Category: Android

Is the Sony Xperia Z more popular than the iPhone 5?

It has only just been released here in the UK, but according to a poll compiled by uSwitch, the Sony Xperia Z is now more popular than the iPhone 5. Retaining the top spot is the Samsung Galaxy S3 (though I’m sure this could change with the arrival …

Further HTC Myst specs leak

Specs trickled out for a mid-range HTC device called the “Myst” some months ago. The device has a 4.3″ 720p screen with two cameras – a 5 megapixel rear shooter and a front 1.6 megapixel cam. It’ll do 4G and has 16GB of storage but no microSD storage. …

Models take a shower in public with a Sony Xperia Z

Ever found yourself in a shower with a hot model and really wish you had a smartphone with you to tweet the moment? No, me neither, but just in case you do T-Mobile have the answer. T-Mobile CZ have finally proved beyond doubt that tech can be sexy …

Motorola RAZR HD – Review

First of all I’ll quickly run through the good and bad points. Good Points 4.7″ inch 720p Display Expandable storage up to 32GB Smooth Operating system Bad Points Not a good looking device Non-removable battery Build I don’t think the RAZR HD is a good looking device, there …

The rise and fall of HTC: Android gains wiped out

It was the mobile manufacturer success story. HTC, the company which started life as an ODM supplying low-cost network branded handsets, has now lost all the revenue it gained from being an early adopter of Android. Since it brought us the G1 back in 2008, it has been …

Chameleon Launcher has been updated for phones

I got an email yesterday that made me a little excited. A while back I and many others backed Chameleon Launcher on Kickstarter. It gave us an early beta to try on our tablets. I was really impressed at the time but I didn’t stay using it for …

Windows Phone loses ground again

ComScore figures for January 2013 are now available and it seems that Apple are gaining ground. Meanwhile Android (named as “Google” above), has always increased share in these numbers, but dropped to a 52.3% share from a 53.6% share of American smartphone subscribers. Although Android are still in …

Nexus 7 dock lands in the UK

Anyone with a Nexus 7 here in the UK and who wants to get the desktop dock for it, well you are now in luck as Google are selling them direct from the Play Store for £24.99 plus delivery right now! Which we reviewed here. Whilst now available …

New firmware for Note II available on Three

Three have rolled out a firmware update for the Samsung Galaxy Note II, which is said to bring with it a number of bug fixes and enhancements. This went under the radar mostly because it brings device stability to Samsungs other flagship handset rather than a large number …

Android Gingerbread is slowly on the decline

Every month Google publish data about the current user base and what versions of Android is being used. It usually makes for interesting and worrying reading. The most recent figures have turned something interesting up. Version Codename API Distribution 1.6 Donut 4 0.2% 2.1 Eclair 7 1.9% 2.2 …

Google Play celebrates first birthday with another sale

Can you believe that it’s already been a year since Google relaunched the old Android Market as the Google Play Store? To celebrate this momentous event, they’ve decided to have (another) big sale. It’s already started over in Australia as I write this and should hopefully be on …

MWC – Alcatel One Touch Idol X and Idol Ultra

Top of the tree, this is the Idol X and Idol Ultra from Alcatel. I’ve gotta be honest, the Idol X is easily the best handset I’ve seen from the company in a long time. The One Touch Idol X is painfully thin at just 67.5mm thick and …

MWC – The One Touch Star

Another Alcatel handset with a dual-SIM version and it’s this – the One Touch Star. Shock, horror, there’s only one version of this particular device (Alcatel are famed for making several flavours of each device). This one is a sort-of mid-range puppy with a 5 megapixel shooter (plus …

MWC – The Alcatel One Touch Scribe Easy and Scribe HD

I usually approach the Alcatel stand each year with a sense of foreboding. They usually have a humongous selection of new handsets and they’re as confusing as heck. This year, it’s slightly less confusing. There’s still a couple of different versions of the same handsets such as we …

Samsung starts to tease the Galaxy S IV

MWC is done and dusted for another year, HTC have made their big announcements which now means that it is of course Samsung’s turn. With the fact that the Galaxy SIV event is being held on the 14th March in New York already having been made public, Samsung …

Google Play cards now in UK

Looks like Android users in the UK can finally pick up Google Play vouchers so no need for card details to be saved for app purchases, perfect if you are worried about charges adding up or your kids trying to buy apps or games on their own device …

Sony Xperia Z goes for a swim

We’re getting a number of retailers approaching us at the minute. They’d all like us to promote the fact that the Sony Xperia Z is available from them. Tesco have sent us a lovely video featuring staff member Peter Statham. He’s 72. Yes, 72. Peter works in Tesco …

MWC – Behind the scenes. The Sony Xperia Z, our essential gadget.

