Tag: android

Remix OS is coming to your phone… Kinda

We here at Coolsmartphone like Remix OS. I have personally used it in the form of a tablet, and also a set top box. I have also seen a prototype of their next tablet (which sadly seems to have stayed as a prototype). Now along with their recently funded …

Fancy more than just another Android keyboard? Try Redraw Keyboard

If you’ve got an Android device, then you’ll probably know just how easily you can swap keyboards. The latest Google keyboard comes with a raft of Emoji icons, so that you can convey your emotions in a text, a WhatsApp message, or a Facebook update. However, there’s only …

Lenovo Yoga Book – Review

Intro I love tablets. I love the idea of carrying something thin and light around that has enough computing power in it to keep me up to speed with all my musings on this very site. I also love being able to just pull out something from my …

LG and Google team up on improved smartwatches

If you’re into your smartwatches and use an Android device, you’ll have noticed the lack of updates of both hardware and software recently. LG are planning to change all that with two new smartwatches, both running the new Wear 2.0 update. They were leaked by Evan Blass but …

Lenovo Yoga A12 announced officially.

Those of you who have been following my Yoga Book reviews may be interested in learning that it’s a product line that Lenovo are continuing to work on. This was confirmed with the announcement of the new Lenovo Yoga A12. This is essentially an entry level Yoga Book …

First look – The EBox T8 V Streaming TV Box – Version 5

We’ve received another Android TV box to test today so I thought I’d give you a quick overview as it’s an improved version of an already very popular box. This is from EntertainmentBox – it’s the EBox T8 V and is powered by an Amlogic S912 64bit octa-core …

Selling a fully loaded Kodi box – It’s a grey area

Wait, I know what you’re going to say.. Of course it’s not a grey area! If you’re selling a “Fully Loaded Kodi Box” then it’s going to be illegal, end of. Well no, not necessarily, and I’ll tell you why. For most of us, “Fully Loaded” means that …

Lenovo Yoga Book – Unboxing

It’s not that often that a device comes along that is truly a game changer. That is until now.  Today I had the pleasure of unboxing an item that in my opinion is truly groundbreaking, and could potentially change the game in its field. I am, of course, …

How much is the app marketplace actually worth?

Apps. The ones I download are mostly free because, deep down in my heart, I’m tighter than a gnats backside. How do these apps make money then? How do the developers get paid? How do those big TV advertisements appear on TV if we never actually click “Buy” …

How app pricing seems to impact app types

If you follow us on Twitter then you may have seen me mention the fact that Kodi is riding high in the Google Play apps charts. It’s not overly surprising though, especially when you consider how many people are buying Android TV boxes or attempting to get around …

I’ve always wanted to be a DJ. Now everyone can have a go.

Back in the day, when we used to have nightclubs and you’d go outside to meet other people instead of “swiping” them, I always wanted to be the DJ. The nearest I got was doing the lights in a local nightclub, and I made the mistake of leaving …

Its finally here! (sort of) – Nokia Android phone announced

In 2011, Nokia took the now-fateful decision to abandon the “burning platform” of Symbian and moved over to Windows Phone. This decision was close one; in those days the smartphone market was very different with multiple OS’s having a reasonable foothold (as opposed to the duopoly of today …

Huawei Mate 9 – Review

At the beginning of November, Huawei released something a little bit exciting – the Huawei Mate 9. I was lucky enough to be given one of these devices for review and as such have been using it for the past few weeks. It is now time for me to …

HTC have something for U on January 12th

Filling an entire news item with conjecture and rumour about an upcoming launch? Well, I’ve seen it quite a bit across the web today. Many are trying to decide what exactly the new “HTC U” or “HTC for U” launch, which we’ve just received an invite for, actually …

ProBox 2 Air Android TV Box – Review

Some time ago I decided to cancel my current satellite TV subscription. To be honest I thought the monthly fee was extortionate and decided to go along the “cable cutters route”. I found that I could get nearly all, if not all of the content I wished to …

V88 Plus TV Box – Review

Back in the “old days” we used to have photos on film. We then sent them off to get processed and we’d get them back on nice paper and we’d put them into albums. Now, we have smartphones and we have our photos stored either in a “cloud” …

Chrome OS Yoga Book version announced

Lenovo and Chrome OS 2016 has been on record for being one of the most interesting years on record. Whether in the political sphere (not going there) to the tech world (Google’s smartphone, exploding Note 7s, the disappearance of headphone jacks). However arguably the most innovative device has been the …

Huawei Honor Magic appears in China

Magic! Honor pulled quite a number in China yesterday unveiling the Honor Magic, a smartphone all curves and shiny glass. The Honor Magic has an interesting spec sheet to say the least, as it differs from most device SKUs on the current smartphone market. The screen is a …

Monies off the Honor 8 at vmall

The Honor 8 is a great phone, I use one as a main phone and am very happy with it. Vmall currently have some attractive discounts on the Honor 8: £50 off the white one and £30 off the black and blue models. What do you get for …

Is the hunt over? Asus Zenpad 3S 10 Tablet Review

Introduction Regular readers of the site may remember my adventures and #firstworldproblems in the tablet world. Whether it was using an iPad Mini (many years ago), Windows, convertible devices or a cheap Android slate, I hadn’t found a device which satisfied me completely. My Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 …

Super Mario Run out today!

