Author: Ian Furlong

Tips to speed up the Chrome browser on Android

Are you a Android phones user? Do you use the Google Chrome browser on your device? I do and to be honest there is a lot of functionality but it certainly isn’t the fastest browser out there. I’ve found a couple of tips that you can use on …

O2 taking Pre-Orders for S5 and Sony Z2

Following on from Carphone Warehouse, O2 are also taking pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the Sony z2 from today. The S5 will be available in either black or white from April 11th, and a little later for the other colours. The Z2 will be in store …

Galaxy S5 already on sale weeks early.

Samsung’s latest flagship device is due to go on sale on April 11 ( a date I will not forgot, not because of the launch but because its my wife’s birthday, and she doesn’t want a S5 but some handbag thing ). Now from today you can pre-order …

Microsoft Office Mobile free to Android phone users

Following today’s announcement of Office for the iPad, Microsoft also announced Office for Android completely free to use on phones. Office itself has always been free, but you needed to have a paid Office 365 subscription in order to make any use of it. As long as you …

Possible breach of security at Cerberus.

Are you a user of the Android security app/service Cerberus? I am and have reviewed the app here on the site in the past. I’m still convinced that it’s unparalleled for features that it gives. Now worryingly emails have been sent to users instructing them to change the …

The Travelcard smartphone charger

The new batch of flagship smartphones are coming out with great battery saving features, but what if you haven’t got a new fancy flagship device, what if your smartphone has a sealed in battery? Which is becoming the norm nowadays. Well either don’t stray too far away from …

HTC Desire 816 confirmed for UK.

Following announcing the HTC Desire 816, the Taiwanese company has stated that it has received 450,000 pre-orders in just 72 hours. Now the mid-range device is believed to heading to the UK, with a price tag around £315 (but this has not yet been confirmed). Spec’s incude Android …

Blackberry patent for overlay keyboard appears

Blackberry, we all know that the company is Ahem struggling shall we say, people loved Blackberry smartphones for their physical QWERTY keyboard and to be honest there is no other smartphone built with a keyboard that come close to it for both ease  and speed of use and …

Oppo Find 7 to come with two screen resolutions

As you may or may not know, here at Coolsmartphone we are big fans of Oppo phone’s, our writers have owned both the Find 5 and the N1, and we are all eagerly awaiting the upcoming flagship the Find 7. Following rumours that the 7 with come with …

Nokia X Rooted – Google Apps installed

Well, we all knew that it was bound to happen, but just days after the announcement? That’s pretty amazing. The new Nokia X has already been rooted and the Google Apps installed, this despite having a locked bootloader. THe X has been cracked by members of the XDA …

The end is nigh for Google Currents

Remember Google Reader? Well that was replaced in 2011 with the Google Currents app. Now there is currently a update being pushed out to the Currents app. What hat does this update bring to the table I hear you ask? This magical update basically wipes the Google Currents …

LG G2 mini Announced

As MWC looms ever closer, we’re getting ready for rhe official LG launch of the G2 mini and were a little surprised to see that LG have decided to out the handset today instead. LG G2 mini is set to be a smaller, mid-range version of the flagship …

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 …

New features added to Google Now

Are you a user of Google Now ? I’ve got to admit I wasn’t but that’s definitely changing. With every update to the app, the functionality just keeps getting better. In the previous update we got the UK voice option to say “OK Google” to launch the search …

Are Samsung releasing two variants of the S5 ?

If you have been living in a cave with your eyes shut and your fingers in your ears, you won’t be aware of the upcoming Mobile World Congress, which kicks off at the end of the month. Mobile phone giant Samsung have the “Unpacked 5” event on Feb …

Samsung’s new Windows Phone packing a quad-core Snapdragon CPU.

A short while ago I posted an article about a rumoured new Samsung Windows Phone. It was named SM-W750V and, at the time, details were pretty sparse. The name has now changed and it’s known under the code name “Huron”, plus even more specs have now leaked out. …

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 …

Pebble App Store coming to iOS on Monday

Have you like me got a Pebble smart watch or, if you’re a lucky boy like our own Dan, a Pebble steel ? Well, if you are you will know only way to install apps to your watch is by using “third party” sites to download and then …

Three SIM-Only One Plan Price Change

Today UK mobile provider Three have announced a price increase to their SIM-only deals. On “The One Plan”, the increase is from £15 per month to £20 on the 12 month contract. If you’re too choose the monthly rolling a One Plan then there’s an increase from £18 …

£80 Off the Moto X at Clove

Remember the excitement when we heard that the Moto X was heading here to the UK? Remember the disappointment when we heard the release date price for the device was £380? Everyone compared the Moto X to Nexus 5 which was, at the time, a whopping £80 cheaper. …

