Category: Android

WhatsApp grabs one billion users

Well, personal experience already led me to think that WhatsApp was becoming pretty commonplace, but now we’ve got the figures to back it up. The messaging app now has one billion users sharing 42 billion messages per day, 1.6 billion photos and 250 million videos.   To get an …

Got a HTC One M8 mate? You could be getting Marshmallow soon

We’re hearing on the grapevine (or, rather, via you lot on our contact page), that the HTC One M8 is starting to get some hot Marshmallow action right now. Not only that, but we’ve also got unconfirmed reports that the newer HTC One M9 is receiving the Android …

Mobile Phone sales compared for 2015/6

In the last week or so we’ve seen a number of different companies release their 2015 sales figures.  Any guesses who was the highest selling manufacturer of 2015??  Read on and all shall be revealed… Perhaps the biggest, or at least most cited, story last week was the …

Moto X Force – Unboxing

Today is an exciting day. I have received a new phone to review. One that comes with a very bold claim. It apparently has a shatterproof screen. Yes, I’m talking about the new Moto X Force. This is a phone that, at first glance, looks unassuming and mild-mannered. However, …

Two LG Flagships in 2016?

Mobile World Congress is drawing closer and the inevitable rumour mill starts picking up pace. Also at this time of the year though we get a variety of figures from the companies regarding revenue and profits for the preceding year. Apples figures are eagerly awaited (even the BBC …

Vinsic wireless charger review

I love the idea of wireless charging. Part of the reason that I’ve had an LG G3 for so long is because I’m now so used to dropping it on a charging plate or into a holder in the car and really not worrying about wires. This, then, …

2 types of One? – HTC One M10 leak

We are only a few weeks away from MWC, probably the biggest event in the smartphone calendar. There are many big flagships devices that are expected to be announced, the Galaxy S7, the LG G5 and the new HTC One amongst the others. Its at this stage that …

Google updates its Now Weather app

To be honest, Google Now just sits in the background of my phone, and it’s one of those features I forget is even there sometimes. Until I get a notification that is, and realise what a really useful app it is. Well, Google has announced that the company has …

Honor Meetup in Nottingham, come on down!

Just a short while ago we had an excellent author, editor, podcast creator and general phone guru writing for us. You may remember him. He goes by the name of James Pearce and sadly only managed to write 1,707 articles before the boys at Honor went and offered …

Giving your business cheaper calls with a professional edge

If you’re prepared to do a bit of work then getting cheap calls is relatively easy. There’s a range of solutions if you have a mobile handset, and when you’ve got an internet connection then everything becomes either extremely cheap or totally free. Having a call package with …

Android or iPhone for gaming?

Mobile gaming is an industry that is growing stronger each year with increased revenues every quarter. Whether you are playing an online game or an online casino (온라인 카지노) having the right mobile phone can make a difference in enjoying the game or not. Check our list of …

Saygus V2 coming any day now

Last year, as you can see below, we got to speak with Saygus about their new V2 handset. Tim Rush, their VP of Public Relations, showed me their engineering samples as they sought to create a really high-end phone for the slightly more geeky customer, like myself. Packing …

Vodafone Tab speed 6 available for just £125

   Finding a good, cheap Android tablet can be a hit-and-miss affair at times, but we’re lucky in the sense that we already have one of these newly-announced Vodafone Tab speed 6 tablets right here, and you can read our thoughts on it tomorrow when the review goes …

Heard it on the grapevine. The Huawei P9, won’t you be mine.

Chinese phone manufacturer Huawei (which is the parent company of the Honor brand) continues its stride and for world dominance (in the phone world that it is), with the company’s latest device – the P9. Leaks now contain further detail, including pictures and information on a “Lite” and …

Oppo release the F1

ohere at the mighty Coolsmartphone a number of us have had Oppo devices. Generally they are well received (just have a search through the site to see how much interest this manufacturer has generated). Oppo have now announced a new device – the F1. If the specs and …

TinyScanner – An app I think is just brilliant

Whether it be Android or Apple, I absolutely love TinyScanner. I’ve used it before, but lately I’ve had to send a load of paperwork to a solicitor (for very boring house-related reasons) and, well, it’s a right old pain in the backside. “You can fax them across”, says …

WhatsApp becomes free a FreeApp

This is a messaging app which has become hugely successful. Most have installed it without considering the tiny cost which is levied after a year of use. Even with that cost, it’s still way cheaper than sending video and pictures through MMS. Now the owners of WhatsApp, a …

Goodbye Moto G and E

Here at Coolsmartphone we universally loved the Moto G. It was our go-to phone when we were asked “What’s a decent inexpensive Android phone ?” I think that all of us here have owned at least one. Well yesterday Chen Xudong, Lenovo’s Mobile head honcho, was interviewed and we …

How to – Download music videos as audio files

I’ve posted about this before, but I do get asked quite a bit and I’m really tired of people telling me that it’s strictly “not legal”. In truth, it probably isn’t if you’re using it to download copyrighted music, but then again so many people know about this …

13 More malicious apps removed from Google Play

We reported late last year the ever increasing malicious applications appearing on the Google Play application store. Google removed 13 applications which appeared in the store as games however they were able to execute unauthorised commands and code which was difficult to remove. The games contained malware similar to …

Something about the new Star Wars movie and BB8 ringtones

Warning – Someone told us that there were some Star Wars BB8 iPhone ringtones available to download (plus the Android ones here). That’s all there is to it really, but we couldn’t really write a news post that was just one paragraph, so I was asked to “pad …

So long Moto..rola

It’s a brand which is well known here in the UK. I’m sure we still have the “Hello Moto” tagline stuck in our head, even though Motorola Mobility has been under the control of Lenovo for a while now. It’s been announced that the full Motorola name will …

Looking for a Forex app?

