Tag: android

All-New Amazon Fire HD 8: Better And Cheaper

It’s been quite a week: the IFA madness had just started to blow over, then LG announced the V20 and Apple announced the new Apple Watch Series 2 and iPhone 7. Just as all that was passing, Amazon threw their own announcement into the mix, and the device …

Obi MV1 Worldphone – Review

Meet the OBi MV1 Worldphone “Obi who?” Good question. They are a Silicon Valley smartphone manufacturer founded in 2014 by former Apple Inc and Pepsi CEO John Sculley. Obi Worldphone manufactures smartphones aimed at the emerging markets, rather than very competitive developed markets. Obi Worldphone launched two of their …

iPhone 7 – iOS Users Surveyed By OnePulse

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are being announced later today. All the breadcrumbs at IFA pointed to it. We’re pretty much certain of it. But what do iOS users think? As good as we are here at Coolsmartphone.com we’re not mind readers yet, but thankfully we …

IFA Berlin 2016 – Hands-on with the Neffos X1 Max

Here at IFA 2016 in Berlin I had a chance to spend some quality time with the newly announced smartphone from TP-Link, the Neffos X1 Max. TP-Link, the Chinese company probably best known to us as a networking equipment manufacturer, is widening its product portfolio to include smartphones. …

Pixel Phone!!

No it’s not a phone from the Minecraft community!! During our recent podcast we mentioned that Google are looking to put a stop to the Nexus line. Instead they’ll be launching a Google-branded phone from this Autumn… or this fall if you are stateside. Well, fresh news is …

More on the Huawei nova and nova plus

Yesterday you hopefully saw our coverage of the Huawei launch at IFA. There’s two phones – the Huawei nova above and Huawei nova plus, below.. Huawei continues to impress us here at Coolsmartphone and these new nova handsets look rather lovely in their aluminum unibody design. The nova, …

IFA Berlin 2016 – ZTE Press Conference

ZTE. Definitely not last in the smartphone race despite that alphabetical challenge. The IFA 2016 ZTE Press Conference is happening, so let’s get down to the happenings. Adam Zeng, CEO of ZTE Mobile Devices tells us that ZTE is globally the sixth biggest shipper of smartphones, and the …

IFA Berlin 2016 – Lenovo Press Conference

Coolsmartphone.com, represented by the Chief Pixel Density Enthusiast, is at the Lenovo Press Conference for you. You may be gutted Matteo is not on the Podcast, but it is all to bring you the latest from Berlin. Lenovo start by speaking of hardware testing and then Moto Mods. …

IFA Berlin 2016 – Samsung Gear S3 Event

Samsung. Samsung Gear: the range of wearables which enhance your digital lifestyle. An event in Berlin with an animated round watchface with the “Talk About 3” slogan under it. Whatever could they be about to announce? The glowstick pass bracelet is cool, the venue is spectacular and the …

ASUS ZenWatch 3 – Round Android Wear

After Acer, it’s ASUS’s turn to announce stuff (old and new) at IFA here in Berlin. The ZenWatch 3 is probably the most interesting thing so far. As reported by Android Central, the ASUS ZenWatch 3 is the new Android Wear smartwatch from ASUS. With a round screen, …

Honor 8 – Camera Sample Gallery

Earlier this week I was a guest of Honor at the European launch of the Honor 8, their new flagship. In this article I’ll let you see some Honor 8 camera sample shots thanks to the magic of the internets. The Honor 8 has an impressive spec sheet …

HTC to roll out Nougat in Q4

Got yourself a HTC phone? Want to get the very latest Android 7.0 OS, AKA Nougat, on there? Good news, friend. It’s coming later this year. HTC have given us a statement to share on this which reads as follows… We’re excited to receive final shipping Android 7.0 …

An Ode to Touchwiz…Surprisingly!

Regular readers of our website will probably read about my latest #firstworldproblem… the search for a (cheap) 10inch Android Tablet. After my #EpicFail with the unbranded variety. I scoured eBay for something else. In the end, I settled on an Xperia Z2 Tablet (not bad for £149). It reminded …

Android Super Mid-Rangers 2015-2016

The Android ecosystem has changed dramatically in the last couple of years. Since the launch of the OnePlus One in 2014, many Chinese device manufacturers have been releasing Android Super Mid-Ranger devices which have 5.5″ full HD screens and deliver incredible value for money. Over the last year …

Big Android BBQ Europe 2016

Last week I had the privilege of attending Big Android BBQ Europe in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Big Android BBQ Europe is a developer focused conference which this year was opened on Sunday with the Code Kitchen and followed by two days of talks with a real BBQ on …

LeEco Le Max 2 “Superphone” – Review

The time has come for me to review the most powerful phone that I have ever used: the LeEco Le Max 2! Whoa there, hold on. Whoa there, hold on. ‘Whoa there, hold on’ – did I just say that? Well yes, I did, but the real question …

Google Duo is now out!

Not too long ago, we noticed that Google launched early registrations for the new Duo application. This seems to be an independent app for video calling, separate to Hangouts. What the future holds for Hangouts, we don’t know yet. There is nothing technical about the application, anyone using the …

Samsung Galaxy Note7 – Pre-order from Three

The boys at Three have been in touch to tell us about their pre-order offers on the new Samsung Galaxy Note7. If you’re after one, listen up.. The network will be offering the handset in both blue coral and black onyx. They’ll also be giving away a free …

Google Duo coming soon, maybe…

Google have just announced that their new video calling app, Google Duo, will start a phased release globally as of today. Google Duo is a video calling app which the Mountain View headquartered company teased at their Google IO developer conference in May. Until now Google Duo still …

Bored? Like Doctor Who? Wanna be an artist?

