Category: General

Huawei Ascend P2 now at Three

Three have just sent out a press release confirming the new Huawei Ascend P2 is now on sale here in the UK We got hands on the P2 at MWC this year and were very impressed with the design but we’re unable to test the superfast networking due …

Otterbox Commuter Punked case for the HTC One – Review

Another month and another Otterbox case it is for me, I just can’t help myself. I get an expensive phone, I just want to look after it from then on in. Which in my world means buying an Otterbox case. So onto the review, starting with a few …

Vodafone use clever tracking technology to help save the planet

Down in Newbury 30 acres of land is occupied by Vodafone. Their space-age HQ is simply massive and there’s an F1 car on display outside. Inside there’s information boards which constantly update to show how many calls and texts have been sent over the network and staff are …

Android App Review – LatteScreen by AppDisco

I’m always up for making a few quid, given today’s economical climate, and all that.  So when Leigh told me of an app that makes you rich, I jumped at the chance to review it.  Wahey – who doesn’t like the sound of that?  Just unlock your phone, …

Exterminate Undead Vermin today on Android

I love the old female cowboy zombie killing genre of games. This latest game that has been released today fits right into that genre luckily, you take on the role of the female cowboy zombie killer, armed with only some guns and your heels. It might not sound …

The Sony Xperia SP is now available on Three

Three have just announced that the Xperia SP which we reviewed the other week here. The Sony Xperia SP is available for £26 a month with no upfront cost on the Ultimate Internet 500 plan and for £29 a month with no upfront cost on The One Plan. Both …

Let’s go Funkyfast

Three are now branding their dual-channel HSDPA as something different. Something new. Something exciting. Sure, while EE are calling their 4G network “superfast”, Three call theirs “ultrafast”. So what’s better? Ultrafast or Superfast? Well, I’m not totally sure, but I somehow want to create a network myself and …

Three launch a new SIM-only data plan, but we’re not happy

I’ve got a SIM card here from Three. It’s on the SIM Zero plan which the network doesn’t actually do any longer. For £5 I get 2GB of data per month. Sure, I don’t get any calls or texts included, but for my tablet or secondary smartphone it’s …

The HTC Phablet rumour that just won’t go away

We thrive on rumours and leaks these days, I can’t sleep some days until I’ve read what someone somewhere thinks some company might release at some point soon. Sometimes though @evleaks on Twitter is involved things are a little different, things are a little more real. So when …

EU looking to make roaming charges history

We all know that using a phone abroad can be very expensive especially for data. There may be hope on the horizon though thanks to this woman. This is Neelie Kroes and she is the European Commissioner for Digital Agenda. With EU roaming charges already set to drop …

S4 Mini coming to Three

Three have just uploaded a video to their YouTube channel with a hands on of the new Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini. It’s only just been announced, but Three have already confirmed that they will be taking it. The S4 Mini features a 4.3 inch screen, 1.7GHz Dual-Core processor, …

EE adds another 12 cities to 4G

Speed. Speed. I am speed. Yes, if you want to be the “Lightening McQueen” in the office then you could dress up and make “Vroom Vroom” noises or, instead, you could get some hard 4G action courtesy of EE. They have added a further 12 cities to their …

Twitter for Android hits version 4.1

Twitter are continuing their recent push to turn their Android app into something you’d actually want to use. With the 4.0 update, I actually switched to it as my go to Twitter app, and with 4.1 they’ve made it that little bit better.  The compose screen is actually …

Gmail update brings multiple inboxes

  In what is a fairly major update, Google have added multiple Inboxes to Gmail on the web and to its Gmail and iOS apps. The inboxes take the form of tabs, with categories for Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates and Forums. The idea is that bulk mail from …

Huawei Ascend W2 Windows Phone 8 press image leaks

The Huawei Ascend W2 has been a long time coming, but there’s now pictorial evidence to say that it’s imminent. Serial leaker @evleaks has posted a press render of the phone, which looks rather funky. It’s got the obligatory brightly coloured back, and standard Windows Phone layout, but …

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active and Zoom specs leak

With the success of the Galaxy S4, selling 10 million units since launch, Samsung didn’t really need to do much else but rather than rest on their laurels they are going after the tough phone market as well with the S4 Active. Whilst pictures of it leaked last …

HTC M4, Butterfly and T6 roadmap leaked by business analyst

If ever there was a business in need of an analyst it’s HTC right now. It seems that the one who’s taken on the role this time has a rather big gob and has leaked their plans for the next couple of quarters. She’s very positive though! Laura …

EE announce new 30 day 4G plans

EE have just announced new 30 day rolling SIM-only contracts here in the UK. The new plans will allow access to the 4G network without the long commitment. Customers can then try 4G to see how it works for them and sign up to a longer deal with …

OtterBox join the Samsung Electronics Mobile Application Partner Program

Otterbox make some pretty solid cases, I’ve bought no end for various phones that I wanted to protect. Today Otterbox have announced that they have become a member of SMAPP. That is short for Samsung Mobile Application Partner Program. That basically means that Samsung and Otterbox will be …

Huawei Ascend Mate video overview

Yesterday we took a look at the Ovivo Mobile offering. Grab a SIM card for £15 and they’ll dish up 150 minutes, 200 texts and 500MB data on their Freedom Plan and you pay a big fat nothing per month. When you’re browsing you get an advert pop …

