Get a free speaker with your new Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+

There’s just over an hour to go until we see the actual, real, official shots of the new Samsung Galaxy S8. However, up and down the land there’s marketing material rolling out and, thanks to some lovely leakers, we can tell you a few things based on the …

A few hours to wait for the Galaxy S8

Well, today is the day. It happens at some point every year. Not that day, the other one – the announcement of the next Samsung Galaxy S, probably named as the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. Notice that all indications are that the Edge moniker has been dropped? …

In praise of older devices

I am a mobile technology geek. Along with my Huawei P9 and my Lumia 640 phones, I carry round a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 tablet and an iPad 3. I don’t have specific use cases for each of these devices, but just like to have a range of …

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 to return as a refurbished device.

According to a statement released by Samsung Mobile, some of the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 devices will be sold as refurbished devices. Samsung also has plans to salvage each other components such as cameras and semiconductors. In addition, they intend on extracting the metal parts from the remaining …

New Amplicomms M9500 elderly-friendly smartphone announced

We’ve previously seen Doro delivering easy-to-use-yet-clever smartphones for the elderly. I like them because it’s not just a matter of big buttons and a big screen – it’s the remote access that friendly and family can have to the phone. Now a company called amplicomms are getting in …

Coolsmartphone Podcast 200 Live

The big two-oh-oh crept up on us. Uh oh! It essentially hit us in the neck with a hacky sack. So this evening we’ll be rocking and rolling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWkRPZeDZSI Join Matteo, Khellan and Garry for episode 200 of the Coolsmartphone Podcast. Live here on Coolsmartphone.com and YouTube. Our …

BatON app review- view battery level of attached bluetooth headset

Have you ever picked up your Bluetooth headphones, then pocketed a pair of wired headphones in case they run out of juice when you’re out? Do you carry a spare pair of backup earphones as you’ve no real idea of the battery level of your Bluetooth earphones? BatON …

Yes, more Galaxy S8 leaks

If the rumor mill is to be believed, and take it from me it’s in full swing, the reveal of the latest Samsung flagship the Galaxy S8 is less than a week away. And to be honest, it’s pretty hard not to have seen a leak of the …

Introducing the Oppo F3 Plus, with more groufie.

OK, that might not be an official word as of yet, but if Oppo’s new F3 Plus takes off, it might just well be. Now wide-angle lenses aren’t a new thing. We’ve seen the likes LG and others do it before, but they’re usually for the rear camera. …

SMS integration to be removed from Google Hangouts.

According to an email being sent out by Google, Hangouts SMS integration will stop working after May 22, 2017. The company will presumably roll out an update on the day that will disable the SMS integration functionality on the app. Google will start showing an in-app notification to …

Google Maps to add two new interesting features.

Right back in 2008 I got my hands on my first Android device, the fantastic T-Mobile G1. One application stood out above all the rest – Google Maps. Back then it was just a very simple mapping tool giving users a fairly simple view of the world. Google …

Android Wear 2.0 updates start rolling out

One of the most frustrating things in the tech world, as far as I’m concerned, is the announcement of a device, and then a massive lull before it is actually available to buy or download.  This is particularly annoying for OTA updates.  Android Wear 2.0 is the classic …

You fanboy you

Google defines a fanboy as ‘a male fan, especially one who is obsessive about comics, music, film, or science fiction’. To most of us, however, a fanboy is a passionate, perhaps an irrational, but most definitely a misguided fan of a rival mobile phone operating system (could be …

The Cubot X17. A smartphone for around £100. Decent?

Well, how do I start this one exactly? Quite some time ago, the people at Cubot sent me a phone to review. It was the Cubot X17. Now you may not have heard of them, but they do a range of smartphones but this particular one is over …

Apple Launch New iPhones and a cheaper iPad

Without the usual fanfare of an Apple launch, a number of new iDevices have been announced to the market. Yes Red iPhones, larger capacity iPhone SEs and a new iPad have announced by everyone’s  fruit based tech company, and we have to say that the red looks rather awesome. …

Yes, yet more Samsung Galaxy S8 leakage

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is quickly becoming the most leaked phone in history. As Mobile World Congress was drawing to a close, an official image leaked out and we’ve since had specs leaking out too. We’re expecting a Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus, and @evleaks has revealed …

Sony Xperia L1 Announced

Our coverage at Barcelona brought a raft of mobile phones, but no – Sony have another one for us. Available in black, white or pink, it’s the Xperia L1. This has 2GB of RAM and runs on a MediaTek Quad-core 64-bit CPU running at 1.45GHz. There’s also 16GB …

VR – Still a big plaything

You’ve seen it on your high street, right? Charity shops and bookies. They’re seemingly everywhere. Now it’s happening on your mobile too. Juniper Research has predicted that by 2021 nearly $1 trillion will be bet via the internet, with mobile representing the “majority of net growth.” In fact, …

Fancy some cheap streaming sticks?

We’ve got a couple of good deals on those clever sticks that sit in your HDMI port today. First up, it’s the Roku TV stick. This is now down to just £27.99 with free delivery, plus they’re also giving you “The Judge” as part of the offer. The …

Elretron wants you take you back in time

Pah, modern technology. Who needs that eh? The guys at Elretron want you to take a journey back to the age of typewriters, when we had mechanical keyboards that went “Clack, Clack, Clack”. They’re just about to put their idea on Kickstarter and pricing is said to be …