Category: General

Asus Nexus 7 Audio Dock – Review

Do you know that feeling when you just have to have something? Well during my time with the Nexus 7 I have experienced it three times. First of all when the damn thing came out. The thought of a Nexus branded tablet was too much for me and …

Three confirm 4G details – You won’t pay a penny more

4G is the hot topic in the UK this year. Bids are being placed for the required spectrum and everyone is looking out for the best deal possible. EE have had a head-start and they’ve launched 4G services already. However, with totally different price-plans which are pricier than …

Put it up: Vodafone gets signal in The Shard

It’s a common problem – you hit a certain floor and all of a sudden, you’re finding it hard to get signal on your phone. Imagine you’re in The Shard, the tallest non-natural structure in Western Europe. It’s a lovely sunny day (I did say use your imagination), …

3G spectrum refarming for LTE?

It was all so easy for the network operators this year. Everyone bar EE bids for spectrum and then they can roll out LTE. However, OFCOM has released a consultation paper that prospectively will allow the other operators to re-use their existing 900MHz, 1800MHz and 2100Mhz spectrum and …

Poetic Borderline Bumper – Nexus 4 case review

Like a few of the other writers on the team I was fortunate to get a Nexus 4 out of the second batch of shipments. Although I would love to use the phone naked I am paranoid that it may get scratched or worse. To resolve this I …

Pre order the Xperia Z on Three today

Three have this morning announced the highly awaited Xperia Z flagship phone is available to order on the network with a launch date of 28th Feb. There is also a competition to win one of three devices starting at 11am this morning! We’re running a twitter comp from …

Jeans made for your smartphone?!?! Sweet!

These are some pretty sweet jeans, I am not going to lie. They are not up there in techy coolness like clothing that has solar panels to charge your devices or circuitry to boost your cell phone signal, BUT, these are probably much sexier, at least the manufacturer …

Nexus 4 Charging Orb Spotted

Right you lucky people who are in possession of a Nexus 4, (THEY ARE CURRENTLY SHOWING AS IN STOCK ON THE PLAY STORE.) You know what it is like with the announcement of any official Nexus, there are a number of sexy accessories that are shown off at …

TVCatchup is now available for Windows Phone 8

TVCatchup has been around for a while on various other platforms. It basically allows you to watch live TV on your phone. Obviously it’s all down to the quality of your data connection as to how good it looks. It is for Windows Phone 8 users only which …

Apple, Google, it’s time to step it up! – Opinion

So that’s it, the last of the “big” players to reveal their hand has now done so and BlackBerry 10 has been launched with a big fanfare and a promise from all the major carriers to stock the handsets. BB10 devices are out there and ready to take …

EE 4G goes live in 9 more towns

EE have rolled out their premium 4G service to 9 more towns. If you are in Amersham, Bolton, Chelmsford, Hemel Hempstead, Southend-on-Sea, Stockport, Sunderland, Sutton Coldfield or Wolverhampton, you should now be able to access to EE’s 4G network. Apparently this means 45% of the UK population now …

How to try and steal someone’s thunder

Yesterday saw one of the biggest names in the mobile industry announce some seriously impressive stuff. New devices and a new OS. BlackBerry 10 is possibly RIM’s BlackBerry’s last chance to be current, competitive and profitable. They should be allowed their five minutes to say their piece and …

Movpower Portable Charger – Review

So on Tuesday we added a post about the Movpower 5200 Portable Charger. I decided to get one. There’s another version available but this baby has a capacity of 5200mAh. That’s quite a bit. The Samsung Galaxy Note has a 2500mAh battery, which is hefty enough, so this …

White Nexus 4 photos surface next to a nice cake

Want a Nexus 4 but don’t want the common old black version that everyone else has? Well, you may be in luck as it looks like there could be a white one on the way! Vietnamese tech site Tinh te has a series of photos which show a …

Android App Review – Podkicker Pro

For years people have sat around listening to others chat about a varied range of topics on the radio.  The invention of the podcast changed the way that many listen to such conversations  and gave us the ability to hear said recordings where and whenever we want. Of …

Deal – Anker dual port USB 10000mAh mobile charger

It was only yesterday the we posted details about a mobile battery pack, which quickly went out of stock and life went on as normal, well I was fishing around and I found this little bargain. Over at Amazon you can pick up one of these beauties. The …

PhatPad is now available for Windows 8 / RT

PhatPad has been around for a while on Android and iOS and it let’s you use a stylus or your finger to write on your tablet screen and it will convert your scribble into real words. This will really add a useful and practical use for Windows tablets …

Exclusive – O2 Pricing on BlackBerry Z10. Buy tomorrow

Tomorrow you’ll all hear about the new BlackBerry Z10. It’s a hotly anticipated phone but it’ll be appearing in shops straight away. We’re already hearing that Vodafone will be selling the device tomorrow here in the UK, but we’ve also got some exclusive information about O2. I’ve received …

