Category: Hardware Reviews
It’s here. The latest generation of the Nexus lineup, the Nexus 6. We have finally managed to get hold of one of these unobtainable devices by buying our own review unit. The device we have here is the 32GB model in blue. There has been much said about …
We’ve got a Nexus 6 into the testbed here at Coolsmartphone and whilst the review is ongoing we thought we would let you have a sneak peak. Well, it is the season of giving and all that jazz. 🙂 The game we have chosen is the old classic …
You’ll have probably noticed the Acer content this past weekend. We were lucky enough to get a hands on with a number of their devices and you’ll no doubt have read our overview of the Liquid Jade and the fitness band, the Liquid Leap. Whilst in Edinburgh I …
Acer have sent us to Edinburgh and have loaned us a number of devices – the Acer Liquid Leap (a fitness band), the Acer Liquid Jade (a shockingly slender smartphone), the Iconia Tab 8 and the device I’m using to type this out – the Aspire Switch 10. …
For so long Samsung fans have hoped to see a new phone with metal design instead of the traditional plastic material used on so many high value devices. And as if by magic we now have two – the Galaxy Alpha and the much larger Galaxy Note 4 …
Here we are folks, the long awaited Xperia Z3 Tablet Review. First things first, why has it taken so long to get this review done? It’s simple really. The first tablet developed a dead pixel line from top to bottom and needed to be replaced. I also decided …
The range of Lumia phones is rather expansive, there are a whole range of phones spanning from the lowly Lumia 520 through to the enourmous and powerful Lumia 1520. The 8xx series Lumia have always felt odd to me, the 820 was overshadowed by the cameras in the 920 …
It’s all the fault of Samsung.  We had a tablet market and a phone market with a rather clear distinction between the two.  Phones were small, tablets were large and in between we had the Dell Streak with its immense 5” screen that everyone looked at and said …
The original Android Wear devices were about showing the world what Android Wear was about, the initial lineup included the LG G Watch which I reviewed here, it was just a black square on my wrist that basically showed some pictures of watch faces on my wrist to trick …
Cast your mind back to January 2013 and you may remember the Huawei Ascend G330. It looked like this.. The moment I unboxed the Y550 it instantly reminded me of the G330 above. Sure, the Y550 is a bit bigger and has a larger screen (4.5″ on the …
Every once in a while a tablet comes along that you think is going to really up the ante and raise the bar. This is what I was hoping the Nexus 9 was going to be. Now is the time where we start to find out. Those of …
Motorola last year showed the world that you didn’t need to have the highest possible specs to create a really decent phone. Last year’s Moto X was behind the rest of the pack spec wise and it offered a really good package, this year’s model they’ve increased the …
Today we have a wealth of tablets in all shapes and sizes. You can choose between Windows 8, Android or iOS 8. There’s pretty much a flavour for anyone. I’m a fan of the smaller form factor and as a result I have swung toward the iPad Mini …
Budget Android tablet, those three words can sometimes strike fear into the heart of any reviewer handed one. Sometimes though those fears are just confounded. Sometimes a budget Android tablet can actually be really good. Before I spoil the rest of this review lets have a look at …
It’s here my very own brand new Nexus 9 32gb Wifi. I have been looking forward to this day for a wee while as I loved my Nexus 7 (2013) edition and it was in desperate need of a successor. I have been reviewing a lot of tablets …
What is the main sticking point when trying to use an Android device for productivity? Simple. The keyboard. Sure, an onscreen keyboard is great for short notes and maybe the odd email or two, but for me it’s not a replacement for a physical keyboard. Although we have …
I was recently invited to London to get hands on with some new devices made by HTC. The main device that everyone wanted to get their hands on was of course the Nexus 9 tablet. A tablet from HTC. This is something we’ve waiting a long time for as …
It is here. The day I’ve been waiting for. My newly acquired Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact has arrived. Although I had to wait a little longer than I would’ve liked (due to issues with the shipping companies), it’s here now. So, let’s find out if it was worth …
Nokia would like as many people as possible to get a Windows Phone in their hands and enjoy the experience. In fact Microsoft would also like that as it helps build out their platform even further, which is why the two companies working together under the Microsoft brand going …
Lenovo are capable of big things, they are involved in many different areas of modern day mobile technology. Be it phones, Android tablets, Windows tablets, hybrid laptops, Chromebooks and even just plain old laptops and desktop PCs. Each and every year they push out new and updated devices …
