Tag: android

New tough smartphone – by Casio

This rough and tough Android-powered phone will soon be coming to the USA on Verizon. It’s made by Casio – a brand which is normally associated with watches and calculators. Named the “Commando”, this is both waterproof and impact-proof with Gorilla glass, large (and loud) front speakers, tactile …

Coolsmartphone Recommended Android App – Desktop Visualizer

Android customization is a huge topic, there are so many different apps that let you change a different parts of your phone. Desktop Visualizer lets you create shortcuts for programs in a variety of different sizes. The basic idea behind it is to create 1×1 shortcuts to run …

Google Docs in action

Google have released a Google Docs app for Android users. It’ll let you create, edit and upload documents on the go and everything gets stored in your Google cloud. You can also take snaps of documents and use OCR (optical character recognition) to turn photos into text. Heck, …

LG G2X to get Gingerbread ‘soon’

T-Mobile USA tweeted that G2X owners won’t have long to wait for Gingerbread to be released for the phone. This significance of this is that the G2x is the American version of the LG Optimus 2X and is pretty well an identical phone, meaning the euro market should …

Android Tablet App: Tweetcomb

As more and more developers get their hands on an Android tablet running Honeycomb, we will see, and are starting to see more tablet-dedicated applications. Tweetcomb is one such application, which focuses on the social medium, Twitter. Tweetcomb is the brainchild of Chris Stewart (Check out his Twitter …

LG Optimus 2X first impression.

So, after much deliberation I finally made the jump and bought a replacement for my much loved and trusty Nexus one – An LG Optimus 2X. The decision was actually quite easy, it had to be ‘next generation’ dual core powered, have an unlockable bootloader and ideally the developers and …

Evidence That Your Incredible S Will Get Gingerbread

When phone companies say they will release a particular software upgrade, particularly with Android, there are a few occasions when it simply doesn’t happen, or is terribly delayed. Recently, the US-only Samsung Fascinate just received an upgrade to Android 2.2 Froyo, many months late. The recently unveiled HTC …

QFS (Quick File Share) – First Look

For this week I have been sent QFS or Quick File Share. It’s a very basic application for sharing your files on your phone with anyone. Here is the first look video, the full review will be along next week. Also I would like to mention that the …

My view of Google’s step to gain control of Android skinning.

Since the start, Android has always been on the forefront of becoming the largest open source OS. This was to give manufacturers the chance to skin the platform. But, now it seems to be changing. During the last month, sources have provided us information that all is about …

Motorola Xoom – A “proper” test drive!

The guys from Carphonewarehouse have clearly gone insane. Instead of just doing a simple demo or hands-on video they’ve taken the new Motorola Xoom through traffic on the back of a motorbike, on a boat down the Thames, through a field on horse-back and.. well, listen.. just watch …

Coolsmartphone Recommended App: LiveProfile

LiveProfile is a device-to-device messaging app for Android, iOS, and Blackberry. It works on a similar basis to Blackberry Messenger, whereby you are required to create an account and then you are assigned a PIN. Other LiveProfile users who have your PIN can become friends with you, and …

Skype security vulnerability now fixed

You may have seen reports regarding a with Skype earlier this week. It could have allowed other apps to access the private Skype files containing your personal data. An update is now available to fix the bug and you can download it here. Details of this fix have …

Samsung Galaxy Tab – Just £299 from O2

Earlier today we spotted a T-Mobile offer which gave you the Galaxy Tab for just £15 per month. However, over at O2 they seem to be selling it without a contract for £299. That’s cheaper than everywhere else we looked – even most eBay listings. Check our hands-on …

Sony Ericsson Q1 Report – Less sales, more profit

The Sony Ericsson Q1 results are out and, by the looks of it, Android has played a huge part in their fortunes. Although the first quarter of 2011 saw less phones shipping (8.1 million instead of 11.2 million), they made a greater margin per phone. President & CEO …

Acer Liquid Metal Review

The Acer Liquid Metal has been out for a few months now, at the time of writing you could get one for £263 which puts it the same sort of price bracket as the Motorola Defy and the Samsung Galaxy Ace. So first of all we shall have …

Xperia arc now selling on o2

The Sony Ericsson Xperia arc is now showing on the O2 website. You can buy it on Pay & Go for £359.99, which seems like a pretty good deal. If you’re after a contract then you can grab it for nothing on a £27 p/m deal over 2 …

Pricing and more – Motorola Atrix on Orange

The Motorola Atrix will arrive on Orange in early May for free on £35 per month plans over 24 months. This deal includes 600 minutes, 750MB internet allowance, 50 MMS and unlimited texts. If you buy the Atrix Orange will also offer a “Work and Play” kit which …

Which App Shall I Review?

