Smart Stand 360 – Review

Good points: Price Build quality Can be fitted to a multitude of devices Lots of stand combinations Choice of colours Bad Points: Adds some bulk Doesn’t adhere to all cases I really like products that are simple in nature, simple to use and do a good job, and …

Windows Phone – Now even deader than it already was

Each year at Mobile World Congress I tend to remember the big Windows Phone 7 launch. It was held in 2010 at the Catalonia Barcelona Plaza Hotel and they placed a large placard above the entrance with big sticker over the name “7 Series”. Yes, back in 2010 …

Doogee Mix 2 – Now it’s crazy cheap

This morning an email dropped into my mailbox from Banggood. Within the promotional mail was a link to the DOOGEE MIX 2. This is now down to just £153.70 – that’s 30% cheaper than previously. I’ve not reviewed this one personally but the specs do seem very decent …

Mobile World Congress – Unrivalled coverage. Join us for #MWC18

Do you want a quick trip down memory lane? Well, I’ve taken a look at our first ever trip to Barcelona for Mobile World Congress. The year was 2010, before a Microsoft Operating system called “Windows Phone” even existed. Android was at Version 2 and was called “Eclair” …

Coolsmartphone Podcast 222 Porgi Intervention

Another week, another published edited podcast. The Porgs are doing a mighty fine job, even while I vacation in the United States of America (#murica). https://youtu.be/o3EtIAyeu-Y We apologise in advance for the audio quality, at this point we were still learning what a microphone is and left the …

EE Hawk – Review

The Introduction I’ve said it many times in the past. These days you don’t need to spend a fortune to get some great hardware specs, and this is even more true when it comes to some network-branded devices. The EE Hawk is the networks’ latest branded handset, and …

Samsung Galaxy S9 – The leaks continue!

Remember how the esteemed leaker, Evan Blass, told everyone that he was going to retire? Yeah, well… that didn’t happen, and his leaks continue to be rock solid, year after year. We’ve already had lots of specs being leaked, but now there’s clearer shots of both the Galaxy …

Want better coverage? Go to church.

Getting coverage into rural areas is a constant challenge for the networks. We’ve seen EE using an innovative home-broadband solution for rural homes and Vodafone have their Sure Signal kit plus new mini masts. However, the problem with planning permission and fierce opposition to unsightly large masts in …

Honor 9 Lite – Video review

This morning I had a bit of a rant about this phone, and I’ll tell you why. I’ve been in this business since 2002. For years I’ve reviewed the “top-end” phones and a smattering of “budget Android handsets”. The latter, and let’s not beat about the bush, are …

Honor 9 vs Honor 9 Lite – The camera test… and a rant

I’m properly intrigued by these two phones. The Honor 9 has been in my pocket for many months now and I think it’s a brilliant handset. It’s £349.99 from the official UK store. The newly-announced Honor 9 Lite, on the right here, has an arguably better screen and …

Moto Z2 Play coming to Three UK

Three emailed us recently with some exciting news for gaming fans, but with the mass emails for Mobile World Congress it looks like it was overlooked. Thankfully the news is that the Motorola Z2 Play will be coming to Three UK in April, with an exclusive gamepad thrown …

Honor 9 Lite vs Honor 9

We’re lucky enough to have an Honor 9 and an Honor 9 Lite, so we figured a big batch of comparison photos was definitely worth showing. They’re both blue (here at least, you can get the 9 Lite in grey too) and they’re both shiny, but which is …

Wrappz cases. Half price!

Way back in 2013, when I was still at school (ahem..), we covered Wrappz.com. They do personalised covers and skins for your phone. This weekend, and only this weekend, they’re reducing the prices of their cases by 50% if you put in the code 4EVER. It’s simple to …

Huawei are up to something

Hello, what’s this? Some postcards? Sent via Royal Mail? From Huawei? What could it all mean? With Mobile World Congress just a week away, we figured Huawei might be sending us something about that, but it looks to point to a P20 launch in Paris on March 27th. …

Got a tenner? Want as much monthly data as possible?

If you’ve got one of those weird plastic £10 notes and want to get as much data as possible on a SIM-only plan, listen up, because we’ve got a bit of a run-down for you. First up, for exactly £10 and running on EE masts, is Plusnet. For …

Huawei Band 2 Pro going cheap!

Want one of these? Well, I’ve actually got one to give away shortly – more on that over the weekend. If you want to buy one, you’ll find it costing nearly £70 on Amazon. Booooo.. we want to pay less! Over to to Tesco then, and you’ll find …

Get yourself a Sony PS4 with your next phone

Just a few years ago, I vividly remember some of the free gifts being given away with some of the less-popular phones. Usually these would be in the back of newspapers, and you’d find some Nokia B7 Lite (I made up that name) on offer with a “free” …

Don’t need much data? How about this

We’ve already taken a look at this massive 100GB plan from Virgin and, well, that’s great if you want to stream a stack load of stuff on your phone. However, what if you only want to spend a relatively small amount of cash per month? If you’re looking …

MWC – Get ready for Samsung Unpacked

Every year we pack up the Coolsmartphone office, grab a flight to Barcelona, and cover the utter insanity that is Mobile World Congress. To many it might sound like some sort of business conference, but it’s the place where the latest mobile phones, services and apps all get …