Category: Other smartphones

IQOO 12 review

Snapdragon Ultra Core for more gaming power Ever wondered who iQOO is? They are an independent sub-brand of vivo, a well-known smartphone manufacturer. If you’re unfamiliar with vivo, you’re not alone. They were once part of the BBK Electronics conglomerate, which also houses Oppo and OnePlus. Within this …

Comparing mobile phone insurance. Get it right!

It’s got to the point where I now have the cheapest mobile deal in the house. My wife, however, is spending nearly £58 per month on her two-year contract. It’s a crazy amount for a Galaxy S9, however there’s a few “additions” to the package she’s got. The …

Driving the evolution of mobile phones

As we approach 5G, an entirely new realm of speed and efficiency is opening up to us. As much as this leap promises to offer, however, it also illustrates more of an expansion of what already exists than a complete reshaping of how our mobile lives operate. Despite …

ByteDance getting into the smartphone business

Given the difficulties currently being experienced by Huawei when it comes to the American and European markets, it’s likely that we’ll soon be one major smartphone developer down. Huawei will be able to continue trading within their home country of China, but without access to Android’s operating software …

Samsung releases a new high end flip phone.

Nearly a year ago, Samsung revealed a high-end, premium flip phone called the W2018. Well, it appears the company is about to release the next generation: the imaginatively-named W2019. The W2019 has an aluminium body and a Gorilla Glass back, but we unsure if the front and internal screens …

OnePlus 6T to abandon the headphone jack

I have had every OnePlus device, since the very beginning was the OnePlus One, and like with many others I was eagerly awaiting the latest “Flagship Killer”. We’re talking about the OnePlus 6T which rumoured to be heading our way in October. Well, it is with a heavy …

Mi Mix 3 ‘leaked’ by Xiaomi CEO

Xiaomi CEO Lin Bin posted an image on the social network Weibo, which is believed to be the Mi Mix 3. This was a much clearer image than those blurry cam pics that had been leaked previously. If this is the Mi Mix 3, we can see that there …

Cyanogen OS finishes at year’s end.

A short time ago we reported that Cyanogen as a company would be shedding considerable staff. They were also closing buildings with some of the team moving to a single location. The new CEO, Lior Tal, announced the company would cutting ties with co-founder Steve Kondik too. Now Cyanogen …

Samsung grab a patent for a flip phone … sort of 

Earlier this year the interwebs was full of rumours that Samsung was planning to ship smartphones and tablets with a bendable OLED screen. In fact in June this year Lenovo displayed a prototype of its own bendable phone. Well a recent leaked patent application from the Korean Intellectual …

OnePlus 3T to be released next week

Cast your mind back dear reader, many moons ago when HTC furst released the “One” series of devices. Well just a few months after release, the company released a higher spec updated version of the same device. It well and truly upset the customers that had forked out …

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 …

Android Turing Phone now with less Android

I have a thing for the weird and occasionally wonderful. The Turing Phone sits in the first category, and I am sincerely hoping that it will fall into the second category. Google, and by extension, its Android partner ecosystem weren’t afraid to try new things in the early …

Huawei Mate 8 specs released

In November, Chinese phone manufacturer Huawei announced their highest specced phone to date, the upcoming Mate 8. On-paper specifications do look mighty impressive. The Huawei Mate 8 is now available for sale, with the promise of better performance and battery life. The device features the new Kirin 950 …

‘Cute’ Smartphone – RoBoHoN

If you’re like me you probably spend more time with your phone than with any other person. My phone is my alarm clock, my personal assistant and my exercise coach all in one. But there’s a reason why most people wouldn’t consider it a friend, it looks nothing …

Oppo R7 goes up for pre-order

Chinese mobile phone manufacturer Oppo (which a number of our team members have had devices from), has today announced that they are now taking pre-orders for their latest flagship device: the Oppo R7. Specs of the Oppo R7 are: 6-inch, 1080p AMOLED display. Qualcomm MSM8939 Snapdragon 615 chipset. 32GB internal …

Mockodile not enough? Goldgenie helps…

Sometimes mockodile is just not enough, or so I’m told. If you have large amounts of cash you need to part with and a desire to flaunt it with an iOS or Android device, Goldgenie might be a company with something to offer you. They even have something …

Android shown running on a BlackBerry Passport

Ah, the BlackBerry Passport. A seemingly bold (geddit?) handset from a company on the way out. However, what if BlackBerry were cooking up a slightly different model? With Android on it instead? It’d look something like this wouldn’t it? (Forward to around 5 minutes in) No, I couldn’t …

Project Ara delayed.

Back in 2013 Google revealed it’s plans for a modular smartphone Project Ara. We spoke a lot about the project on our fantastic podcast and universally loved the idea. Imagine you’re happy with most of the aspects of your current smartphone apart from the camera. Well no problem, …

BQ Aquarius E4.5 Ubuntu Edition – Unboxing

I mentioned a few days ago that I was going to be playing with the Ubuntu Phones. Now after a small wait I have the first of these phones in for review. it will be an interesting journey and one that I hope you join me on as …

Looking for something a bit different? BQ Aquarius E5

Today the smartphone market has 3 main player’s, iOS, Android and Windows Phone. Of course we also have BlackBerry sitting on the edge looking in but they are loosing relevance to be fair. In the last year or so we have started to see the emergence of some …

What you need is a phone made Liquidmorphium. Oh yes. Liquidmorphium.