So you can all see that the ‘Android App Review Show’ is back up and running. I no longer have the stress and strain of University to distract me, and I have a degree in Multimedia Technology and Design under my belt to help me make a professional …

Android App Review Show – AllSport GPS

This weeks feature video is a look at Allsport GPS. Trimble Outdoors were kind enough to send me their Pro version of the app and put me in contact with testing team so that I could get to know the app a little better. Check out the video …

Pew Pew for Android

Pew Pew is a cool video game for Android, which has a distinctly retro feel. It’s simple, fun, and easy to use. There are a few different game options, all of which involve collecting boxes, and dodging enemies/destroying them as well. Without a doubt, my favourite feature of …

Not got predictive dial ? Try Dialer One

During the Sony Ericsson Xperia arc review we mentioned the lack of predictive dial. Let me be honest and say that I love predictive dial and have used it since it appeared in Windows Mobile 6.5. It’ll let you start typing a name or number and will locate …

Google – 350,000 devices activated daily

The Android Behemoth continues to storm across the planet. During their Q1 earnings call Jeff Huber, Senior CP of Commerce at Android, stated that 350,000 devices are being activated every day. Add that up and you get nearly 2.5 million devices being activated every single day. Imagine everyone …

Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY – Available on T-Mobile

The Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY is now available to buy on the T-Mobile UK website. It now sits alongside the Sony Ericsson Xperia arc which we reviewed recently and the Samsung Galaxy Ace we reviewed a week or two ago. T-Mobile also have the Motorola Atrix and LG …

Confirmed – HTC Sensation coming to Orange in June

You may know Conor by now, he’s the PR guy from Orange. We’ve emailed him to ask whether the HTC Sensation will be available on their network. Turns on it will and you’ve only got to wait until June. If you haven’t done so already, have a look …

Coolsmartphone Recommended Android Tablet Apps

Android tablets are all over the place at the moment. The prices of current Android tablets are plummeting such as the Galaxy Tab and the Advent Vega. There are also lots of new tablets being announced every week such as the Asus Transformer and Acer Iconica. Due to …

Launcher 7 | Give Your Android Phone a Flavour of Windows Phone 7

I really like Windows Phone 7’s Metro UI, which essentially puts your application shortcuts on a series of tiles on the homescreen. Android developers being, well, Android developers have created a few different launchers for Android that mimic Microsoft’s sexy Metro UI. I’ve tried a few, but Launcher …

Twicca | A Fun, Feature-Packed Twitter Client for Android

There are  a huge amount of Twitter applications over in the Android Market, so choosing the right one can be pretty confusing. While there are some good apps, many of them are, quite frankly, pretty terrible. When I used to own an HTC Hero, I was using Twidroid, …

Coolsmartphone Recommended Android App – Go Contacts

Go Contacts is a replacement for your normal contacts app. If you run HTC Sense there is not much point in reading this as your “People” app does everything this does. This app is more for the people who have an Android device without a fancy skin on …

Android App Review Show

Well it’s been a while since the last episode hasn’t it? I was forced to take a hiatus from producing the show on account of the growing amount of projects I had to undertake for my University degree but as of today that has all finished. Hopefully after …

Google Maps Updated – Track your movements

Google Maps has reeived another update. Version 5.0.3 introduces History for Latitude. Until now Latitude has helped you see where your friends and family are located but now you can see just how long you spend in certain areas. Other extras include the ability to add your own …

Coolsmartphone Recommended Android App – Swiftkey Beta

Swiftkey is a great keyboard that has been available for a while now. “Swiftkey predicts your most likely next word based on what you’ve already written. It learns as you use it from your message archive to make predictions amazingly accurate over time”. They have two new free …

Samsung Galaxy Mini now selling on Three

Another phone to become available on Three today is the Samsung Galaxy Mini. It’s powered by Android 2.2.1 and has a 3.14 capacitive screen. It also has a 3 megapixel camera, GPS, WiFi an portable WiFi hotspot capability. You can get this for £15 a month on a …

SPB Shell 3D For Android

SPB have been making software for smartphones for years now, they started with Windows Mobile, they recently have been making software for Symbian and in the last year or so have been making software for Android. SPB Shell 3D is their latest creation. The name may sound familiar as they had …

Sony Ericsson Xperia arc – A tour

The Sony Ericsson Xperia arc is a device we got a brief hands-on with at Mobile World Congress but alas it was all too brief. The handset has a large 4.2″ screen but is remarkably thin – just 8.7mm. Around back is a fantastic 8.1 megapixel camera with …

Advent Vega Initial Thoughts

You may have noticed that Dixons have reduced the price of the Advent Vega to £199. If not they have and here is the link. I bought one recently and I thought I would share my initial thoughts about the device to try and help potential buyers make …

HTC Wildfire S appears on Vodafone website

Vodafone look set to deliver the rather brilliant HTC Wildfire S soon enough. They’ve added the handset to their coming soon page and will also retail an exclusive grey and purple model too. The Wildfire S has a 320×480 pixel screen, 600MHz CPU, 512MB RAM, 5 megapixel camera, …

A week with the HTC Desire S – Day Two

It’s day 2 with the HTC Desire S and today we take a look at the battery, microSD, SIM and the battery cover which doubles-up as the antenna. Also included is a demo of how you get around the lack of optical trackball and a super close-up tour …

Coolsmartphone Recommended Android App – Continuous Shoot

This is quite a simple app. It lets you continuously take photos with your camera. You run this app instead of your camera app, press the shutter button and of it goes, trying to fill up your memory card as fast as it can! When you have had …

Zeemote Bluetooth Game Controller Review

I recently bought a Zeemote. It is a bluetooth game controller that has drivers available for Android, Windows Mobile, Blackberry, Symbian and Windows. Here are some pictures of the joystick. This joystick has been around for a while now, the manufacturers Zeemote originally bundled these with various Nokia …