Category: Android

Nexus 5, get it cheaper if you’re quick

I don’t often “do” this whole Groupon thing but here’s a rather fine deal on the Google Nexus 5. If you buy it from Google direct you’ll be paying £299 for the 16GB version and then another £10 to have it delivered. Groupon, for the next few days …

Oppo Find 7 to launch on 19th March

Oppo, has today announced that it will be launching its Find 7 flagship smartphone on March 19 in Beijing. This is a little disappointing as it was originally rumoured that the device was going to be released during Mobile World Congress this month. The Find 7 follows in …

New features added to Google Now

Are you a user of Google Now ? I’ve got to admit I wasn’t but that’s definitely changing. With every update to the app, the functionality just keeps getting better. In the previous update we got the UK voice option to say “OK Google” to launch the search …

Are Samsung releasing two variants of the S5 ?

If you have been living in a cave with your eyes shut and your fingers in your ears, you won’t be aware of the upcoming Mobile World Congress, which kicks off at the end of the month. Mobile phone giant Samsung have the “Unpacked 5” event on Feb …

Tech 21 Screen Protector unboxing and application

Here we have something that will mess with your head a bit. Tech 21 have now started making screen protectors. They integrate the same tech used in bullet-proof glass. This will help protect your phone from a direct blow and there’s also a self-healing layer to protect against …

Nokia to release Android phone at MWC

According to the Wall Street Journal, Nokia will be releasing an Android phone at MWC. Yes, Nokia: manufacturer of Windows Phones, owned by Microsoft and competitor of Google. Why on Earth, then, would it release an Android phone? Well, there’s a lot more sense to it than it …

The Flappy Bird saga. Why remove it?

Where do I start really? This is a game that got people talking. Sure, it didn’t always gain positive comments, but it lit the social media candle and soon turned into a bonfire. It’s become the most popular app so far this year, but has now been taken …

Lenovo Yoga Tablet 8 – first impressions review

The Lenovo Yoga Tablet 8 has something that isn’t very abundant in the Android tablet world: innovation. OK, the design may look like an Apple Mac keyboard, but it makes for an interesting, and often pleasant, user experience. Good Design Build quality Some of the Lenovo software MicroSD …

Sony Z1 Compact arriving at Three

Three have just posted one of their hands-on videos featuring the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact. This smaller Z1 is not a ‘mini’ by any means as it packs the same processor,  memory and amazing 20.7 megapixel camera the older Z1 did. The only differences are a 720p screen …

HTC to push out more affordable phones

The company that brought us the Orange SPV, Desire, Hero and Wildfire is having a few money issues at the moment. HTC, until fairly recently, had a huge range of phones and pretty much everyone owned one or knew someone that did. Last year we saw a big …

HTC M8 – More blurry-leaks

Another day, another leak. That HTC M8, which looks a lot like the HTC One, has appeared once more and it seems that it was indeed an additional camera we saw ealier. This up-close super-blurry shot shows the additional camera, which we assume is either designed to do …

LG to announce the G Pro 2 before MWC?

Whilst everyone seems to be keeping their power dry and holding off on any announcements until MWC at the end of the month, LG seem eager to share their latest handset to the world. The G Pro 2 has leaked all over the place, and now the Korean …

Nokia and HTC agree patent collaboration

After spending the last few years slinging mud at each other in various court rooms around the world resulting in injunctions against the sale of the HTC One mini, which was then revoked, Nokia and HTC seem to have made up. The One mini seemed to be what …

Samsung Galaxy S4 and S4 mini to arrive soon in black

The Samsung Galaxy S4 or the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini. Which one do you go for? Well, if you’ve read our reviews and have made you mind up, here’s a curve ball, because Samsung have announced that both deices will now be available in black. To be honest, …

Samsung Galaxy S4 deal on EE – Check before you buy

After a recent visit to the health food shop (Greggs), I passed this advert for the Samsung Galaxy S4 on EE 4G. Straight from the word go, it looks like a great offer. The “No Brainer” deal offers up the Samsung Galaxy S4 for just £18.99 per month. …

Alert! We’ve got your ideal Valentine presents!

Help me. Help me now. I’m getting emails from companies stating that an Amazon Kindle is an ideal present for your girlfriend or wife this Valentines Day. If I gave a flippin’ Amazon Kindle to my wife it would probably get inserted into my person somewhere. But, if …

Sony ditches Vaio and pushes ahead with mobile

If you see me running around Mobile World Congress in Barcelona you’ll no doubt notice my rather battered Sony Vaio. The Vaio laptop has been my brand of choice over the years, but today Sony have annouced that it’ll sell their PC business and put everything into smartphones …

O2 Match day App Review

During this time of year we all like to snuggle down into our slankets and watch 30 overgrown men (I use the term in the loosest possibe sense) beat each other up on a grassy pitch at the weekend. No I am not talking about a trip to Glasgow …

Moto G now available on Vodafone for £100

A month ago we reported that the Motorola Moto G would shortly be coming to Vodafone and it would be costing less than £100.   We have now had word that it is available at the price of just £100 when bought with a £10 top-up or “Freedom …