My choice of apps – Android Edition #4

Although I technically use three different operating systems, long before Android was a powerhouse, I ended up going all in with Google. This means it both helps and hinders when it comes to picking my five favourite apps that I always install. 1. SwiftKey As it’s so easy …

For some, it’s never inappropriate to use a phone

We’ve had an email from Co-operative Funeralcare. I couldn’t quite figure out how their services related to the smartphone world, but it turns out that they did have something quite interesting for us. They’ve conducted research which actually shows that up to one in six people have either …

This Call May Be Recorded

For training purposes or just to be generally nosey….. Here at Coolsmartphone we’ve been contacted by copluk. They wanted us to review their call recording app – “Free Call Recorder – ACR“. It is available for free from the Play Store, then you have the option to pay …

Ovivo on test, just how does £0 per month actually work?

During our continuing look at virtual network operators, we featured Ovivo. They operate on the Vodafone backbone and have a rather unique proposition which has just been boosted with an extra data allowance. It’s simple really. You buy an unlocked phone, then you pay £15 for one of …

First Tizen handset to be unveiled today

You may not have heard of Tizen, but you should take notice, because it could well be coming to a phone near you soon. Tizen is a new(ish) open source mobile OS. Unlike Firefox and Sailfish this one has big backing, and could threaten the top four operating …

MOGA mobile gaming controller released in UK

There have been several solutions to getting a proper game controller to work with mobile devices; most have been pants. The MOGA is the latest player on the block, and it’s now available for pre-order in the UK (with a provisional release date of 14th June). There are …

Confirmed – HTC First UK launch cancelled

Over a week ago we reported that the HTC Facebook phone – the “First” – had vanished from the “Coming Soon” section of the EE website. We reached out to EE about this and, at the time, they told us that they still intended to range the handset …

Had a big phone bill? It’s nothing compared to this, but..

You may have seen stories about the recent Orange customer who received a rather substantial bill. His Business Sense 1500 plan covered 10 phones and had bills of around £300 per month. Alan and Carolyn Mazkouri, from Swansea, have been with Orange for 15 years. However, one day …

Vodafone 4G launch gets pushed back

On Voda? Waiting for 4G? Looks like you’re going to wait longer. The network wanted to get the 4G network started up either this month or next, but now it has been pushed back until September. This is almost a year after EE turned on their 4G network …

Three dish up some cheap May deals

Fancy saving some money? Who doesn’t eh? Right now Three have chopped down the cost of the Sony Xperia T, Nokia Lumia 620 and Samsung Galaxy Ace. It’s purely for this month, but you can get all three on Pay As You Go and ther Xperia T is …

Are you heading to Skegness this bank holiday?

Bank holidays seem to make people gather in groups. Big groups around the country, be it country parks, beaches, the capital city or just down the pub. But where is our favourite place for the bank holiday? Well that’s quite a hard one to quantify, you’d need to …

MVNO Feature – Ovivo. Plans from £0 per month

Welcome back to our irregular look at the various MVNOs (virtual networks) here in the UK. You know what they say, you get nothing in this world for free. Well… perhaps from that nasty rash I had from that girl the once. Ooh.. But what about a free …

Flickr now offers 1 Terabyte of storage

Flickr the original photo sharing website has had a bit of an upgrade during the night, as part of Yahoo’s new direction Flickr has had a refresh and the main selling point here is a whole Terabyte of storage. That’s a whole lot of photos, Flickr have actually …

Jolla Sailfish phone is revealed

This afternoon Jolla are meant to be announcing the first Sailfish OS device and in true new phone style the details have already appeared online. The phone intriguingly is a phone with a replaceable backplate that changes the whole theme of the device. Interesting. At the moment it’s …

The OS that would never die: Sailfish floats keynote on 20th

Before Nokia went all in on Windows Phone to save itself from the burning platform it found itself on, it had pinned itself on another platform that was far too many years in the making: Maemo, which turned into MeeGo and after a long and winding road we …

One on a mountain top. Video call from Everest

A video call isn’t, despite what Apple might tell you, that special. I remember my mate showing me a 3G video call on the Three network a decade ago so being able to see the person you’re calling isn’t a big deal. Well, unless you’re on top of …

Review – Sumo Omni

I’m sitting outside right now. I’m sitting in the sunshine on a beanbag. It’s not something I do very often but I think I’ll start to make a habit of it. There’s a back-story to this though, and sadly it involves my rusty garden furniture getting thrown away. …

Get yourself some rather interesting covers

So, if you want a cover for your phone you could always have a cool, fashionable leather case or perhaps a nice pouch. Or… Or you could have one of these from Amazon. They are, it has to be said, a little weird. Want a phone cover featuring …

NEC Medias X: The First Smartphone With Liquid Cooling

Liquid cooling?  Old news matey.  Well for us PC Power Users (loving that term) who are always looking to make our PCs go faster than they’re originally make to do, at the price of heat (and the insides of your PCs don’t like getting all toasty).  Liquid cools …

Vodafone Smart III is now available

The Vodafone Smart range are at the budget end of the Smartphone market. Not everyone wants the latest and greatest device and not everyone wants to spend a whole load of cash each month either. That’s where the Smart III comes in with it’s basic spec and budget …