Category: Reviews

Soundbug2 Speakers on test

Recently we had an email about some funky wireless Bluetooth speakers by FeONIC. They turn any resonant surface into an thunderous entertainment system. It’s a simple matter of pairing and then, provided the speakers are on and within range, they’ll output your media. We gave them a try …

The JCB Toughphone – just how tough is it ?

A couple of weeks ago we were sent a Samsung microSD card and asked to test the claim that it was shock proof, water prooft and dust proof. This week we got sent this JCB Toughphone Tradesman – it’s touted as being “military spec” and super-strong. It’s by …

Samsung microSD card – Tested (almost) to destruction

This is the 8GB microSD card from Samsung. The guys at Memory Card Zoo asked us to review one and pointed out that it was water proof, dust proof, shock proof and was even safe against magnets. So. We had a think. How could we do a “proper” …

HTC Sensation Review

The HTC Sensation was announced not long after Mobile World Congress and with high specs was clearly going to be their flagship phone for a while. I was invited to London for the announcement of the Sensation where I was also lucky enough to get some quick hands …

Orange Liveradio

I’ve always liked internet radios. These are boxes which look and operate like normal FM or DAB radios with audio instead coming from audio streams on the web. This is the Orange Liveradio, which is available from the Orange Accessories website and on eBay. With DAB radio coverage …

O2 Joggler with Android

A while ago Leigh got his hands on an O2 Joggler you can watch his original review here (part1) and here (part 2).  Some of you may be wondering exactly what this device is. It is a 7″ capacative touch screen, mains powered family organiser. He was not …

iOS 5 Beta Hands On

For the last week I’ve had a chance to play with the beta of iOS 5 that Apple released to developers at WWDC. The only official way to currently get your hands on it is through a registered developer with access to the iOS SDK. For everyone else …

New Android game released – Shakytower

Last night a new game was released on the Android Market it is called Shakytower. It has been in testing for the last couple of weeks now, you may have noticed we retweeted the request for beta testers. Below is how it is described in the Android Market …

HTC ChaCha Review

The HTC ChaCha was announced back at Mobile World Congress in February and we were there live to get hands on time with is but as always at these events, with so many people rushing to get hands on time you do not get a chance to really …

Coolsmartphone Recommended Android App – Flikie Wallpapers HD

The Android Market contains hundreds of different wallpaper apps. They are all very similar inn that you are presented with four popular images or a list of categories. Once you have loaded the category you have to keep tapping next to view the next four, it soon get …

Coolsmartphone Recommended Android App – Quickpic

Quickpic is designed to be a replacement for the standard Android gallery. Which is good because I find the standard gallery at times a little slow, sometimes a little buggy and sometimes just unusable. Quickpic can also set wallpaper for you, which I find the standard gallery quite …

Coolsmartphone Recommend Android App – Simple Text

You may have seen the forum threads where lots of Android users upload screenshots of their homescreens. Quite often they will have text icons for the dock shortcuts. Below are some examples of what I am on about. These icons are all downloaded from Droid Den. These icons …

Acer beTouch e210 Review

Android device manufacturers have pretty much stuck to the standard design, that is a touch screen 3.5″-5″ with a few buttons dotted around the screen. Over the years we have seen various devices with a physical keyboard such as the G1, Motorola Milestone (Droid) or the HTC Desire …

My Windows Phone impressions

So after wanting to try out Windows Phone for a while I finally took the plunge and bought an LG Optimus 7 last week. Having had a few days to play around with the OS and its features I thought I’d note down some of my early impressions. …

Android App, Words With Friends – First Look

This is the first time that I am going to take a look at a game. Words with Friends is also available on the iPhone though so you Apple fans might want to pay attention too. I’d also like to invite you all to download the app now and …

SPB Time for Android

SPB  have recently been porting their various apps from Windows Mobile and iOS over to Android. We have seen them release SPB Wallet, SPB Shell and SPB Wireless Monitor. Today they have released SPB Time. To quote SPB, “SPB Time is an adavanced, skinnable time toolbox for your …

Android App, Bully Block – In Depth

So I have been playing with this application for a week know and I have been quite happy with it’s performance. There are a few things that could be improved and I’d like to reach out to the developers and offer my help as a tester because I …

iPad 2 Mini Review

Leigh has put together a very good review of the Apple iPad 2 already, as a massive Apple fan myself I was also given the chance to put this through its paces this time with thanks to Vodafone who agreed to send me a micro sim to use …

SPB Wallet for Android

SPB Wallet has been around for many years now. It initially appeared on Windows Mobile devices years ago and more recently appeared on ios. It has been eagerly anticipated as many people used it on Windows Mobile and moved to Android only to find they could not use …

Samsung Galaxy S II Review

A lot of people have seen me carrying the Samsung Galaxy S II around and they’re initially mentioning how similar it looks to the iPhone. The inevitable comparisons will be drawn to the iPhone and there’s lots of sites already calling this the “iPhone killer”. Is it ? …

Android App, Bully Block – First Look

This week I was asked by Spy Parent LLC if I would take a look over their application designed to help catch bullies. It’s a simple Android app designed to be able to block unwanted calls or texts and even covertly record physical bullying. Here is the first look video …

LG Optimus 2X thoughts/mini review.

