Author: Ian Furlong
Last year at CES 2015 Asus announced a new smartphone that will “redefine your expectations of smartphone photography”. The ZenFone Zoom ran Android 5.X Lollipop and should offer some great photo capabilities. The closest the Coolsmartphone team came to it was the device in a glass display case, and it wasn’t powered …
Las Vegas isn’t filled with just gamblers and drinkers this week, oh no. It’s a tech-fest as the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) kicks off and the very latest gadgets get shown off. Two big car manufacturers are there too – Ford and Fiat Chrysler. They’ve announced that Android …
Don’t know who Honor are? For one they are the company that pinched our own James Pearce, secondly they are part of the phone manufacturer Huawei. They’re based more on-line than having retail outlets, but they’re still able to supply high spec’d devices with reasonable price tags. As …
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 …
The achillies heel of the modern smartphone is battery life, hence the multitude of battery packs and third-party battery boosting cases flooding onto the market. It’s solved a problem, but you’ve had to get that solution from elsewhere. Now Apple has finally decided to step into the battery …
The latest craze to hit Britain is the Hoverboard/Self Balancing scooter (well it’s not really a Marty McFly Back To The Future-styled device. Think more along the lines of a skateboard with a buggy wheel at either end). Companies are trying to get cheaper and sleeker versions in …
Today Samsung announced the details and specs of the 2016 Galaxy A series range of devices. They will be coming in three screen size options: 5.5-inch for the A7, 5.2-inch for the A5 and 4.7-inch for the A3. Equipped with an enhanced camera system for brighter and clearer …
Since it was announced earlier in the year, people have been waiting for for the launch of the hotly anticipated Motorola 360 Sport smartwatch. Now Motorola has finally announced the launch date for their latest device. This will now be available to purchase from 18th December for £219.00 …
Last year I was sent through the TravelCard portable charger for review. It’s a super slim battery pack designed to fit in your wallet and give your mobile device that all important boost when you need it. I loved the TravelCard charger and it sits happily in my wallet with …
Samsung pay, which is the company’s mobile payment system, is reportedly coming to the United Kingdom, China and Spain in the first quarter of 2016. Currently only limited to a number of handsets, Samsung Pay, has not been as big as Apple Pay to date. However, one way …
My little boy loves YouTube: he particularly loves watching people playing Lego video games. But I’m constantly worried he might come across something inappropriate for him. Seven months ago, I thought my prayers had been answered when YouTube announced its YouTube kids app. However (unsurprisingly, yet again) unfortunately …
One of my other hobbies, apart from writing for this fantastic site, is flying drones. These are also known as unmanned aerial vehicles or UAV’s. My current setup is able to hold a GoPro camera on a 3 axis gimbal which gives excellent super smooth clear footage. The drone …
First it was Bendgate, now it’s Crackgate. More supposed tales of woe to hound the new Nexus 6P flagship. Some users are reporting that the Corning Gorilla Glass 4 panel that sits in front of/protects the camera is spontaneously cracking. It appears that this piece of glass isn’t …
We here at Coolsmartphone towers love UK mobile operator Three. They were the first operator to roll out a 3G network here in the UK, plus they rolled out unlimited data and 4G for no extra cost etc. I think nearly all our writers have a least one Three …
Good Points: Well made and lightweight. Ability to transfer data and charge devices. Solves the issue of of small number of USB inputs in your laptop. Plug and play no drivers needed. Bad Points: Not a powered hub. Short cable to plug into computer. Design: Made out of high …
Despite the launch of the first two phones from OnePlus being, shall we say, less than smooth, (I know I had to jump through the invite hoops for both my OnePlus One and Two) the company are still struggling to to get the Two into customer’s hands. …
Let’s just get this right out in the open from the off… I’m not a runner… so having been sent through the Inateck sweat-proof running waist pack belt with expanding pockets, I thought this wasn’t the product for me, but I found it was. It certainly didn’t turn me in …
Not long after the release of the new S variant of the iPhone, someone decided to take it all to pieces to have a looksee what all the hoo- har is about. Well, it appears that the A9 chip in Apple’s new iPhone 6s is manufactured by two …
Have you got a Nexus 6, 5 , 7, 9, or Nexus Player? If you have, it looks like now is the time for mashing the “check for updates” button. It appears that the latest version of Android is being sent out as an OTA update to those …