Mobile World Congress is an extremely busy event filled with hundreds of reporters. They range from the big-boys all the way down to dedicated bloggers and tech reporters who run round the event covering every angle of the yearly mobile madness. This year, I must confess, I wasn’t …

MWC – Up close, the Orange Nivo

Billed as an “affordable” and “capable”, this is the more entry-level handset made by Gigabyte for Orange. Powered by Android 4.1 it has a dual-core 1GHz CPU and microSD. There’s a 4″ 480×800 pixel screen and a 5 megapixel camera at the back with 720p HD video capture. …

MWC – Up close, the Orange San Remo

This, the second Orange device we’re looking at today, is the San Remo. This is probably the best looking of the bunch and is made by Alcatel. This one packs a 4.7″ 540×960 pixel display and is powered by Android 4.1 on a dual-core 1GHz CPU with 4GB …

MWC – Up close, the Orange Lumo

We took a look at the three Orange handsets that were announced a few days back at MWC. Two of them, the Orange Lumo and the Orange Nivo, are made by Gigabyte, whilst the Orange Remo is made by Alcatel. First, let’s take a look at the Orange …

MWC – New Orange-branded handsets, hands on

Just a short while back we mentioned the three new Orange-branded phones that were about to hit the streets. With EE, Orange and T-Mobile getting into a new family unit now, we’re unsure whether these will appear in the UK but they will be offered out across other …

Samsung Galaxy S IV’s specifications leak

There is now less than two weeks until the grand unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy S IV in New York and despite Samsung’s usual tight lid on security the specifications have leaked out online. Seen on AnTuTu, the new flagship handset would appear to be powered by the …

Release your Phone with TU Go from O2

We live in a well connected world these days where you can instantly draw upon the the great search engine in sky for the answer to any question, watch videos of Shetland Ponies moonwalking and other such delights that the Internet can bring. Now while this is all …

Gemini Joytab Duo 7 3G – Extended Initial Impressions

What have we here? Well, the lovely people at Gemini have sent me their new Joytab Duo 7 3G for review. I’ve spent a few days playing with the device to a point that I have started to get a feel for its capabilities. You can see some …

HTC have done some research about widgets and apps

Android is popular partly because of the way you can set your homescreens up however you want. Be it a blur of icons and battery eating widgets or a minimal artistic vision of beauty. Either way it’s one of the attractions to the platform. HTC have been shipping …

Audioboo Android app has a revamp

Having relaunched their web platform earlier this year, social sound platform Audioboo have turned their attentions to their Android app. The app revamp means it now includes a more visually-appealing and easier to navigate user interface; it has options to download clips and listen to audio offline; the …

Pocket Casts 4 debuts on Android

It’s not often that you see an (non-Google) app launch on Android before iOS. However Shift Jelly have today released Version 4 of Pocket Casts for Android, with its iOS cousin nowhere in sight. And it’s a fairly dramatic update at that. Gone is the tired old iOS …

HTC One available to pre-order on Vodafone

Before I start, if you’re interested in this phone, watch our HTC One preview from earlier in the week. Every little bit of the phone was tested out and demonstrated here in Barcelona. Now the HTC One has popped up on the Vodafone site although, if you want …

Sony Xperia Z – Review

Sony have been producing some fantastic phones since they took over the Sony Ericsson brand and now just produce Sony smartphones.  There have been a few so far in the S, P, U and T which was last years flagship camera phone. Now Sony go a step further …

Sony Mobile store crashes after Xperia Z goes on sale

Now, bear with me here. I’m not getting any money from Sony for saying this, but the Xperia Z and Xperia Tablet Z are uttely gorgeous. The Tablet Z especially is a thing of wonder. So, I’m not all too surprised that the Sony Mobile store has just …

Win a HTC One V with Coolsmartphone

Over the next few weeks we’re running another massive competition to celebrate our 10 years only. In addition to the rather excellent RHA headphones competition (which ends tomorrow by the way) we’re now giving away three HTC One V handsets. The HTC One V has a 3.7″ screen, …

MWC – How good is the HTC One camera, really?

HTC have been extremely vocal about the camera capabilities of their latest flagship, the HTC One. Having had chance to get hold of the device this week and actually take some photos we decided it would be fun to compare against some other camera phones on the market. …

MWC – Cat reveal the B15, we go hands on

Big shiny yellow diggers. Trucks. Excavators. Say the name “Cat” or “Caterpillar” and you instantly think of their large machinery, but you may also think of their boots, shirts and now – phones. The new Cat B15 smartphone is here at Mobile World Congress and we were lucky …

MWC – Doro continue to grow, more simple smartphones on the way

Doro, like Fujitsu and their Stylistic S01, are pushing phones to elderly / senior customers. Is there room for two competing companies in this sector? Well yes, and it’s only going to get bigger. Doro tell me that some 80% of people aged over 65 now have access …

MWC – Exclusive photo of the Microsoft stand

The Microsoft stand this year took a very different appearance. It’s relatively small and carpeted, but has no logos, staff or products on display. The same can be said for the Android / Google stand, which is similarly sparse with a distinct lack of free drinks and snacks …