This looks to be the “next big thing” on mobile. Today Super Mario Run will finally launch for iOS devices and, although it looks a bit like the traditional Super Mario Bros, this is an “autorunner”, so the clever little plumber moves forward at all times. That means …

EMTEC GEM Box – Review

Let’s break this down shall we? Imagine taking a fairly powerful Android phone, removing the screen and replacing the navigation system with an Xbox-style controller, then outputting the video to your TV. That’s basically what you have here. Inside is a quad core CPU, 1GB RAM, 16GB of …

Android Pay – Pull a cracker this Christmas

Using Android Pay could result in a nice gift this festive season. Just use your phone to pay for something and you’ll be in with a chance of winning one of 100,000 prizes. Get a cracker every time you use Android Pay “through Dec 31”,  which apparently is how …

‘Tis the season to catch ’em all…

Pokemon Go has just released its festive season event, and players have good reasons to be merry. The location based augmented reality game developed by Niantic delivers new Pokemon to catch and some festive decorations to boot. The new splash screen is quite festive, I can not lie. …

Android app updates will now be a lot smaller

Next time you’re around your parents have a look at how many app updates are pending – I bet its lots! Convincing Joe public to update their apps is difficult enough at the best of times, many just ignoring the pop ups and warnings. Afraid they will break …

Android 7.1.1 Nougat is out (for some)

Today Google is rolling out Android 7.1.1 Nougat to some devices. This isn’t a big release, but adds a few features to Pixel and Nexus devices and tidies up things with bug fixes and optimisations. The list of devices getting Android 7.1.1 Nougat from Google is as follows: …

Meizu M5 Note launches officially

Last week Meizu announced the Pro 6 Plus and Flyme 6. Now it is the turn of the Meizu M5 Note to be officially unveiled in China. The Meizu M5 Note is a super midranger with an amazing spec sheet in value for money terms. All metal body …

Meizu Pro 6 Plus and Flyme 6 announced

Meizu today announced their new flagship and updated Android-based OS: the Meizu Pro 6 Plus and Flyme 6. Meizu, one of our favourite Chinese smartphone companies, has been incrementally improving its product line-up in terms of hardware for a few years now. Their devices have a tightly integrated …

Try makeup on without the hassle

If you’ve ever gone into Boots or another store selling makeup and beauty products, you’ll no doubt have seen the orange-faced girls who are more than keep to plaster your moosh with lipstick and eyeliner. The result may or may not be what you’re looking for, but orange-faced …

Cyanogen. No more?

The Wileyfox Spark X we reviewed recently ran an OS based on Android called “CyanogenMod”. Think of it as an Android OS with extra goodness. We tested out the theming support and the privacy guard in our review but there’s also FLAC audio support, CPU overclocking, an unlockable …

Clarkson, Hammond and May guide you on your way

After watching two weeks of “The Grand Tour”, I’ve realised that both me and my son are calling it “New Top Gear”. It’s totally blown away any BBC attempt at the show, with the crazy antics turned up to 11 and the 4K footage beautifully filmed, it’s proving …

Nuu Mobile X4 Review

As we race towards the bottom price point, there are some amazing handsets available for a more bank friendly price heres my review of the Nuu Mobile X4.

Honor 8 – Review – Shiny!

Honor have come a long way in Europe since landing quietly almost two years ago. Under the wing of parent company Huawei, they have gone from strength to strength and now have a new affordable flagship in the Honor 8. I’ve been using the Honor 8 over the …

Yeah, thanks for that Microsoft. Solitaire on my phone. Whoop.

Years ago, before flat screen monitors, we had big chunky PC’s with big chunky CRT monitors. Laptops weighed half a tonne and smartphones were just a dream. The internet? You’re joking son. If you were at work in these times (which, granted, seems like something from the prehistoric …

Grow your own cute garden on your smartphone

VaragtP Studios have today launched a cute garden game called Planetera. The purpose of the game is to create your own virtual garden with cute creatures of various shapes and sizes called helpers. Even cute games have villains called evil critters, not the most menacing name! Game Features: Plantera …

Acer Iconia Tab10 – Review

It has been a few weeks now since the latest Acer tablet arrived on my desk at Coolsmartphone towers. In that time I have been using it as my main day-to-day device for media consumption. I have not really been using it for very much in the way of work …

Get festive with a FLAVR Christmas Jumper – For your phone

Phone cases are something that are a fact of life. We don’t really want to hide the fantastic style and shape of our shiny expensive phone, but we have to. This FLAVR case adds a bit of a twist, and they’re really only useful for the next few …

OnePlus 3T – Pre-order tomorrow to get it on O2

Available fully on November 28th, you can get your name down to buy the OnePlus 3T tomorrow with O2. As we mentioned earlier, the OnePlus 3T has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 CPU (quad core) and a massive 6GB of RAM. There’s 64GB of storage (no microSD slot that …