It’s no secret that Blackberry’s hardware and build quality are second to none, but as of late the manufacturer has lost its “mojo” and sales continue to falter. This has been blamed on Blackberry’s own OS (Now at Blackberry OS 10.3.2), recent devices like the Blackberry Passport won …
Today China’s official certification database — TENAA, passed a previously unannounced HTC branded handset from HTC. It’s believed to be the HTC One M9e, a scaled-down model of the standard M9. M9e Specs Aluminium unibody. 5-inch Full HD display as per the M9. 2.2GHz octa-core Helio X10 processor. …
It’s well-rumoured that Microsoft have a new handset or two just over the horizon, namely the Lumia 950 and the 950 XL. It’s believed these will be shown to the world at the beginning of next month at an event in New York. Well, on Forever Nokia Latinoamérica’s Facebook, they …
Ofcom, the British telecoms regulator, has revealed it is about to increase the fees it draws from the UK’s network providers. Ofcom charge a rate for using the mobile airwaves, but they’re now cranking up the costs by almost a factor of three. Currently it draws £64.4m in fees …
OnePlus have announced that they are to roll out an update to Oxygen OS, updating it to 2.1. If you have the OnePlus 2, which I have to say is an amazing device, you’re in luck. This update is to add improvements to the camera app, adding a manual mode …
Last years Nexus 6 was the first Nexus handset to have a maximum storage capacity of 64 GB. Before that, the maximum storage space that Google offered in a Nexus device was a measly 32 GB. As apps grow in size, (I remember when I though that 12 …
It looks like the wait is over. Google have sent out invites for their ‘Google Event’ on September 29th, at 9 a.m. PT (Pacific Time – that’s 5 p.m for us folks in Blighty and CSP Towers). We are expected to finally get a good look at the …
4 port USB wall charger. My night time ritual goes something like this.. Put the cat out Lock the doors Make sure all the windows are closed Walk around the house looking like Mr T from the A-Team with a multitude of charger leads and plugs round my …
Processor manufacturer Qualcomm has announced the latest version of its Quick charge system, now imaginatively named “Quick Charge 3.0”. It’ll debut on the Snapdragon 820 chipset next year and will then roll out to the Snapdragon 620, 618, 617 and 430 platforms. Quick Charge 3.0 will allow compatible phones …
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 …
Motorola have just announced that in a similar vein to the Moto Maker for their phones, the second generation of the company’s smartwatch, the Moto 360 can be fully customised in the Moto Maker design studio. Now you can choose from additional bezels, colours, materials, even a new double …
Are you a Amazon Instant video user? Well if you are there is an update coming to the app which allows you to download movies or TV shows to your device, so you can watch them off line later. You can only download over a WiFi network not …
Well it’s coming to that time of year, when we receive stacks of iPhone-related gossip about the next version. The latest “leak” comes in the form of a video which purports to show the latest handset from Apple. As with other iterations of the “S”, the form factor …
I would say with some conviction that mobile phone photography is now a recognised sector of the photography world (have a look at the mobile specific groups on Flickr for example). As the quality of cameras improved in our mobile devices, the creative folk amongst us produce more …
Founded in 1985, Fossil recently announced that they were teaming up with chipmaker Intel, which could mean only one thing. The company was looking into a smartwatch. Well at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) 2015. it was announced that Fossil will release its first fashion smartwatch, an as-yet-unnamed …
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, …
I loved the Nexus 5, so much in fact that I bought 3, but when the Nexus 6 came around it just didn’t grab me. It was just that bit too big and let’s be honest, too expensive in comparison to the other versions. Well if the rumours …
Those of us who are… Ahem… a little older – will with a fond heart remember the 80’s (let’s be honest the best decade for music), the birth of the Yuppie and the accessory always in the hand: the Filofax. Well, it appears that California company, Pacific …
Inateck have contacted us to share some of the deals they currently have in conjunction with a “Back to School” promotion. Yes, it’s that time of year already. The discounts are set to run till the 15th of August, so get clicking if you’re interested. £7 off with …
I was recently contacted by EasyAcc and asked if I would like to review their latest powerbank. If you’re not sure what a powerbank is, that’s simply another name for a chunky battery that you carry around with you. It’ll charge your phone or anything else you might …
The latest update to the BBC Worldwide News app version 3.2 sees the inclusion of Android Wear support, meaning short news snippets will be sent to your wrist. Articles are presented in a RSS style layout, with the ability to swipe horizontally and vertically: go up or down …