As promised, I’ve put up my thoughts on the O2X a couple of weeks after I bought it. I’ll try to give an honest, everyday opinion of the phone, consider it’s my only phone and gets some decent use actually as a phone for my day job and …

iPad 2 Review

I get it, I really do. If I’m honest this is the tablet that all other tablets ape. It’s as slim as a magazine and is the device everyone seems to want. Heck, I’ve wanted one of these for quite some time. The device we have here is …

Coolsmartphone Recommended Android App – Desktop Visualizer

Android customization is a huge topic, there are so many different apps that let you change a different parts of your phone. Desktop Visualizer lets you create shortcuts for programs in a variety of different sizes. The basic idea behind it is to create 1×1 shortcuts to run …

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play Review

This device has been highly anticipated for a while now, with the PSP being a great gaming device for on the move and Android being such a great OS for mobile devices it was pretty obvous that a Playstation Phone was going to come sooner than later and …

LG Optimus 2X first impression.

So, after much deliberation I finally made the jump and bought a replacement for my much loved and trusty Nexus one – An LG Optimus 2X. The decision was actually quite easy, it had to be ‘next generation’ dual core powered, have an unlockable bootloader and ideally the developers and …

QFS (Quick File Share) – First Look

For this week I have been sent QFS or Quick File Share. It’s a very basic application for sharing your files on your phone with anyone. Here is the first look video, the full review will be along next week. Also I would like to mention that the …

first look: Go Launcher EX

We have seen so many launchers in the android market, it’s much to hard for you to find the right one to catch your eye. Some are visually appealing and some are useful for your needs. I have found a launcher that puts both into the perspective and …

World of Goo for iPhone/iPod Touch

  Those gamers among you will likely already have heard about World of Goo. Over the last few years it’s built up a reputation as a cult classic among puzzle games. Originally released on PC before making its way to Wii and then the iPad, last week developer …

Acer Liquid Metal Review

The Acer Liquid Metal has been out for a few months now, at the time of writing you could get one for £263 which puts it the same sort of price bracket as the Motorola Defy and the Samsung Galaxy Ace. So first of all we shall have …

Crane Driver – iPhone Game Review

  Crane Driver – iPhone and iPod Touch “Game mission is to operate a crane and to relocate load from one place to another preserving position relative to each of its parts.” Version Reviewed: 1.1 Developer: PaBusily Co Ltd Price as of Review: £0.59 Current iTunes Rating: 4+ …

Which App Shall I Review?

So you can all see that the ‘Android App Review Show’ is back up and running. I no longer have the stress and strain of University to distract me, and I have a degree in Multimedia Technology and Design under my belt to help me make a professional …

Android App Review Show – AllSport GPS

This weeks feature video is a look at Allsport GPS. Trimble Outdoors were kind enough to send me their Pro version of the app and put me in contact with testing team so that I could get to know the app a little better. Check out the video …

Sony Ericsson Xperia arc review

The Sony Ericsson Xperia arc has a lot going for it. A curvy yet painfully thin design, with an 8.1 megapixel camera, HDMI output, a massive 4.2″ screen and HD video recording with constant focus. It has the Sony Bravia display engine for a crystal-clear display and something …

Twicca | A Fun, Feature-Packed Twitter Client for Android

There are  a huge amount of Twitter applications over in the Android Market, so choosing the right one can be pretty confusing. While there are some good apps, many of them are, quite frankly, pretty terrible. When I used to own an HTC Hero, I was using Twidroid, …

HTC Desire S Review

We’ll be up-front about this from the start. The HTC Desire S has a lot of the same characteristics and specs as the original HTC Desire. We almost felt a little let-down when it first appeared in Barcelona, especially up-against dual-core 1GHz phones. Somehow I felt insulted that …

HTC Incredible S Review

HTC have been around for ages it seems and their handsets seem to get better and better with time, especially in the Android range and the Incredible S is another device which fits into that category. This review device was sent to us by the kind people at HTC …

Samsung Galaxy Tab – Too Small Or Just Right?

The Samsung Galaxy Tab has been around for a little while now and along with the Apple iPad started a new craze of tablet devices to keep people connected on the move. I first got hands on the Tab last October at a Three event in London and …

Advent Vega Initial Thoughts

You may have noticed that Dixons have reduced the price of the Advent Vega to £199. If not they have and here is the link. I bought one recently and I thought I would share my initial thoughts about the device to try and help potential buyers make …

Zeemote Bluetooth Game Controller Review

I recently bought a Zeemote. It is a bluetooth game controller that has drivers available for Android, Windows Mobile, Blackberry, Symbian and Windows. Here are some pictures of the joystick. This joystick has been around for a while now, the manufacturers Zeemote originally bundled these with various Nokia …