Buy ye olde HTC Wildfire for 50 gold pennies

Has it really been three and a half years since the HTC Wildfire first became available? Ah, I still remember those heady days. HTC handsets were everywhere and I still had hair. Fun times. “Bargain Crazy” (who are part of Littlewoods Catalogues) seem to have found a dusty …

More ways to watch TV on your device

Available for both iOS and Android, “TV Player” is competing directly with the CatchupTV app we’ve covered here previously. As with most streaming apps, the data usage when you’re not hooked into a WiFi hotspot can get a little high, so be careful if you’re not on an …

Another leaked image of the HTC M8

Mobile World Congress is getting closer by the day, so it’s not surprising to see more leaked photos of hot new devices. This is the rear of the HTC M8 according to the tipster, and as you can see its very similar to the HTC One that it …

LG G Pad 8.3 – Less than £200

I’ve had a looksie around the interwebs and this seems to be the best price on the LG G Pad 8.3 currently. Expansys have knocked it down to £199.99, which includes free delivery. The tablet was £224.99 and has a 1.7 GHz quad-core CPU, 1920×1200 WUXGA 273ppi screen …

Red Nexus 5 now on sale via Google

So, as expected, the red version of the Nexus 5 has been announced today. LG and Google have just given us details of the new colour and, if you’re in a lucky country, you can purchase one right now from Google Play. The same specifications apply, you still …

LG G Pro 2 to feature OIS and 4K video.

LG is to unveil it’s flagship device – the LG G Pro 2 – at Mobile World Congress. Details of the devices camera and video capabilities have been also revealed. On the photo front the camera will have OIS Plus, which is believed to create clearer shots and …

Flappy Bird – Is anger the key to success?

To be honest I was in two minds about whether to post this on my personal blog or here. Somehow it’s ended up here. It’s because I have a problem with FlappyBird. I know, I know. You’re all mentally swearing at the screen right now. I’ve played the …

Samsung Galaxy S5 launch date seemingly confirmed

It seems like only days away now.  We’ll soon be packing up the Coolsmartphone Camper and heading out to Barcelona for our usual unique coverage of Mobile World Congress. It’s the event where we’ll see stacks of new handsets, gadgets, accessories, solutions and apps for the first time. …

Chromecast open to all

Since the launch of Google Chromecast there’s been the promise that it would be open to all developers instead of the few it’s been since launch. Today is the day they do just that. The documentation is now open over on the Google Developers . Developers do need …

Red Nexus 5 on show, launch tomorrow

Sure, you like the Google Nexus 5, but deep down you have a yearning to get one in Ferrari-red. What do you do? Easy, you just need to wait a while, because tomorrow the lady in red will be announced by Google and LG. Leaked shots have been …

The Oppo N1 horror story concludes

Last week we reported on episode 1 of The Killer’s House, a web drama starring the Oppo N1 as one of the main plot features. Well, episode 2 is now available to stream. In this concluding part we find that the suspected killer is aided by his manipulative …

Nillkin Fresh LG G2 flip case – Review

To get the best from a flip case on the LG G2 you need one with a window in. The Nillkin Fresh series of cases aims to emulate the genuine LG case at a fraction of the cost. The reason I say that you need a window in …

£80 Off the Moto X at Clove

Remember the excitement when we heard that the Moto X was heading here to the UK? Remember the disappointment when we heard the release date price for the device was £380? Everyone compared the Moto X to Nexus 5 which was, at the time, a whopping £80 cheaper. …

Inq Mobile bites the dust

Digging through the Coolsmartphone archives, I can see that our last mention of an Inq Mobile handset was back in 2011. It’s been more than a little quiet since then. The Inq Cloud Touch had a 5 megapixel camera and 320×480 pixel screen. It was available on Three …

Amazon giving away £18 worth of apps

Are you a user of Amazon’s own app store ? Well if your a Kindle fire user yes, but what about everyone else ? Did you know that Amazon give away a free app everyday ? Normally these free apps are “up and coming” apps but occasionally Amazon …

Golfers to enjoy a full guide to Tenerife

With mainstream news getting more and more insane each day, I spent most of yesterday with my head in a bucket wearing nothing more than a kilt. Justin Bieber? On Radio 4? Are you all mental? Then some gleeful news-reader is telling me that January is / was …

Windows Phone jumps a percentage point in latest figure

Canalys have released their latest figures and, according to their stats, 998 million smartphones were shipped in 2013. Year-on-year that’s a 44% increase and pretty much matches the numbers that came from IDC but here it’s the breakdown that’s interesting. Microsoft saw their Windows Phone platform gain one …

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact lands in store

The Sony Xperia Z1 Compact (to give it its full name) has arrived on our shores. We’ve had info from O2 that they will be stocking it in its full technicolour rainbow of options. It’ll be be free from £32 per month on the Refresh plan. If you …

Lenovo buy Motorola mobility! (Update)

Now and again you come across some crazy news on the internet and today is one of those times. Lenovo are apparently in the final stages of buying the Google owned Motorola mobility for $2.9 Billion having bought it for $12.5 Billion in 2011. On the face of …

Blackberry 10 OS updated, includes direct loading Android apps

Blackberry have today begun to roll out their updates to Blackberry 10 OS to bring it to 10.2.1. This brings with it a number of advantages and new options including: Video Call has the new call screen FM Radio (Only Q10, Q5, Z30.. Z10 does not support this) …