Moto X, a Droid by any other name [Opinion]

After months of waiting, Motorola yesterday unveiled… the same phone they did a week ago, but with a new name and casing. It’s not as slim as the Ultra, as small as the Mini, or as long lasting as the Maxx, but you can buy it in any …

Samsung Galaxy S devices going metal?

We all know Samsung for their plastic builds. It’s something that some have criticised and that may be likely to change with the next iteration of the Galaxy S flagship. A patent uncovered by Patent Bolt shows a complete redesign with sleek sharp edges. The patent was filed …

SwiftKey Cloud Beta adds better prediction and more

Installed one of those intelligent fast on-screen keyboards? Are you having to re-teach the keyboard all your favourite words and phrases when you switch handsets? Well worry no more my little sausage, because SwiftKey Cloud Beta is here to save us. Not only does it do super-fast intelligent …

Motorola UK website gets an intriguing new image

Whilst poking around the UK Motorola website this morning I spotted the above image. It says: “We’re working on something new” What on earth could it be? A UK version of the Moto X? A UK version of the newly announced Motorola DROID range? Is it just an …

BBM for Android and iOS in testing

Kenny Loggins has just emailed in with a cryptic email about taking the highway to the Beta Zone. We checked it out, and it looks like that’s where the BBM cross-platform beta lives at the moment. If you’re a bit special and you registered with the BlackBerry Beta …

Motorola announce the Moto X

Last night in the US Motorola unveiled their latest attempt to stay afloat/relevant in the form of the Moto X, but guess what UK people? It isn’t coming to the UK. More on that later though. This is the opening line in the Motorola press material, it sums …

Cheap Android alert! Alcatel One Touch T’Pop on Virgin Media

An Android handset for £39.99? Well, straight up we know it’s not going to have a quad-core CPU, hi-res screen and an 8 megapixel camera. But, if you want a cheap and cheerful Android then Alcatel have a solution. It’ll be available today with Virgin Mobile on Pay …

Acer announce the 3.5″ Jelly Bean Z3

Acer have a few different handsets available and today they’ve gone and announced another one, this time it is at the bottom end of the Android pile. Following the success of the Liquid E1, E2, S1 and Z2, Acer today unveiled the Liquid Z3 smartphone for anyone who …

TV shows are now available on the Google Play Store

For a while we have been behind in what the Google Play Store offered us here in the UK. Well it seems that during the night Google have flipped a switch to allow us UK residents to buy TV episodes on our phones and tablets. All Google need …

Google Nexus 7 Receiving Android 4.3 right now

So, that Android 4.3 update has arrived on Nexus 4. Now, if you have a Nexus 7 quick, go and pick it up right now, because it’s your turn. The OTA update is arriving right now, so go into Settings-> About-> System Update-> Check now. Let us know …

Increasing network interest in alternative OS’s

The momentum of the ‘alternative operating systems’ is slowly but steadily increasing. Today David Powell, Telstra’s general manager of Device Experience posted an entry on their company blog entitled Mobile operating systems of the future. Im this blog he says In recent months, we have been working with …

AppMachine. Develop, design and distribute an app easily

You know something. I’ve been meaning to write about these guys since Mobile World Congress. I popped into see their official launch in Barcelona. It’s basically a slick solution using a building-block system, which lets you easily create a a professional app for yourself or someone else in …

OPPO Find 5 gets major firmware update

Lucky owners of the OPPO Find 5 are receiving over the air updates to the firmware on their handsets, taking them to X909EN_130719 (was X909EN_13_130514). It’s only an 83MB download, but it comes with a massive changelog which includes dedications to users who’ve made suggestions or bug reports. …

HTC warns of possible operating loss

Operating loss.. what’s that then? Well, if you’re not into your economics this might not mean a great deal. Put simply it’s the point at which a company’s operating expenses exceed its income. This is what could well happen at HTC very soon. They’ve today warned that Q3 …

Samsung Galaxy NX Android camera get UK price

Are you after a professional quality smart camera? Well the world’s first mirrorless Android powered camera with interchangeable lenses, the Samsung Galaxy NX, now has a price in the UK. I suggest you sit down… £1299.99 If you go to Jessops or Wex Photographic Warehouse werbsites and hand …

WhichAirline app is now available for Windows Phone

Searching for the cheapest flights for your next holiday can be an arduous task. For me the main point is that I’m always worried I’m going to miss an airline that isn’t included on the search website that I’ve chosen. WhichAirline aim to make this process easier for …

OPPO N-Lens Android Camera confirmed

OPPO are getting a lot of press for their excellent phones recently, but it seems the Chinese manufacturer has set its sites on adding an Android camera to its offerings. We recently reported that there was an unsubstantiated leak regarding OPPO developing a camera competitor for the Samsung …

UK Nexus 4 begins getting Android 4.3 OTA upgrade

As of 8pm GMT the UK sim-free Nexus 4 has begun to receive it’s Over The Air upgrade. You will recieve a warning if your upgrade is due but if you wish to manually check you are welcome to follow this risk free procedure: Click Settings Click About …

Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom now available on Three

Let me get this straight… It’s a phone and a camera? Whoa! How can I get this wonder of the modern age (considering I’m locked to Three)? They’ve just become available on said network you say? *Doors bang on their hinges as hoards of amazed customers battle to …

