Category: Handsets (General)

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 …

MWC – Nokia wireless car charger hands on

As well as four new devices, Nokia also unveiled some accessories to complement the Lumia range. One of these is the Nokia wireless car charger. When docked in the charger, as well as charging the phone wirelessly, the charger can also open a default application (for example, Nokia …

Go hands-on with the HTC One, only at Phones 4U

Are you in London? Fancy playing with the shiny new HTC One announced only hours ago? Well, we have just the thing for you. Phones 4U have teamed up with HTC to transform it’s flagship Oxford Street store in London into a ‘HTC Experience’ zone where, until the …

BlackBerry Z10 – Initial Impressions

The BlackBerry is one of those phenomena that have totally passed me by. I have never used one, touched one or even within about 4’ of one. So when the whole world erupted with excitement a few weeks ago with the arrival of BB10 and the new flagship …

Nokia Lumia 620 – Review

For some reason whenever I get a “budget” or “entry level” phone I always expect great things. Somewhere along the line my brain just can’t compute that something that costs about £200 isn’t always going to be astounding. I think it is the various amazing budget devices that we’ve seen in …

LG sells an Optimus L Series phone every second

Last week LG announced that they would be updating their Optimus L Series of budget Android smartphones, citing their worldwide popularity as the reason for the investment. I have to admit that I was surprised in December when LG announced sales of 10 million L Series handsets. After …

The new iPhone runs Android

There’s a new iPhone in Brazil, but this one doesn’t use iTunes, FaceTime and have an AppStore… instead this iPhone runs Android software and we’re sure Apple aren’t too happy about it. So how did this Android iPhone come about? Well Brazilian company Gradiente Eletronica registered the name …

Vertu Ti revealed: prepare to weep at the price tag

The Vertu Ti has been revealed today and whilst the smartphone looks like the Ferrari of the mobile world, it’ll actually cost you the price of  a small car to own it. To be exact, the Vertu Ti has a starting price of a whopping £6,700 and for …

BT want to help block those unwanted calls

Picture the scene, you’re sat at the dinner table just about to tuck in to that delicious roast and the phone rings! The display reads ‘International’ or ‘Withheld’, great… Yep we all get them and we all feel the same way, what a nuisance. Well BT have come to …

NEW iOS 6 Jailbreak…super easy, ONE click!

It is pretty darn rare that you will see me post anything positive about the iPhone. BUT, this little bit of news is rather cool and it can help make that locked down, non-customizable, lack of features, iPhone of yours a little cooler and more functional. All you …

Huawei to release a variant of the W1 Windows Phone in Africa

Huawei the Chinese telecom giant has today announced, that in partnership with Mircosoft that a customised windows device is to be launched as part of its new 4Afrika Initiative. Plans include developing a  cheap wireless broadband in the Rift Valley in Kenya and help local people in South Africa and Egypt …

Samsung announce two low cost phones

  Samsung has announced two low cost Android powered smart phones. These being the 3.5 inch screen Galaxy Frame and the 3.3 inch Galaxy Young, both of the handsets you will agree have a strong resemblance to the Galaxy S3 and the Note 2. We previously heard about the Galaxy …

My Windows Phone experiment

I’ve been a Windows Phone user for a good few years now, It all started off with a Dell Venue Pro, then a Nokia Lumia 800, then an HTC Titan, then my current favourite the HTC 8X, then briefly an HTC 8S and then most recently a Nokia …

Samsung Galaxy S4 to offer wireless charging, leak suggests

Wireless charging could be front and centre on the Samsung Galaxy S4, reports suggest, as details about the next Galaxy S-branded kit continue to circulate ahead of its expected launch later this year. According to Korean site D Daily, S4 owners will be able to charge their handset’s …

Sony Xperia Z hands on

Interested in the forthcoming Sony Xperia Z? It’s water resistant and comes with a 13 megapixel camera and 5″ 1080p screen. It’s all looking like a rather attractive package. Below is a hands on video, which Clove have put together, the device is expected to be on sale in the …

My 2013 wishlist – Khellan

Continuing the theme of our wishlists for 2013 here is my list of things I’d like to see in then next few months. 1. This is easy. Its at the top of the list: battery life. I’m really tired of being given decent handsets that don’t last the …

Ubuntu for Phones announced

Remember the countdown timer on the Ubuntu site yesterday? Well, today we found out what it meant – Ubuntu is coming to a smartphone near you. Initially released for the Galaxy Nexus, the new operating system promises features such as ‘one search to rule them all’ and looks …

Zagg Invisible Shield Screen Protector review

Phone protection…. there’s two schools of thought regarding this. Some people like to put their phone in a nice protective case, while others like to keep their phone naked. I like the middle ground. A slim bumper case and a screen protector. I know the sales man in …

Rogers: RIM touchscreen preorders now up

It won’t even be officially announced until the end of January, but preorders are already up for BB10 devices. Unfortunately for us in Blighty, its for the Rogers network in Canada, so they’re likely to be the CDMA variant of the handset, but at least there’s one network …

More Sony Yuga photos appear online

Following on from our previous article Mobile-review.com have a set of images of the new Sony Yuga, rumoured to be making an appearance at CES in January. The device has some rather crazy specs, a 3ghz processor, 128gb of storage, and a 16MP camera to name a few. It looks …

