Tag: smartphone

Exploring the evolution of mobile phones

It’s fair to say that I’m now of a “certain age” and I can quite easily amaze people by detailing a long-forgotten time “before mobile phones”. At school in the 80’s and 90’s, you simply wouldn’t see a phone, and it was only at college that clever new …

Out TV viewing is changing

Got a Sky or Virgin TV contract? Let me ask you a serious question. If you’re not into sports, are you really using it fully? Enough to warrant the monthly cost? Statistics announced today by Ofcom show that 90% of people still watch live TV every week. Some …

Now the smartphone takes over your holiday too

On a recent trip abroad, which happened in an EU country after the big “roam like home” rules applied, there was a definite split between the age groups on phone usage. Some mom’s and dad’s in restaurants still hunted for the free WiFi, but elsewhere on the beach …

Ways to keep your mobile devices safe and secure

At this time of year, it’s safe to say that many of you may be returning, or just about the embark, on a summer holiday. Now, as we mentioned before, if you fly from and to an EU country you can use your phone just as if you …

Vodafone Smart V8 Unboxing

Newsflash. I have a problem. Once upon a time we’d get budget, network-branded phones delivered to the Coolsmartphone HQ and they would be.. for want of a better word.. crap. Now they’re not. They’re really not, and when I see someone walking around with a “big name” budget …

Nokia 8 leaks ahead of official announcement

Nokia are once again becoming a big-name company. This time it’s thanks to new smartphones running Android and some impressive hardware since HMD Global took over. Their flagship device, the Nokia 8, has just been leaked by well-known leaker Even Blass (evleaks). With a dual Zeiss camera and …

Alcohol! Phones! It’s a double win!

Meet me and you’ll soon learn that I have a penchant for beer. Perhaps even the odd cocktail. This love of alcohol has sometimes caused problems though, and when you’re attending a swanky PR launch for a new phone with free alcohol … well, things can get blurry …

Selling a phone. My eBay experience.

A little story for you. It’s about eBay. At times, I really hate using it. My old phone, an LG G4, was recently sold on eBay and I’ve had some “issues” with the transaction. This has happened in the past, and I’m sure there’s some of you out …

Vodafone Smart V8 and Smart Tab N8 available now

The own-branded Vodafone kit we’ve tested lately actually scores rather well with us and now they’ve announced a couple more devices – the Vodafone Smart V8 and the Vodafone Smart Tab N8. You can get both from the Vodafone website. The V8 has already won design awards and …

HTC U11 now in solar red

HTC has just reached out to us to give the news their flagship device; the HTC U11 is now available in a brand new ‘Solar Red’ colour, and it is available from today. The HTC U11 has some great standout features, from the DxOMark-leading camera to the unique ‘squeeze’ …

Doro 8020X Overview

If you’re of a certain age the Doro handsets will definitely appeal. They’re simple to understand, easy to use and have an intuitive method of getting tasks done. Some of their line-up, like the 6050 we looked at yesterday, are more simplistic. Other handsets pack further features, such …

Archos announce a new smartphone line-up

Here comes the summer! Yes, it’s actually properly .. here! To celebrate, ARCHOS have sent us a box filled with ice-creams and lollipops revealed a new range of smartphones. There’s two “Diamond” handsets and two “Sense” phones. First is the Diamond Alpha, which is, according to the company, …

Coolsmartphone Podcast 208 Live

We aren’t doing a last minute post for the Podcast recording tonight. Something closer to the last hour, which is better. The Coolsmartphone Podcast will be live this evening from 9pm BST for the recording of episode 208. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNl39OtcYN8 We will be live here on Coolsmartphone.com and YouTube. …

DOOGEE Mix shrinks the bezel. Cheap too.

OK. I’ve caved. The PR people for DOOGEE have mailed me each and every single day for months now. The daily updates range from orchestrated “leaks” and “rumours”, so it’s difficult to know when an actual handset has been announced because I’m buried in their mails. Today though, …

STK Arrive in the UK via Carphone Warehouse

I’ve been taking a look at any mention of this company here on the site. The nearest I can find is this review of a battery pack they made some years ago.  STK actually make phones too. Today they’ve announced a partnership with Carphone Warehouse, who will be …

CHOETECH Universal Car Phone Holder – Review

Here’s something we haven’t reviewed in a while. A phone holder, for your car. For a long time I’ve had one of those that hangs from the air vents, but (as all men know) after a bit of use it goes a bit floppy and gets worn out. …

Nissan release a phone killer

You’re driving. The phone beeps. You know you’ve received a notification. It could be something important. It could be about those jeans you ordered, or it could be a Facebook update from someone about a burger they’ve just eaten. You’ll never know, because you’re driving…. ..but you just …

Honor 8 Pro now available to pre-order

Our very own Matteo had some hands-on time with the Honor 8 Pro and he was so impressed that he ended up ordering one for himself. That’s saying something. So now, following all the specs and details plus our bulging gallery of Honor 8 Pro pictures, we’ve got …

What really happens when your phone or iPad goes in for repair

If you were travelling back into work this morning then, if you’re on the train or Tube, I’ll bet you’ve seen someone using a broken phone. Phones, let’s admit, are expensive things. We already pay enough per month to buy the things, so the thought of paying even …

AVG on your mobile – it does a lot more than you’d think

Let’s be honest. If you’re buying an Android phone then, if you’re careful and don’t install much, you’re probably not going to be bothered by viruses or other nasties. However, looking at my son’s phone, he’s definitely not careful, and when I’m rushing to find an app to …

Those budget Android smartphones. Now even cheaper.

