Tag: android

Nokia 1 Plus – Overview and video

A smartphone that costs just £69.99? There’s got to be some shortcomings, right? Well yes. Of course. You’re not going to get a Ferrari when you’re paying Ford Fiesta money, but the Nokia 1 Plus is a great first step for those who are just starting out in …

Google teases the Pixel 4

Whilst the Pixel 3 is still fairly new, Google appear to have released information about the Pixel 4 already. The official Google account just added this tweet with an image of the phone.. Well, since there seems to be some interest, here you go! Wait 'til you see …

Honor 20 Incoming. Great specs, great price.

A 6.26″ all-view screen with a 2340 x 1080 pixel resolution at 412PPI. A 48 megapixel rear camera and a 16 megapixel wide-angle shooter. A 2 megapixel depth-assist camera, a 2 megaxpixel macro camera and a 32 megapixel selfie shooter. AI camera capabilities, Virtual 9.1 Surround Sound, NFC, …

Trump Trade Termination continues to bite Huawei

The President of the USA, who thinks that the moon is part of Mars and wants a “Brexit wall” in Ireland, has put the boot into Huawei. The American businessman, just a few weeks after meeting Apple CEO Tim Cook, put Huawei on a list of “foreign adversaries” …

Mobvoi TicWatch S2 – Review

Here at Coolsmartphone Towers, we do still like our wearables. It has been a rocky road for them though since their inception a few years back. They were expensive, and people didn’t really know what they were for. I have used a few different ones over the years …

OnePlus 7 now available to order

Don’t get confused, this isn’t the 7 Pro (that’s the one on the right), so you won’t be getting the flip camera or Warp Charge. The screen is a bit lower resolution and the battery is slightly lower capacity, but it’s £499 for the 6GB model. That’s definitely …

TicWatch Pro – Unboxing

I have been testing the TicWatch S2 for the past few days whilst I have been away on holiday and I have been mightily impressed with it in general. There has however been one thing that has been slightly annoying me and that was the battery life of …

“No gun, no smoke, only speculation”, says Huawei

The continuing Trump Trade Termination is having a big impact on Huawei globally. Google won’t be able to provide an operating system, ARM won’t licence chip designs and several internal US-sourced components will stop arriving. Huawei have today filed a motion for summary judgment to challenge the decision …

Honor 20 Pro announced

Today we have had the pleasure of being in London again. This time Honor have announced their very handset. This phone is actually part of a new collection of phones called the “Honor 20 Series”. Within the series, there will be a Pro version, a Standard version and …

Google drop-kicks Huawei.

The smartphone landscape is cut-throat. HTC? Gone. Sony? Motorola? LG? Struggling. But Huawei have enjoyed a massive rise to fame. They were already huge in China, but they’re now huge in various places around the world and, here in the UK their phones are selling like hot cakes. …

OnePlus 7 Pro – Shots from the camera

We got sent some example photos which were taken on this new OnePlus 7 Pro, but we wanted to take some snaps on the new handset and see just how good they are for ourselves. The thing is, we’re not in a beautiful meadow or standing on a …

OnePlus 7 Pro – Photo special!

We’ve written up an in-depth article about the specs on this, but let’s have a closer look at the phone itself shall we? The short version is that this, the 7 Pro, will be available for £649 next week. That’ll get you 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. You …

OnePlus 7 Pro – Live launch coverage. Watch here!

Hello London, we’re currently in the Media Area at Printworks, London. They’ve promised us a big announcement, and I can tell you one thing – this is a whole lot bigger than the OnePlus 6T launch we attended last year. Much bigger. We’ve already brought you loads of …

Welcome, the pop-up Huawei P Smart Z 2019

Want a phone with a little pop-up camera on the top? Oh go on, admit it, you do. You do really. Huawei continue to pretty much smash everything in their path with the launch of this, the P Smart Z 2019. Available in black or this funky emerald …

OnePlus 7 Pro launch. Be part of it at pop-up events.

So, on May 14th we’ll be in London to cover the OnePlus 7 Pro launch live and direct. We’ll have all the hands-on footage, opinion and pictures. However, you guys can get a look of the phone for real at a pop-up store in John Lewis & Partners. …

ASUS Android Q Beta Program for ZenFone 5Z

The next big version of Android won’t be available to many for some time, but ZenFone 5Z users can jump the queue. Today ASUS and Google I/O have announced that the ZenFone 5Z (ZS620KL) will be joining the Android Q Beta. This is the first ASUS ZenFone to …

Pixel 3a available at EE with free Google Home Hub

OK, so Carphone Warehouse are giving you a free laptop if you buy the Pixel 3a. What about EE? Well, anyone buying either the Pixel 3a or Pixel 3a XL on an EE handset plan before May 23rd will get a free Google Home Hub. That’s worth £119. …

Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL arrive.. and there’s something new

The smartphone industry has a bit of a problem right now. First, there’s those expensive high-end phones like the Samsung Galaxy handsets, iPhones and Huawei’s. You usually buy them on a contract. However, there’s now cheaper phones that are getting scarily close to the specs of those flagships. …

Xiaomi Mi9 now available to buy on Vodafone.