What is going on with the Nexus 4? *Updated*

Since the Nexus 4 became available and then promptly sold out on the Play store a few weeks ago, thousands of customers have been waiting for their orders to be delivered and even more have been waiting just for the opportunity to place an order. Anyone who listened …

Anecdote: The most ill-informed man in the world

Working in retail store for a network is quite possibly the best way to meet ill-informed people, most of the time this mis-information is minor and forgivable such as calling a BlackBerry a Blueberry or asking if we stock the HTC as if there is only one. Now …

Jellybean Update for Motorola RAZR i on the way

By far the biggest bone of contention for most Android handset owners is the lack of updates or the lack of information regarding updates. Many manufacturers have a page that details which devices will be receiving updates with a rough approximation of when they will arrive.  Motorola is no …

LG Nexus 4 – Initial Impressions

Having finally got my hands on a Nexus 4 yesterday (massive thanks to Dan!) I wanted to write down some quick first impressions before I do a full review. Screen Wow! What an upgrade. So much sharper than the Gnex. Everything looks crystal clear. The improvement is just …

Will.i.am iPhone camera add-on – more details revealed

If you happen to be drinking tea whilst you’re reading this.. I’d stop now. It may end up all over your monitor. As we reported a few days ago Will.i.am has shed some more light on the iPhone camera attachment. There are two models, a contemporary (named C.4) version …

Will.i.am announces iPhone camera add-on

Yes, Will.i.am – famed for the Black Eyed Peas and persuading Mick Jagger to appear in that god awful song about getting hard and going home… or something. It seems the iPhone 4S and 5 having one of the better cameras in the smartphone world, is not enough. …

Samsung Ativ S to hit Vodafone courtesy of Phones4U

A lot of us have been waiting for a chance to check out the new hotness that should be Windows Phone and now we’re one step closer. Phones4U has the Samsung Ativ S up on its coming soon page. Having a quick look around on the site, the …

Are us Brits obsessed with mobile devices?

Well a recent survey commissioned by Storage Options seems to suggest that yes we are obsessed. The results certainly do make for some interesting reading. Such as: · 57% use mobile devices in bed and 40% use them on the toilet · 45% say they can ‘never switch off’ …

Sony Xperia S ASOP being taken over by Sony engineers

Some of you may have been aware that Sony have been busily working away with Google to try and develop the Xperia S as a quasi Nexus device for developers to tinker with. Well there has been some good news from the Sony camp as they have got …

1.2 Billion sales predicted for Smartphones and Tablets in 2013

Yes, you read that correct…it says ‘billion’. That’s a heck of a lot of devices to be purchased; and to think we at CoolSmartPhone will only account for approximately 50% of that! Let’s get serious for a second. The figure of 1.2 billion smart devices being sold in …

£55 Handset designed for the more mature user

  Every one of us either has an elderly relative, friend or knows someone of a more mature persuasion. Whilst many of the elderly are embracing the growing mobile technology, there are those that either can’t or won’t be able to get along with the latest and greatest …

Samsung Galaxy SIII tops 30 million sales

Samsung Poland have tweeted the Galaxy S3 model has surpassed sales of 30 million units. The post shows some of the Samsung team celebrating. Considering the device has only been on sale for approximately five months, that is an amazing achievement. Whilst it’s obviously more expensive  the iPhone 5 …

O2 ‘capitalise’ on the inexpensive Nexus 4

The Nexus 4 is due in just a short couple of weeks. You may also have read that O2 have exclusivity on the contract side of things for one month. You’d expect a handset that starts at £239 sim free to come fairly cheaply on contract, right? Well, …

Nexus 4 user guide published ahead of Google event

We won’t lie. Sometimes you get it wrong, but sometimes, you get it right – and releasing the user manual of the LG E960 aka the Google Nexus 4 before the phone has been announced can be taken as a little of both. Right for us, anyway. The …

LG Optimus G previewed on YouTube

It’s not quite the next rumoured pure Google variant after the Galaxy Nexus, but the full manufacturer version currently called the LG Optimus G which you can now see on YouTube. There’s an almost marmite-level contrast of opinions on this phone from our team. Some of our team …

Time to steal the time? Apple borrows Swiss Clock’s image [updated]

There’s been a lot of interpretation of Steve Jobs when he referenced Picasso and his quote of “good artists copy, great artists steal”. Its been discussed before on our podcast (which by now most of you are listening to), and the general sentiment is that Jobs meant take …

Genuine Apple Lightning cables – coming soon

Got a shiny new iPhone5?  Need to charge it at the office? Then you’ll need one of these.. The lovely people at Mobilefun have contacted us to let us know they will have official Apple Lightning Cables in stock next week (expected Tuesday / Wednesday) For more information …

Bond Phone Ad appears online

It is fair to say that here at Coolsmartphone we are a little bit excited about the new Bond Phone or as it more widely know the Xperia T. Today has seen the first Advert that has been focused on the Xperia T launch  it has been made in …

But how much? T-Mobile 4G confusion

As I’m due for an upgrade on T-Mobile, I started taking a look at the new LTE phones. Once you get to the T-Mobile site, I drilled into the handset details to find what the differences are –  and even if there actually are any between the Samsung …