The price of smartphones seems to be going in two different directions at the moment. At the top end, the likes of the iPhone 7 and the Samsung Galaxy S8 will see you paying more and more for your flagship mobile. At the bottom end, something else is …

Internet use now higher on Android than Windows

We are used to hearing news that more people are accessing the web on a mobile device rather than a desktop. However, a new and somewhat significant milestone has been passed, this being that Android’s internet use has overtaken Windows PC’s. According to StatCounter the Android platform represented 37.93% …

The Cubot X17. A smartphone for around £100. Decent?

Well, how do I start this one exactly? Quite some time ago, the people at Cubot sent me a phone to review. It was the Cubot X17. Now you may not have heard of them, but they do a range of smartphones but this particular one is over …

The Orange SPV GUI

Yesterday I found a haul of classic smartphones including the SPV E100, E200 and M2000. Not only that, but I dug out the SPV C500 and C600 too. That C600 was, at the time, quite something – it came with an OMAP850 CPU running at 195Mhz and had …

Smartphones. The old days.

I finally raided my “special cupboard” and look. Look at what greeted me. Anyone remember these? I know some of you might recognise your favourites, but I’m going to start with the oldest one, on the left. It’s the Orange SPV, also known as the HTC Canary. This …

My phone is now held together with sticky tape

I like to think that I’m quite careful with my phone. I have an LG G5 at the moment and, although it’s perhaps not as nice to look at as some smartphones, I still prefer it to be case-free. Until yesterday I was quite proud of the fact …

MWC – We finally got a look at the Kodak Ektra

We’ve given the press people at Kodak quite a few emails now. We’ve still not been able to borrow one, so during our trip around the Mobile World Congress we finally got a few minutes to have a look at the Ektra in the flesh. It sells for …

MWC – Hands on with the Doogee Shoot 2

Just the other day we took a look at the rather massive Doogee Y6 Max. Imagine one of those old cheap tablet devices but with less bezel and a better resolution screen. Now imagine it costing about the same amount as one of those cheap tablets but it’s …

MWC – E&L Mobile push to make a name for themselves

Don’t worry, I’d never heard of them before either. They’re actually a company called Shenzhen Kenzinda Technology Co. Ltd. and they’re 10 years old in May. They have factories in India, Iran and Ethiopia along with Shenzhen City. Now, as “E&L Mobile” they’re trying hard to move out …

MWC – Nubia N1 and Nubia N1 Lite

I had a look at the rather good Nubia Z11 yesterday and was pretty impressed by the camera. On the other side of the stand is the aggressively priced Nubia N1 and the newly-announced Nubia N1 Lite shown in black on these shots. The Lite still has a 5.5″ …

Play Snake on your smartphone right now.

Sure, you could get the new / old Nokia 3310 to play Snake on, but it’s not the traditional version. It is, as you may have seen in my hands-on video the other day, a modem jazzed up version. If you want the traditional version, try getting this …

MWC – Hey Honor. Perform some Magic in Europe!

Imagine a pebble. One of those really cool pebbles that you find at the beach. Those ones that you use for skimming across the water. They’re brilliant aren’t they? Here at Mobile World Congress I’ve managed to get some time with the Honor Pebble Magic. It’s very pebble …

MWC – Huawei P10 and P10+ Picture Special

Following on from the EE announcement, we’ve had confirmation that both Three and Vodafone will be ranging the Huawei P10 and Huawei P10+ too. Three have confirmed that they’ll be taking the black and gold models. The P10 and P10+ will be available pricing from March in Europe …

Mobile World Congress / MWC – Why all the fuss?

For quite a number of years now we’ve been lucky enough to head out to Barcelona. We go armed with ultra-portable gadgets and good running shoes. The event, held in the city since 2006, is basically where all the big mobile companies such as LG, Huawei, Sony and …

The Orange SPV – An update

A little update on the Orange SPV story we ran a short while ago. The SPV was from a different era – a phone with a numeric keypad, no touch screen and something called “Microsoft Smartphone” as an OS. John Brown got in touch with us because he’d …

Blue Google Pixel coming to UK via EE

The Pixel was the first ‘Made by Google’ smartphone by the tech giant. It brought customers new features such as a new Google Assistant, and unlimited photo storage free of charge. EE were the exclusive partner here in the U.K. Both the White and Black models have been …

Smartphone shopping to treble in just four years

We’ve got the result of some research from OC&C Strategy Consultants, Google and Paypal. It shows that shopping on your smartphone is going to treble in the next four years. Treble. Yes, treble. Think about that. It’s already pretty massive as it is – £13.5bn. This research states …

ThruNite C2 Mini 3400 mAh Portable Charger – Review

For £19.95 on Amazon UK or $19.95 on Amazon US, this isn’t a great deal bigger than the battery inside. Plus, with this particular portable charger, you can actually unscrew the bottom and get at the battery – like an old-school torch / flashlight. Not only that, but …