I know, I know. You probably haven’t heard too much about it, but Forex does indeed have a following all over the world. In fact, its popularity in the last decade has soared. For me it’s accessible, flexible and exciting. What is it though? It’s basically the foreign exchange market (forex, …

CES – Huawei Watch range expanded

Huawei has announced that they will be expanding their Watch range with two new models. These have been designed for the fairer sex or those who have skinny wrists – i.e. me! The new watches do add an element of glamour to the proceedings with some bedazzling ornamentation. The …

Huawei launch the Mate 8 Globally – CES

Huawei has been busy at CES this year. They released two new variants of their Watch aimed specifically at the female market, and aficionados of  “Mockadile” (this should keep our resident Pixel Density Enthusiast editor Matteo happy). Huawei also unveiled an update to their tablet lineup in the …

Samsung Gear 2 gets some bling!

Samsung have announced an expansion of the Gear 2 wearable range. They two new editions of the Gear S2 classic, one encased in 18K Rose Gold and another in Platinum, offering people diverse options to express and match their style while highlighting its circular design and advanced functionality. Samsung have …

Nexus 6P now in gold

Cast your mind back dear reader to last year. To a time when the pre-release leaks of Google’s next flagship device(s) were hitting the interwebs. Included in those pictures was a Nexus 6P in an awful gold option. Luckily though it wasn’t among the colour options offered when …

Samsung Electronics Announces Portable SSD T3

Samsung Electronics have launched a new series of portable SSD drives ranging from 250GB to 2TB. The drives are equipped with Samsung’s proprietary Vertical NAND (V-NAND) and SSD TurboWrite technology. “Following the successful worldwide launch of the Portable SSD T1 in 2015, we made several significant upgrades to …

ASUS ZenFone Zoom finally launching in February

Last year at CES 2015 Asus announced a new smartphone that will “redefine your expectations of smartphone photography”. The ZenFone Zoom ran Android 5.X Lollipop and should offer some great photo capabilities. The closest the Coolsmartphone team came to it was the device in a glass display case, and it wasn’t powered …

Gone in 60 Seconds…. the Xiaomi Mi Pad 2

The eagle-eared amongst may have heard our Matteo mention (during our monster End-of-the-Year Awards Podcast) that his “Tablet of the Year “was the “Xiaomi Mi Pad 2”. This was a metal-clad, QHD screen-toting device that was released in China earlier in the year. At 7.9 inches, and with a spec …

Archos release a bevy of phones in Vegas – CES

CES has kicked off in the Nevada Desert and Archos have been hot to trot in announcing their new handsets to the coming few months. They have actually announced a few phones as part of the new ranges – the Power and Cobalt line. In the Power line …

Acer at CES 2016

Well aren’t we being busy Acer? Acer is announcing a slew of devices at CES 2016 in Las Vegas. These include a new tablet, some new laptops, a smartphone and a Chromebook. The press releases are making the rounds on the internet. If on the other hand you …

Vodafone bag the exclusive on the deep garnet HTC One A9

I had to paint our hallway recently. Trying to choose paint is always a difficult process. There’s usually a thousand different versions of “beige” with crazy names like “harvest dawn”, “straw mocha” or “Oxford stone”. Now, in 2016, I’m getting information about a phone which is “Deep Garnet”. …

Lenovo K4 Note Teasers

Lenovo, the parent company of Lenovorola Motorola, have been teasing their upcoming release of the K4 Note quite a lot recently. The K4 Note is the successor to the popular Lenovo K3 Note, which sits in the same market segment as the Meizu M1/M2 Note and the Xiaomi …

Remix Mini – Review

Mini PC’s are quite the thing at the moment and seem to be popping up everywhere. Now for a while, these were nothing more than Netbook components being shoved into a small box. However, with the recent developments in Android and, to a lesser extent Chrome, there has …

Honor 7 4G UK – Boxing Day Bargain

We’re all feeling far too fat. There’s still boxes of chocolates everywhere and for breakfast we had turkey on toast. Still, despite the fact that we should probably all be relaxing, loads of you will be out in the sales to finally demolish any remaining allowance you had …

Coolsmartphone Awards 2015 and Podcast

Welcome to the Coolsmartphone Award Ceremony and Podcast, coming to you, prerecorded from Coolsmartphone Towers. Our team of experts got together yesterday and decided on the best and worst bits of 2015 in order to entertain you and reward/shame those responsible. As with all good awards ceremonies we’re …