Well here we have my first Intel powered Android device, in the form of the brand New Lenovo Tab S8. I picked this little beauty up in PC World for ÂŁ149.99. It pretty much went on sale a few days ago. The device is so new they …
EE recently announced a range of new mobile connected devices including a new tablet called Eagle, an in-car WiFi option called Buzzard and this new MiFi – the Osprey. Whilst in London for a few days I was given the opportunity to try out one of these and see just …
Iterative products are just a way of life these days. We get a new slightly updated device every few months, sometimes every six months, sometimes even every year, Sony have mastered the iterative product cycle, releasing new products every six months ensuring they stay current. A manufacturer finds …
Lenovo are gradually becoming a household name in the UK. Thanks somewhat to their rather nice looking and great value for money laptops and also thanks to their range of tablets. Last week they announced a new range of tablets, the Yoga Tablet 2 and the Yoga Pro …
The tablet market is as competitive as the phone market, with many manufacturers releasing devices in all different shapes, sizes and colours. Tesco are on their second device now, the original Hudl was a small seven inch tablet that seemed to be designed for kids or people who …
Oooh it is thinner and ….. um … lighter. That is what most people who pick up the new Z3 will say. Beyond that there are few visible cues to the fact that they are holding a newer phone. For the phone aficionados (like us) we will pick …
The original Motorola Moto G was a great phone, it redefined a genre, it showed people that a reasonably cheap device could offer performance and an experience similar to phones costing way more than it did. Not only did the Moto G offer a whole load of …
Well the event is done and now it’s time to review how the event went and how once again mobile tech helped me during the event. As those of you who read my previous article will know I was planning on covering the event for the site by …
I have been sent a new tablet through for review, this being The Gigaset Tablet 8 QV830 ( black version ). Never heard  of Gigaset ? well neither had I prior to hearing from them regarding this review. Gigaset is a German company that is one of the …
Sony have carved themselves out a niche in the world of modern day smartphones. A niche for great looking, powerful, waterproof and damn good fun to own smartphones. The latest generation having only just been unveiled at IFA in Berlin a few weeks ago, when I saw the …
Well, I have to say, I didn’t think I’d gel with this thing to begin with. I’ve not worn a watch for a good many years and when I saw the rubber strap I presumed that this wouldn’t be my thing. The Misfit Shine is a fitness and …
Today we’re due to see the arrival of the iPhone 6. Apple are in the best position possible really. Whatever they produce. Whatever they announce, it’ll sell. It’ll sell incredibly well, and then some. Before I get the almost inevitable criticism, I should point out that I’m usually …
The lines between devices are becoming blurred these days, what with phones getting bigger, tablets getting smaller, laptops trying to be tablets, desktop PCs trying to still be relevant and Android and Windows 8 both trying their hardest to work well on all of those devices. I have …
In the mobile industry the word “flagship” is banded around a lot, it refers to any manufacturers current top end device. With every company out there having one it’s often hard to decide which one you want for yourself. I’m lucky enough to have a few of them …
The Nokia Lumia 930 is possibly one of the last phones to be released under the Nokia banner, with future devices coming under the Microsoft banner. So it doesn’t come as a surprise that the Lumia 930 is the highest spec’d phone they’ve ever released. But is it …
This is a phone which really does look the part. The last time I had an imported copy like this, the screen was low resolution and spongy. The build quality was pretty terrible and the OS was slow. This, though, is really rather good. First impressions are…well, impressive. …
A watch fundamentally is foolproof, you look at it wanting answers and it duly obliges, although for many years this has been a rather simple transaction. i.e what is the time? It is 5am. Simple. This idea hasn’t been played about with for a long time. With a …
I have been lucky enough to borrow Lumia 635 to use for a few weeks to see how it fares up as one of the cheapest 4G phones around. I ditched my current and only 2-day-old LG G3 to spend a few days with the Lumia 635 …
I have been a big fan of Google Glass for a while, pretty much ever since I saw the demo at Google I/O back in 2012. At the time it was tested jumping out of a plane whilst streaming via Hangouts. Now, whilst that is not something everyone …
Made by a company called “Yulong” (no, we’ve never heard of them either), this is the rather cheap (ÂŁ75 on Pay As You Go) Vodafone Smart 4. Inside there’s a dual core 1.2GHz CPU and just 512MB RAM. It has a pretty decent amount of on board storage …