Despicable Me: Minion Rush App Review

Fans of Despicable Me, listen up! As is so common with new movie releases nowadays, the makers behind Despicable Me have released a mobile game. Do you also like Temple Run? Blimey, this is your special day! Gameplay The game see’s your character taking on loads of obstacles …

Samsung Smartwatch SM-V700 confirmed

A (rather difficult to read) shipping note has been spotted showing that a Samsung SM-V700 watch has made its way from Korea to Bangalore, “For R & D purpose”. Unfortunately there are no specs, but surely it will be an extension of their “life companion” ethic, so expect …

Note 3 specs leak

The Samsung Note range started off as a bit of a novelty but as established itself as range that sells a good quantity of phones and has launched an entire market, that of the phablet with HTC, Sony and Nokia bringing out larger handsets and Samsung adding more …

Xperia Z Ultra First Impressions

The day has arrived….. That magic day when you get your hands on with the object you have been lusting after since it was announced in all the glitz and glamour that go with product announcements. This device which is very firmly in the Phablet range with a …

Sony Xperia Tablet Z – Camera and software overview

It’s no secret, I love this thing. I’m using it right now to write this very story and it has a lot of the features that I also love about the iPad. Firstly, the design. Somehow this tablet is better than the Xperia Z phone. It’s beautifully built …

4oD app updated – Now allows downloading

Channel 4 have just updated the iOS and Android app (at the same time) to version 3.0. The new version allows downloading so users can grab programmes from the last 30 days to watch any time within the next 7 days rather than only being able to watch …

Win a Sony Xperia Tablet Z case just by being friendly!

It’s Coolsmartphone competition time again! Yay! This week we’re giving away the two Sony Xperia Tablet Z cases that we’ve recently reviewed. Seeing as I’m in in charge of this competition it has to be really simple, so all you have to do is read the reviews of …

Arctic Blue Samsung Galaxy S4 – Exclusive to Phones 4U

Been on the fence about the Galaxy S4? Perhaps it just isn’t blue enough for you. Maybe it just doesn’t go with that new blue Lamborghini you’ve just bought. Happens to all of us. From today though you can head over to Phones 4U and order the S4 in an, …

New Samsung Nexus 10 leaked… by the boss!

No I don’t mean Bruce Springstien, I’m talking about Sundar Pichai. Now, he’s has been around the block. He didn’t become the senior vice president of Google without encountering journalists. He really should know that journalists can’t keep secrets, especially when the secret is the manufacturer of the …

Sony confirm Android 4.3 availability

With Google announcing Android 4.3 just yesterday, Sony have now come out and confirmed which of their devices will be able to run this new software version which is also going under the JellyBean title. Sony have been known for taking their time on getting upgrades out but …

Shifu is your smart friend who lives in your phone

Shifu is an intelligent task management and todo list. Instead of just reminding you at a set time to do stuff it checks to see when you aren’t doing anything and then reminds you. The developer describes this as follows: Shifu is your smart friend who lives in …

Tabletwear Advanced Case for the Sony Xperia Tablet Z – Review

The Tabletwear Advanced Case for the Xperia Tablet Z is a budget stand style case to clad and protect the slender lines of Sony’s finest bit of Android gear. This is my second featured review of cases for the Sony Xperia Tablet Z, the first was of the …

Acer Liquid E2 – Initial Impressions

Acer have been flogging away in the tech industry for many years now, in the mobile tech industry they are onto about their fifth generation of mobile devices and the Liquid E2 sits firmly in the mid range budget bracket. I’ve got one for the next few weeks …

Nexus 7 hitting UK in September?

With all the excitement of the Google event yesterday, one question remained unanswered. When will the UK get stock? Well, PC World now have both WiFi models on their site with a release date of 13th September. This weems quite a long way off considering the US will …

Android 4.3 Factory Images now available for Nexus devices

Google yesterday released the latest incantation of Android 4.3 Jellybean stating that the the Nexus 10, Nexus 7, Nexus 4 and Galaxy Nexus will all be getting the update over the air (OTA) in the coming weeks. Some of us however can’t wait that long. For those of us …

How to: Enable Dial Pad Auto Complete in Android 4.3

There has been something missing from stock Android since the very beginning. Many many times I have seen people ask for the inclusion of auto complete for the dialler but the calls have always gone unheeded. Until now. This option doesn’t appear to be turned on by default …

Google Play Games is now available for Android

Yesterday afternoon Google announced a whole load of new stuff, mainly centering on the new Nexus 7 and Android 4.3. During the event the did mention the new gaming hub, Play Games. Which uses the new functionality brought into Android at the Google I/O a few months back. …

Chromecast announced

The Google Chromecast was just unveiled at today’s Google event. Running a modified version of Chrome OS, It allows users to stream from the cloud directly to a TV with support for 1080p and 5.1 surround sound. Notably, the Chromecast allows users to control the stream from any …

Android 4.3 announced

As widely expected, Google have today released the new version of Android, Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. This is more of an iterative update to Android 4.2, with a few new features added. First off, a new Google Play Games app has been launched. This will act in a …

Google announce a new Nexus 7 [Pricing Update]

This afternoon Google have announced the new updated Nexus 7. The original Nexus 7 spearheaded a surge in smaller Android tablets,  most people I know at some point owned a Nexus 7 and it remains to be seen if the new Nexus 7 will be successful. Spec wise …