Vodafone extend free WiFi on London Underground

Virgin Media’s free London Underground WiFi service ends today but those using Virgin, EE, Orange and T-Mobile can stay connected due to wholesale agreements announced in November. As we mentioned earlier, Vodafone have also struck a deal with Virgin Media too. They’ve jumped on the fact that free-to-all …

Snugg iPad Headrest Holder – Review

Picture the scene, you’re on a long car journey with one or two kids they’re sitting in the back, asking “Are we there yet?” You’re not. You’re no-where near. You’ve not even got off your drive yet and they’re already bored or fighting each other. How do you …

Flat battery? Nowhere near a charging point? Have a looksie at this

Have a look around you next time you’re at an airport. You’re bound to see someone in a suit hunting around for a power socket. Why? Well, sadly our modern gadgets don’t quite have that one-month battery life we’d all like. Whilst prepping for our yearly trip to …

RHA Announce the new MA150 earphones

It is nearly always advised if you are a music aficionado that you should replace the earphones supplied with your mobile phone with another more sonically pleasing pair. We have reviewed many here on Coolsmartphone, from brands such as Klipsch, House of Marley and RHA. It is from …

WhatsApp keeping address book details illegally?

WhatsApp is a wonderfully simple to use and hugely popular messaging app for pretty much any mobile phone platform. How many people who use it know that they maybe giving out other people’s private data, only for it to be stored on WhatsApp’s servers in a potential breach …

EE switch on visual voicemail for some customers

Do you have an iPhone 5 on the rather expensive 4GEE? Well, if you do, you can now benefit from the Visual Voicemail service. This might not seem like much but it has been a long awaited service for some and EE now have flicked the switch to …

Apple and the art of innovation [Opinion]

I’m going to start with a sentence that makes me wonder where time had gone. Was it really only three years ago yesterday that Steve Jobs announced a product that would ultimately change the way we communicate? The answer is, of course, yes. Like the iPhone, there were …

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 …

Free EE 4G SIM with one month free – Give it a try while you can

You’ve heard all the kerfuffle about the new 4G network from EE. You’ve seen Kevin Bacon walking around with his phone and you’ve checked the EE coverage maps. Now is your very last chance to give the network a spin for nothing. Right now, provided you’ve got a …

Liquid Glass Protection. That stuff really does work.

Come close my smartphone friends. If you’re one of those handsome, sexy, fantastic people who check this wonderful website every day you may remember this review of the Crystalusion Liquid Glass Protection thing. It protects your phone and adds a resistive layer of .. err.. “magic liquid” (that’s …

Is an iPad the right thing for your baby?

Perhaps I’m getting a little old or a bit “fuddy duddy”, but this seems a bit wrong to me. Sure, my four-year-old son plays with an iPad. We restrict his time with it because, along with a Nintendo, he can quickly get addicted. However, this Fisher Price product …

Lumia 620 price on Three revealed

Are you a fan of Windows Phone and are wanting to get the new mid range Lumia 620 made by Nokia? If Three are your preference then you’re in luck. Argos now have the Lumia 620 on PAYG for the price of £199.99 + £10 Topup and will …

VAVO Universal Kickstand – Video Review

I love Kickstarter, it’s a great website. Since I backed Pebble almost a year ago I have been backing other projects all over the place, I just can’t control myself. Someone in the same position as me described the Pebble as a gateway drug that fueled their addiction …

Power Jacket Case for iPhone 5 – Review

Regular listeners (and now viewers) of our podcast will know that I recently moved from a Galaxy Note 2 back to the iPhone 5.  I won’t go into the reasons why here, as it’s worth a good article on it’s own. On the whole, I’m happy with that …

Nokia Drive+ Beta now available on all Windows 8 phones

Nokia have announced their turn-by-turn navigation software, Drive+, is no longer a Lumia exclusive, and is available on all Windows 8 handsets in the US, UK, and Canada. It is specifically noted that the software is in Beta, so don’t expect perfection just yet (*cough* Apple maps *cough*). …

Get our very latest reviews

So, you’re already following us on Twitter, you watch our YouTube videos, read our feed and perhaps listen to our excellent weekly podcast too. Just what else could you want? Well, from now on you can see our latest reviews in the side-bar of the site. We’ve thrown …

Advertising now the most popular revenue model for apps – Report

Based on the answers of 3,400 developers across Europe, North America and Asia, the “Developer Economics” report offers some insights into what developers are after and what’s proving successful. Android and iOS are still the big hitters, with 72% of respondents developing for Android (up 4% from the …

Lookout Updated with new features

Mobile security specialists Lookout have today announced some new features for their award winning mobile security suite. The new features bring additional functionality to an already feature packed app. First on the list is a feature added to the free version, Lockcam. Lockcam offers the user the facility …