We took an up-close look at the Xiaomi Mi9 in February but now you can buy the thing. It’s available right here on Vodafone UK with prices starting at £49 per month with a £9 upfront cost. That’ll get you unlimited calls, unlimited texts and 25GB of data. …

Cool Android time-filler game. Invaders.

Many years ago, when school computers looked like this, I went to school with a guy who ended up – as I’ve just found out – coding Android games. Last time I saw him was at his wedding, when I got very drunk indeed. Anyhow, he posted something …

How APK sideloading became mainstream

Here at Coolsmartphone we download pretty much everything for our Android phones via the Google Play Store. There’s over a million apps and games available there, and they’re all categorised and reviewed. For years though, all Google Android phones have been able to “side load” apps. This means …

EMUI 9.1 coming to stacks of older Honor and Huawei kit

Based on Android Pie, EMUI 9.1 is the latest iteration of the Huawei / Honor skin. The newest version brings the incoming call videos we mentioned just the other day, plus improvements to GPU Turbo mode, voice assistants triggering via the power button and much more. The latest …

Possible May release date for the OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro

If you’re a long-time reader, you’ll probably already known that I am an avid OnePlus fan. I’ve had every device from the Chinese manufacturer and, if the the company are keeping to their previous device roll-out schedules, the next “Flagship Killer” shouldn’t be that far away. As always …

Got yourself a PS4 or an Xbox? Why?

We’ve spoken lots here about mobile gaming, but there’s a battle that many smartphone manufacturers have fought for many years now. Running a graphic-heavy, high frame-rate game on your phone needs grunt. Lots of grunt. It sucks your battery, it makes your CPU work hard, you need more …

Another look at the Huawei P20

Yes, the P20. Sure, I know that the P30 and the P30 Pro are the new kids on the block, but let’s not forget just how good the P20 is. Dan reviewed it last year and was mightily impressed, however now you’re going to see it get a …

Huawei P30 Pro – My first week

Intro So it’s been just over a week now since I got back from Paris, and more importantly the Huawei P30 Pro launch I was invited along too with Huawei and some other journalists/bloggers. Having been using a Mate 20 Pro since the launch event at the end …

Pixel 2 & 2 XL official sales cease

If you are hankering after last year’s Google flagship from official channels i.e. Google’s own page, well it appears this can longer be done. If you pop over to the Google Store and search for either the Pixel 2 or the Pixel 2 XL, the devices are no …

Reno by Oppo a new take on the front camera

According to internet Slashleaks, the Chinese device manufacturer Oppo’s latest device named “Reno” has a new take on the front-facing camera. Like some others, the Reno has a pop up front camera, but the Reno’s unique front camera design means that the camera will apparently fit into a …

The Android Bike Computer – On test

A few days ago I used lots of cable-tie to strap the ultra-small Unihertz Atom smartphone to my bike. You can have a look at the rather rudimentary fixings here or get up-close with the Atom in my earlier story. Yes, there’s a proper bike mount for this …

Say hello to the Samsung Galaxy A70

The fairly random “A range” of Samsung devices don’t usually get the same level of coverage as the Galaxy S handsets, so let’s take a look at the new Samsung Galaxy A70 which was announced yesterday. This one has a 6.7″ FHD+ (1080×2400) Super AMOLED Infinity display with …

Huawei announce P30 Series in Paris

Huawei have today announced the brand new P30 Series here in Paris and both devices come with a very impressive set of specifications. The headline of the two is of course the Huawei P30 Pro which takes mobile photogrophy to another level thanks to the improved four camera …

Samsung Galaxy S10 Range – Hands on

Right, if you’re at the end of a contract or thinking about buying an additional phone, the Galaxy S10 range could well be on your radar. We’ve covered all the Galaxy phones during Mobile World Congress, but I think it’s worth looking again at the hands-on overview we …

An Android bike computer

Remember my overview of the Unihertz Atom? It’s a tiny Android phone which has all the features of a normal smartphone, just with a smaller screen and a very rugged appearance. Available on Amazon for £219.99, you can also get this bike mount for £12.99 to rig it …

Enjoy the full experience of Fortnite

If you’re a Fortnite fan, then you’ll probably be aware of a few things. First, the buzz around this game just doesn’t seem to fade. It’s still as popular as it always was and now, with the addition of Android and iPhone versions plus cross-platform multi-player, it’s taken …

My gaming history

I remember, when I was a kid, a time before a “console” was even a thing. At Christmas I remember playing records. Proper records. Big vinyl double-albums with pictures of all the bands and singers. It was great. I even had my own record player. Then, one day, …

Android Q Beta has landed

With Google I/O not far away now, it’s the time of year where Android fans get to try out the latest update. It’s also the time to start the naming guessing game! Today the first version of Android Q has been made available for Pixel owners to download …

Mobile Bingo – Where To Play?

I was sitting down this morning, straight from the school run, being subjected to the car-crash TV that is the “Jeremy Kyle” show. It’s sponsored by a Bingo website and it got me pondering, because it’s making bingo a more approachable and acceptable pastime due to it being …

MWC – Doogee S90 shown off

Just before I left MWC I was able to see one last phone and this was one that I was particularly interested in. It is from a company called Doogee, which is a Chinese brand that has been specialising in making ruggedised phones. They have been doing this for a while …