The Samsung Z – A new Tizen smartphone

It might sound a bit like an Android phone and look like one, but this is in fact a new Tizen-based smartphone from Samsung. It’s the first Tizen smartphone we’ve seen after Samsung worked on the Galaxy Gear smartwatch which used the same OS. We’ve already got a …

Acer Liquid Z5 – Review

I recently received the Acer Z5 budget smartphone through for review, and despite there being a dual-SIM variant, this is the single SIM version. After unboxing my first impressions were… “Hang on, someone has put a Nexus 5 in here by mistake!” Good Points Good feel in the …

Samsung K Zoom available today

I’m not going mad am I? Samsung did definitely tell us that the Galaxy K Zoom would be available two days ago, but now it seems that the handset will actually be available today. “Selected” online and high street retailers will be selling the phone, including Carphone Warehouse …

Samsung announces the Simband

Samsung seem to be on a wearable trend at the moment, with recent leak, and of course the release of the Gear 2, Gear Neo and Gear Fit. Now Samsung have announced the Simbad, which is best described as a cross between the core in a Sony Smartband …

Microsoft finally release a File Manager for Windows Phone

A decent file management app is one offbeat the first things you install on a new device, be it a laptop, a tablet, a phone or even a desktop PC and it’s been one of the main things people cite as a reason that they “can’t possibly use …

Oppo announce the N1 mini with a 5 inch screen.

Following on from the Oppo N1 with its gigantic 5.9-inch screen and a 206-degree rotating camera, today the company has unveiled a mini version of the N1 … called… errr… the mini. Now for a device named “mini”, a 5 inch screen device perhaps isn’t the first thing …

HTC M8 Ace confirmed.

After many leaks on the internet, the HTC M8 Ace has now appeared on HTC China’s website. If reveals the handset in several colours including red, blue, black and white. Making it out of reduced costs but does give the Ace a seamless look, similar to last year’s …

Garmin vivofit goes red

Something is wrong with my head. Whenever those lovely people at Garmin get in touch with us I can’t stop thinking about the “Ch-ch-ch-ch… charmin” advert. It’s toilet roll. I mean. Big, soft toilet roll. Nothing like Garmin products, but I can’t get it out of my head. …

Cheap microSD card for the weekend

Now, you look like the sort of person who needs a Sony 64GB microSD card. The Class 10 card is now down to £19.99 at Carphone Warehouse , down from £39.99. There’s a stack of other ones if you fancy something a bit smaller. Hmm.. that article came …

How about a tiny phone battery you can hang on your keys?

I promised myself I wouldn’t mention any more Kickstarter campaigns. However, it’s Friday and it’s pretty much the weekend so here goes. I could witter on about the battery on your smartphone and how it’s just not as good as you’d like it to be, but … you …

Podcast 95 – the laser assisted camera edition

Welcome to the Coolsmartphone Podcast, joining me this week were Dan, Nirave and Ronnie. You may have noticed that LG announced their latest flagship phone, the G3. Needless to say that as both Nirave and I were at the event things are going to be based around the …

Huawei Ascend P7 review

Whoway? Who are they? The answer of this question is really a simple one. Huawei are the people who have been, and continue to, make the equipment that powers our mobile networks. It’s the kit that keeps us all talking to each other, but it’s mostly hidden in cabinets. They’ve …

Wait a minute, that’s not a phone…

It’s nearly the weekend, so we’ll let this one through the official Coolsmartphone “stuff that we should publish” filter. It’s a shaver. Yeah, I know. Put this against your ear and it’s not going to be a great smartphone. However, thanks to the Apple-esque addition of the letter …

Apple confirm Beats purchase for $3bn

This news we expected for a while, especially with Dr Dre on video talking about being a ‘billionaire’. We knew it was all but signed. The deal is now confirmed by Apple. They have purchased Beats – the company that makes headsets and speakers. Beats also provide a music streaming service …

BBC iPlayer update for Android & IOS

Not long after we had the news about Windows Phone getting a nice update to BBC iPlayer, we see another press release from the BBC to tell us about the updated Android and iOS version. This seems to follow on from the smart TV update in March, so …

You are being replaced. Google unveils driverless car prototype

Driving is a pretty dangerous pastime. You’ve got to watch out for truck drivers watching movies on their laptops and other drivers texting and fiddling with GPS apps while trying to negotiate a roundabout. When you get into town there’s pedestrians crossing the road without looking up from …

Want to text from your phone without touching it? Try MightyText

You’ll have seen services like this before I’m sure. Oh and yes, I’m sure there’s a great deal of you who use Google Hangouts or WhatsApp to keep in touch too, but MightyText seems to have a rather slick solution if texting off your smartphone is becoming a …

Hands on with the LG G3

I was present at the unveiling of the what is possibly the most leaked phone of 2014. LG threw launch events around the world to really get the word out there about their new flagship device – the G3. As I was at the event with my camera …

LG announce the G3 – Lasers and all

Today LG have announced the successor to the hugely successful and rather unique G2 the ridiculously leaked G3. The G3 has seen more leaks than a new phone should get really, with some of them actually coming from LG themselves. We were at the event in London today …

Three UK confirmed to sell LG G3

There was little to find out about the new LG G3 which was announced today, mainly due to all the leaks, dummy phones and even LG posting a launch page ahead of time. With the device now official and announced to the world, Three have already started to …