I’m sitting in my happy place at the minute, because I’ve read this press release a few times now and I’m still not entirely sure what Liquidmorphium is. Part of me believes that it’s something Superman is allergic to, or perhaps it’s something that the Pengiun used against …

OnePlus announces…actually we don’t quite know.

Hot on the heels of OnePlus letting us know that they’d had to raise the Euro price of the OnePlus One, comes another announcement that some of us at CSP towers have been waiting for. Yep, the New OnePlus. Just kidding. We know that OnePlus has wanted to …

Lumia 535 now available in the UK

Today Microsoft announced that the Lumia 535 will be available here in the UK. The device will be available from the following retailers: Amazon, Tesco, O2, Carphone Warehouse and Virgin, and in a striking range of colours including green, orange, white, dark grey, cyan and black. The spec’s of the …

CES – Nokia 215 announced. Welcome back, Microsoft smartphone

Anyone remember Microsoft Smartphone 2002? How about the Orange SPV? It was a honest-to-goodness phone, with a numeric keypad and a colour screen running a Microsoft mobile OS. Now, just 13 years later, Microsoft have announced their most affordable internet-ready smartphone which runs… err.. the Nokia Series 30+ …

The Green Cross Code Man makes a comeback, and you better listen son.

Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod. How good is this eh? This man played Darth Vader. I mean sure, they got James Earl Jones to do the voice (y’know, with great lines such as “The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the force”). Anyhooo.. This, my friends, …

Ceramic and metal body rumoured for the Huawei Ascend P8

The mid-range Ascend P7 launched six months ago and our very own Gary reviewed it here. Now it’s rumoured that the next phone in the Ascend series, the P8, is currently undergoing internal testing at Huawei HQ. Rumours are that the new device could make a appearance as …

Want to view your NHS records from your smartphone?

Our National Heath Service (NHS), love it hate it, it’s still the envy of the world. As we move ever closer to the digital edge, it appears that the NHS is following too (abeit slowly). The NHS today outlined a number of new digital improvements that include making …

OnePlus rumoured to be producing a Windows Phone.

Chinese phone manufacturer OnePlus is believed to be releasing another device – possibly the OnePlus Two in early 2015. Following a recent meeting with Microsoft, it’s rumoured that they could be considering using the Windows Phone operating system. In a recent interview with India’s Economic Times they stated …

Oppo N3 to have the swivel camera like the N1

Phone manufacturer Oppo has released the above photo of their rumoured next device the Oppo N3, with what appears to be a rotating rear camera module at the top of the device, which we first saw the N1, enabling the high quality selfie, which seems to be the …

Note 4 clone revealed.

Can’t wait to get your hands on Samsung’s latest flagship device the Galaxy Note 4, at IFA in Berlin, in a couple of weeks. Well,if you don’t mind using a cheap knock-off of the phablet, Goophone has you covered.The company has already listed its Galaxy Note 4 clone …

Is this the thinnest smartphone ever ?

Remember the Gionee Elife S5.5? (Me neither!) Well that device was a ridiculously thin handset at just 5.5 mm thick. Now China has certified an upcoming Android handset from the same company, codenamed the GN9005,. It reportedly measures only 5mm (0.2in) thick; that’s half a millimetre less than …

Lumia 830 images leaked.

According to Chinese social network Web, these leaked images are of the New Nokia Lumia 830 Windows Phone. Design wise the device looks very much similar to the latest Lumia devices with capacitive hardware buttons in the bottom. Ith as a aluminum frame around it with polycarbonate in …

Top tips to help you afford the latest gadgets

Here at Coolsmartphone we’ve already had a look at the cheaper smartphones and we’re always quick to let you guys know if there’s a good deal online. However, let’s be honest, for the most part phones are an expensive habit. The old way of getting a handset used …

Moto E spotted before launch day.

Some very official looking shots Motorola’s new device the Moto E, have turned up online over the weekend ahead of it’s launch on Tuesday. The images show the new phone will look similar to the Moto G in design and be available in black and white, and renowned …

OnePlus One preorder with Mobile Fun

Yesterday the Chinese startup OnePlus launched their “Flagship killer“. Today we have an announcement that the phone is available for preorder from Mobilefun in both varieties. The prices are pretty steep at the moment but I’m sure they will be straightened out prior to the actual release. Currently …

Jolla Phone – Review

Using a #Jolla phone is like having one foot in the past, one in the future. A slightly strange stance but ultimately quite fun… I tweeted this recently in a moment of whimsy but thinking about it afterwards I realized it really is an accurate summation of my …

Lumia’s 930, 630/635 announced at MWC

Two weeks to go until Mobile World Congress and the rumour mill is turning at full swing, now we here at Coolsmartphone towers have heard of 3 new devices from Nokia, The first two being the Lumia 630/635 which have a slight bump in spec to the 620, …

Oppo Find 7 to launch on 19th March

Oppo, has today announced that it will be launching its Find 7 flagship smartphone on March 19 in Beijing. This is a little disappointing as it was originally rumoured that the device was going to be released during Mobile World Congress this month. The Find 7 follows in …

LG G Pro 2 to feature OIS and 4K video.

LG is to unveil it’s flagship device – the LG G Pro 2 – at Mobile World Congress. Details of the devices camera and video capabilities have been also revealed. On the photo front the camera will have OIS Plus, which is believed to create clearer shots and …