Yes? well, you are in luck! Scary Beasties have launched an application aimed at adults who are wanting to colour in everything from Daleks to Cybermen. Out now for Android devices and iOS devices. The application has 45 images ready to be coloured in regardless of your sense …

Big Android BBQ Europe 2016 – Code Kitchen

Sunday August 14th 2016. Today it’s Code Kitchen day, part of Big Android BBQ Europe 2016 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Code Kitchen is a hackathon event where developers or people who would like to learn more about development come for the day and complete challenges. Said challenges can be …

The perfect convertible? A left field choice. (Part 1)

Laptop PC sales are falling, Tablet sales are dropping, and even the mighty smartphone might be plateau-ing. Wearables have been a bit of a damp squib, and VR is just starting out. In the midst of all this, one area does seem to be (anecdotally at least) doing …

Coolsmartphone will be at Big Android BBQ Europe 2016

Big Android BBQ Europe is happening next week in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Coolsmartphone will be there covering it for you. While we won’t be able to use Three’s Feel At Home benefits there yet, we’ll still be bringing you the news and views from Europe’s Big Android BBQ …

Meizu announce the Meizu M3E

One of our favourite Chinese smartphone makers just announced a new device in China today. At a funky event in Beijing, Meizu presented the Meizu M3E to the world and we are looking at another super midranger. The M3E spec sheet is strikingly similar to the M3 Note, …

Another day, Another Android Vulnerability

These types of news stories are starting to become a regular feature. In short, someone finds a vulnerability in the Android Operating System which happens to affect every single phone – IN THEORY! No different to all the vulnerabilities that could destroy Microsoft Windows OS! Anyhow, this time, …

If you can’t beat them join them. BlackBerry launch Hub+

Recently BlackBerry (once RIM) launched the PRIV and soon the DTEK50 on a secure version of the Android platform. BlackBerry was once one of the leading smartphone companies but have lost out to Android vendors and Apple over the past couple of years with excessive losses. Well as part …

LG V20 to be first Nougat phone

  Last year LG released the V10.  It is an unusual and quite novel phone that never officially made it to the UK, so coverage over here was quite limited.  The V10 was a whopper – a 5.7″ screen with a smaller 0.2″ secondary screen above (see the …

Android distribution numbers for the week to August 1st

Google announces distribution numbers for the Android devices that connect to the Play Store on a monthly basis. The Android distribution numbers for the week up to August 1st are now out, and they make for interesting reading if you like that sort of geeky number subject. Android …

Samsung Unpacks the Note 7

At a glitzy event today Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone at its Unpacked event. The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 we will see in the UK will have a Samsung Exynos octa-core chipset, 4GB RAM and 64GB storage which will be expandable via MicroSD. The screen on the …

Android vs Windows…or is it Phone vs PC?

I feel compelled to write this article because over the last few months I have come to a conclusion. Everything is easier on my Android phone than my Windows PC. Now before you start cursing, I am no hater of Microsoft’s computing behemoth. I have used Windows PCs …

Xiaomi announces the Redmi Pro

At a press event in Beijing yesterday Xiaomi, the Chinese tech company, officially unveiled the Redmi Pro smartphone. Redmi is the affordable range of smartphones Xiaomi has been manufacturing and selling since 2013. The brand new Redmi Pro is Xiaomi’s first Redmi device to sport a 13MP dual-camera …

Argos announce a Bush smartphone. Yes. Bush.

I’m proper tired after that whole cycling thing, so I’m disconnecting the mouth / brain filter for a moment. See, for me if you say “Bush” I think of this… Bush hasn’t always screamed “quality” for me. Back in the day I had a Bush stereo and the …

OnePlus3 soon available in Gold

There is no denying it OnePlus have definitely hit their mark on the fourth attempt at a phone. This time they promised a flagship killer and according to most reviews (including rather excellent one that can be read here), they nailed it. If there was a fly in ointment at …

Jide brings Marshmallow sweetness to Remix OS

We here at Coolsmartphone towers are big fans of Jide and their Remix OS. For those that have only just come across this, this is a desktop-friendly Android OS with windows and toolbars providing a full desktop experience. It is one of a number of Android x86 projects, …

BlackBerry announce their second Android device

BlackBerry, one of the past greats of smartphones, have just announced the DTEK50. This will be their second device running Android after the (also appallingly named) Priv. The Priv was a first for the company – it was the first to run Android rather than its proprietary BB10. Whilst it …

Amazon Fire tablets updated to Fire OS 5.3.1

The Amazon Fire tablet range is being updated to Fire OS 5.3.1. This release of Amazon’s Android based distribution adds some new features to the Fire tablets and adds the On Deck feature to older fourth generation Fire tablets. There is now an option for encryption of your …

Skype. Remember that Windows Phone users?

Quite a few people I know used to use Skype. It’s a great app and you can do all that video calling business, but WhatsApp appears to have taken over the world. We’re organising the charity bike ride (please do donate, we could do with an extra push) …

The Moto E 3rd Generation goes on sale in September

This week Lenovo announced the Moto E 3rd Generation which will go on sale in September globally. The budget Moto E line has reached its 3rd generation. What we now refer to as Lenovorola seems to be almost overlapping the entry level Moto E 3rd Generation, an entry …

Pokémon Go now in the UK too

Following on from my story yesterday, I can now confirm that the game everyone is talking about is available in UK app stores. Android and iPhone users just need to head to their respective places and grab the download the normal way. Yesterday we detailed a get-around that …

How to download Pokémon Go on Android in the UK now

OK. It’s turned into a dream for the PR company this one. Everybody seems to be talking about it, even here in the UK where you can’t actually download the thing just yet. Pokémon has returned and the ’90s have come back too (Robot Wars was on TV …