OnePlus to try the pre-order route next

A lot has been said about OnePlus over the last few months. Some of it good and some of it bad. Most conversation revolved around people trying to get an invite. Amazingly I managed to get one and I subsequently sold it on. None the less I was …

bam, Shazam, buy through Google Play, man

For the life of me, I can’t remember when I first used Shazam. I know it was so far back that I used to have to either call or dial a number to let it do its magic. Even when music recognition became built in to smartphones and …

Misfit Shine Review

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 …

Keyboard for likely Nexus 9 shows up online

Unless you were lost in a techless-like black hole for the last couple of weeks, you’ll already know how Apple’s annual release revealed the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. What we don’t have is confirmed knowledge of what happens when its Google’s turn… Although we have seen …

Are Samsung Planning a 5 inch ‘A Series’ Executive Smartphone

Whilst for many the Samsung Galaxy Range of devices may look and feel somewhat ‘plasticky’, the recently announced Samsung Alpha has turned a few heads with its executive and luxury styling. Over recent weeks rumours have started to surface on the net of further devices sharing the same …

Vodafone to save 900 jobs as Phones 4u stores are bought

We’ve just had confirmation that Vodafone will be buying 140 old Phones 4u stores and rebranding them. The offer, for an undisclosed sum, should mean that a further 900 Phones 4u staff will have their jobs saved. Employees will be “engaged” and rebranding will commence pending court approval. …

Phones 4u – Bondholder write-down deal off the table

There was, for a brief moment there, a glimmer of hope for the Phones 4u staff. We told yesterday how a plan was being formulated to give bondholders of the company a share of equity in an attempt to get stores opened and trading again. Sadly this plan …

The madness begins

I’m sitting in a rather damp car park in Birmingham. Right now I could go to the Apple shop and buy the iPhone. Hey, if I’m lazy I could go onto the Apple website and get one there instead. First though, I should tell you the iPhone prices …

Popping the lock – It’s easier than you think

There’s various reasons that people want to get phones unlocked and, although some networks are now supplying unlocked handsets as default, many people make the choice to unlock on a daily basis. Let’s go through some of those reasons. It could be that you’re looking to exit a …

Get the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus on giffgaff

How does a brand new iPhone 6 at £29.89 a month sound? Good? Well, on giffgaff they split the cost of phones and talk plans (aka, “goody bags”) so you need to add on the goody bag you’d like on top of that. If you go for a …

A big thing happened this morning

Scotland narrowly chose to stay part of the United Kingdom this morning. The Scots showed that an unprecedented level of citizenship is possible with an 87% turn-out – more than any General Election for decades. Despite the “No” vote, today could mark the beginning of a new shift …

Admit it. You need this.

Yes, I recently dropped my phone into a pool. I tried to dry it out, but alas the damage was done. I didn’t have one of those clever EVAP pouches to try and get the moisture out and I quickly learned to be a bit more careful. Trouble is, …

The latest Pebble firmware update adds emoji support

Emoji are a part of life now, in the past I’d have just replied “this makes happy” but nowadays your obliged to reply “lol :)”. But if you have a Pebble and someone sends you a message containing an emoji previously you’d be lost, wondering what that blank …

Podcast 110 – the week we tried something a little different

Welcome to the Coolsmartphone podcast, joining me this week were Ian and Nirave. This weeks topics revolved around Phones4U going into administration, Apple iPhone 6 pre-orders selling by the millions, me being unable to decide which small phone to get next, Nirave and his iPhone pre-order experience, Ian …

Podcast 110 – Listen in live

Welcome to the live, raw, unedited and often broken version of our podcast. Joining me this week are Ian and Nirave. This weeks topics revolve around Phones4U, readers questions, the iPhone pre-order stampede and our usual chit chat about our mobile goings on. To listen live it’s dead …

New Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 comes to town

A slight improvement in specs, but not a great deal else from what we can see here. The new Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 is still the same price as last year but with an uplift in specs (2.5GHz quad core Snapdragon 805), Dolby Atmos surround sound and a …

Kindle Fire HD gets a makeover

New Kindle Fire HD devices have also been announced today. There’s some funky colours and 6″ or 7″ versions with quad-core 1.5GHz CPU’s, dual cameras and Dolby Digital audio. Price-wise, they’re attractive – the 6″ is £79 and the 7″ is £119. You can pre-order on the Amazon …

Two new Kindles announced by Amazon

Three new Kindles have been announced today. Some may sound familiar but have extra grunt, whilst others are new to the market and have more storage. They are…. Kindle Voyage Costing jsut £169 it’s 7.6mm thick and weighs less than 180 grams. This one has a Paperwhite display …

Those fancy looking OnePlus One covers won’t ever be released

When I bought my OnePlus One one of the things I was itching to get hold of was the replaceable backs, they were going to be available in several different materials, such as kevlar, denim and bamboo. Upon receiving mine I set about trying to order the back …