Amazon giving away £18 worth of apps

Are you a user of Amazon’s own app store ? Well if your a Kindle fire user yes, but what about everyone else ? Did you know that Amazon give away a free app everyday ? Normally these free apps are “up and coming” apps but occasionally Amazon …

Access your PC files using Airstream for Android

Right I’m going out on a limb here, but the chances are dear reader, that if you are a regular visitor to our site you will have heard of one of the many cloud drive services such as Dropbox, Box, Skydrive or Google Drive. In fact I’d wager …

Price reduction for the Sony QX10

Just a short few months after release, and following our full review, independent UK retailer Clove Technology have lowered the price of the Sony QX10 camera down to £114 including delivery. It’s available in both black and white and will is a self-contained camera which can be controlled via …

Tizen event on Feb 23rd

Right remember Samsung’s own operating system Tizen ? Well if you’re like me I thought that it was dead and buried, but apparently not. According to the Sammobile site, Samsung is still very much committed to showing off where it’s at with the development of Tizen and devices …

Note 3 Lite not coming to the UK

Some time ago our own Ronnie posted about a rumoured device this being the Note 3 Lite which you can read here, at that time this was only speculation. But now Samsung’s fan site SamMobile have been releasing spec’s of the Galaxy Note 3 Neo aka Note 3 …

O2 announce a price increase

UK mobile phone provider O2 has announced an up-coming price increase. It’ll affect their Pay Monthly Airtime Tariffs. They have announced a tariff increase of 2.7% from March 1st 2014, which they say is in line with with the current Retail Price Index (RPI) rate of inflation announced on …

Nokia release disappointing results

I’m not a Nokia fan boy but I really like the new Lumia device’s and windows phone operating system. I thought, along with loads of other people, that this combination (plus being bought by Microsoft) would signal the beginning of a turnaround for the ailing company. Today Nokia …

Streaming music service Deezer in talks with Samsung.

There are currently a multitude of streaming music services Spotify, Rdo, Mog, Sony’s music unlimited, Pandora, and Deezer to name but a few. But due to licencing some services are only available in certain parts of the world. Here in the UK there is Blinkbox music (owned by …

£25 off Kindle Fire purchases till 20th January

Amazon UK was voted number 1 for customer satisfaction over the Christmas period, and to celebrate, any of the Kindle Fire range can be had for £25 off list price. The offer only runs until January 20, and the discount will be applied at checkout with the use …

Try Sony’s streaming music for £3

There’s a wide selection of streaming music services here in the UK. Some are monthly subscription services and others are free but ad-supported. Now Sony have entered the fight for your listening ears by offering all the music you want for just £1 a month as part of …

New Samsung Windows phone rumours

With Mobile World Congress (MWC) fast approaching, the rumour Mill is starting to turn. Samsung, according to what we’re getting, is planning for a successor to its Ativ S Windows Phone device in the coming weeks. The upcoming Samsung device named SM-W750V will have a 5-inch 1080 x …

Tech 21 iPad Mini Screen Protector & Rear Case Review

Some time ago I reviewed the Lifeproof case for my iPad mini, which was a fully armoured case which offered  unprecedented levels of protection, and provided the much needed piece of mind while it was being used by my little boy, but with the drawback that considerable bulk was …

Android App Review – Skiplock

If you’re using today’s super powerful smartphones like me, you are now carrying everything in your pocket, your bank details, your social networks and normally some irreplaceable photo’s of loved ones. So your phone should have some kind of password/PIN/pattern/facelock protection to stop unwanted eyes to getting to the …

Cyanogen now available for existing Oppo N1

Those who purchased the Oppo N1 before the CyanogenMod news (we are talking about you here Ronnie ) will be excited to know that the official CyanogenMod ROM for the device is available to all users. As promised the official package is available for installation on any version of the Oppo …

Android 4.4.2 coming to UK Moto G’s soon

The 4.4.2 update to the Moto G was originally promised for early 2014, but Motorola says it’s “thrilled to start delivering on that promise early”. The Android 4.4.2 KitKat update is now available to Moto G handsets purchased on Motorola’s website and Amazon in the US. Motorola says the Moto …

Easily find your way around new places with WAM

I was trying to think of a whitty and informed intro to this post, just as a way to show how this app – called “WAM” (short for World Around Me”) – helps you find your feet in foreign or new places. Luckily, they’ve sent us this rather …

Update to Swiftkey Keyboard brings winter cheer.

The latest update to SwiftKey keyboard brings improvement to the installation process, but most importantly also brings a bit of winter cheer with a new keyboard theme. After switching over to the new “Ice” theme, you’ll be greeted by a deep blue background with snow-capped keys that drop …

British Airways to allow use of gadgets during takeoff/landing

British Airways is to become the first European airline to allow the use of electronic devices, including phones and tablets, during take-off and landing. Thus bringing the end to a 1960’s ruling. The decision was approved by the British Civil Aviation Authority according to a BBC report, and follows an earlier relaxation …