Case Mate Android Mike case for HTC One X – review

Case Mate recently offered to send me a selection of their cases for review, one of which I’ve done – the gold sparkly Glam iPhone case. Which is it’s great case with a fun look. I also got the Android Mike for the HTC One X. It’s another …

Xbox Music for Android and iOS should be available today

Isn’t it great when a company follows through and actually does what they said they would? A year ago….. It was about this time last year when Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 were announced and along with them came Xbox Music, which was Microsoft’s Music streaming service, …

Sony Xperia Z1 with DSC-QX10 Smart Shot first look

I’ve finally got my grubby mits on Sony’s newest releases, so I thought I’d share my pleasures (and pains) with you lovely people. Sony pre-release review models are notoriously hard to come by, especially when you want them with some accessories, but with a little sweet talking I …

Asda Mobile switches to use the EE

Virtual Network Operator, Asda Mobile, used to use the Vodafone network. However, from the end of October, they’ll be switching across to EE. Their offers, from what we can make out, will remain the same. They do some SIM-only deals at the moment, but sadly the amount of …

BBM submitted to app store

BBM should hopefully be available for download on iOS soon. I say hopefully as it was submitted two weeks ago and the current turnaround for app approval is only about 4 days. The news came out when Alex Kinsella, a senior strategic account manager at Blackberry tweeted:   …

Truphone -an app, unique sim and MVNO

Truphone specialize in cheap or free international calls. A common claim in the current global telecoms market. But Truphone are a little different. They are an MVNO, they produce their own specialized sim card which can use multiple international numbers simultaneously and they make the oldest VoIP (voice …

An image of the Nokia Lumia 1520 leaks out

We’ve been hearing about the next generation of Windows Phone devices recently. Be it 1080p displays, extra rows of columns, Quad core CPUs etc. All exciting stuff, well now thanks to evleaks we have an actual image of the Lumia 1520. Which has styling sort of cross between …

Umbrella 8 Weather app

  One type of app that there seems to be a never ending supply of, on every platform, is weather apps. Some are better than others and some stand out. Umbrella 8 is a weather app for Windows phone that falls into the later category. Lots of apps illustrate …

Music Maker Jam for Android is now available

Today is a day to rejoice Android users, you can now make odd sounding music using your phone or tablet. Yay. Music Maker Jam has a pretty premise: Music Maker Jam, the free new music maker app from MAGIX, makes it easy to start playing with music and mixing …

Portable 3D screen on the cheap – vrAse

Right. That’s it. I’ve pretty much had it with these Kickstarter projects. Is it me or is each one getting slightly more bizarre and dangerously close to “quack, quack, look I’m a duck” crazy? That’s the first thing I thought when I saw the promotional images below for …

Say Hello to the Doro Liberto 810

The Doro Liberto 810 is apparently “The world’s most liberating smartphone“, which is quite a bold claim from Doro. Doro AB is a Swedish public company formed in 1974.  It released its pioneering ‘easy-to-use’ mobile phone in 2007. Until recently their phones were flip style feature phones and …

Nexus 5 specs arrive at the FCC?

If you watch the unveil of the KitKat statue (if that’s the right word for it), someone at the Googleplex was spotted using an unknown Nexus branded device. That device was presumed to be the Nexus 5 and now it’s arrived at the FCC for regulatory approval. Luckily …

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 + Gear demo video

At launch pretty much the only device that will be compatible with the Galaxy Gear will be the Galaxy Note 3 and what better way to demo both devices than in a 18 minute video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Fo5x7ZIPCM

The Coolsmartphone Podcast – Episode 62

Episode 62 of our podcast is going to be like a metaphorical tin of sardines. I.E lots crammed in. We have had a hectic week, what with Microsoft and Nokia, Sony and their camera thingies and of course Samsung just to name a few things. This week I …

Smartwatches – Just a plaything or the next essential item?

A smartwatch isn’t high up on my shopping list if I’m honest. For me, I’ve got into the habit of checking my phone for the date or time. I simply never wear a watch, but there’s no denying the fact that many still value them. The Sony Smartwatch …

Panasonic abandon ship, no more Eluga!

Growing up I remember Panasonic as one of the leading consumer electronics brands.  TV’s, stereos, video recorders, cordless landline telephones and so on.  Then as the cellphone was invented they made their way into that market too.  They were so successful that in 2001 they along with NEC …

Zombie Village is now available for Windows Phone

Zombies seem to be the standard character in games these days. I guess developers have a choice, gems, candy, makeup or zombies. Zombie Village is a popular game from Android and now it’s made the move to Windows Phone 8 and 7. It is one of those horizontal …

BBC iPlayer for Android updated – Now supports downloads!

The BBC iPlayer app for Android has just had an update, bringing support for downloads through the app and also Android 4.3 support. Yay my new Nexus 7 will be happy. It’s nice to see the BBC Android app get updated with some of the features available in …

Six Guns for Windows Phone 8 is now available

Guns, cowboys, horses and Windows Phone. What more does a game need? Gameloft have just released Six Guns for Windows Phone 8 and it sure looks like a great game. Buck Crosshaw never shot a man who didn’t deserve it, but now he’s an outlaw who had to …