Aviate for Android gets a music based update

Aviate is one of the clever predictive launchers that try to guess where you are, what apps you’re going to use and now with the latest update that gets a little bit more clever. We’ve hit the ground running here at Yahoo and have been listening attentively to …

LG G Pro 2 announced

With just over a week to go until Mobile World Congress kicks off in Barcelona, LG have today announced the G Pro 2 device to the world. Something worth noting is that at present only Korea is confirmed to be selling this device, no news on availability anywhere …

Nokia announce the Verizon exclusive Lumia Icon

The Nokia Lumia Icon is something I and many others have been waiting for, mainly because it is basically a shrunk down Lumia 1520. Although there is a catch, the Lumia Icon is probably never going to make it to our shores. What most non US residents are hoping …

Nexus 5, get it cheaper if you’re quick

I don’t often “do” this whole Groupon thing but here’s a rather fine deal on the Google Nexus 5. If you buy it from Google direct you’ll be paying £299 for the 16GB version and then another £10 to have it delivered. Groupon, for the next few days …

Sure, break my heart, but don’t break my phone

If you have a crafty look at the phones people carry around town then you’re bound to see a few with broken screens. It seems that there’s a fair few of them and, quite often, once it’s broken people don’t tend to fix them. There can be a …

Oppo Find 7 to launch on 19th March

Oppo, has today announced that it will be launching its Find 7 flagship smartphone on March 19 in Beijing. This is a little disappointing as it was originally rumoured that the device was going to be released during Mobile World Congress this month. The Find 7 follows in …

New features added to Google Now

Are you a user of Google Now ? I’ve got to admit I wasn’t but that’s definitely changing. With every update to the app, the functionality just keeps getting better. In the previous update we got the UK voice option to say “OK Google” to launch the search …

Virgin Atlantic to check you in via Google Glass

Flying with Virgin Atlantic, especially in Upper Class, is the height of bling. For me, I’ll be trying hard to imagine I’m in an Upper Class seat as I jam my backside into an EasyJet bench next week. However, if you’ve got slightly more than £30 for a …

Are Samsung releasing two variants of the S5 ?

If you have been living in a cave with your eyes shut and your fingers in your ears, you won’t be aware of the upcoming Mobile World Congress, which kicks off at the end of the month. Mobile phone giant Samsung have the “Unpacked 5” event on Feb …

I’ve gone mad, and I need your help

I could just dress this up and tug on your heart-strings like those daytime TV adverts asking for “just £2 per month” but I won’t. I’ll instead tell you a story. A few months ago I’d visited a friends house. It was just after Bonfire Night and I …

Tech 21 Screen Protector unboxing and application

Here we have something that will mess with your head a bit. Tech 21 have now started making screen protectors. They integrate the same tech used in bullet-proof glass. This will help protect your phone from a direct blow and there’s also a self-healing layer to protect against …

Nokia to release Android phone at MWC

According to the Wall Street Journal, Nokia will be releasing an Android phone at MWC. Yes, Nokia: manufacturer of Windows Phones, owned by Microsoft and competitor of Google. Why on Earth, then, would it release an Android phone? Well, there’s a lot more sense to it than it …

The Flappy Bird saga. Why remove it?

Where do I start really? This is a game that got people talking. Sure, it didn’t always gain positive comments, but it lit the social media candle and soon turned into a bonfire. It’s become the most popular app so far this year, but has now been taken …

Lenovo Yoga Tablet 8 – first impressions review

The Lenovo Yoga Tablet 8 has something that isn’t very abundant in the Android tablet world: innovation. OK, the design may look like an Apple Mac keyboard, but it makes for an interesting, and often pleasant, user experience. Good Design Build quality Some of the Lenovo software MicroSD …

Sony Z1 Compact arriving at Three

Three have just posted one of their hands-on videos featuring the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact. This smaller Z1 is not a ‘mini’ by any means as it packs the same processor,  memory and amazing 20.7 megapixel camera the older Z1 did. The only differences are a 720p screen …

HTC to push out more affordable phones

The company that brought us the Orange SPV, Desire, Hero and Wildfire is having a few money issues at the moment. HTC, until fairly recently, had a huge range of phones and pretty much everyone owned one or knew someone that did. Last year we saw a big …

HTC M8 – More blurry-leaks

Another day, another leak. That HTC M8, which looks a lot like the HTC One, has appeared once more and it seems that it was indeed an additional camera we saw ealier. This up-close super-blurry shot shows the additional camera, which we assume is either designed to do …

Three 4G expanding rapidly

Over the last month we’ve posted updates on the Three 4G service. This has started to rollout for customers and not just the 2800 that originally got an early look. We were lucky enough to test the new network during a trip to London, where we checked out …

LG to announce the G Pro 2 before MWC?

Whilst everyone seems to be keeping their power dry and holding off on any announcements until MWC at the end of the month, LG seem eager to share their latest handset to the world. The G Pro 2 has leaked all over the place, and now the Korean …

The Coolsmartphone Podcast – Episode 79

This week we’ve got another special guest. Me! We had a minor technical problem so the podcast got delayed by a day, apologies for that. This week we’ve got some podcast-only material too, download it, stream it and do let us know your comments. This week… – Ronnie …