Author: Ian Furlong
I recently received the Acer Z5 budget smartphone through for review, and despite there being a dual-SIM variant, this is the single SIM version. After unboxing my first impressions were… “Hang on, someone has put a Nexus 5 in here by mistake!” Good Points Good feel in the …
Following on from the Oppo N1 with its gigantic 5.9-inch screen and a 206-degree rotating camera, today the company has unveiled a mini version of the N1 … called… errr… the mini. Now for a device named “mini”, a 5 inch screen device perhaps isn’t the first thing …
After many leaks on the internet, the HTC M8 Ace has now appeared on HTC China’s website. If reveals the handset in several colours including red, blue, black and white. Making it out of reduced costs but does give the Ace a seamless look, similar to last year’s …
The interwebs are constantly chattering about the new high speced device from the fledgling company OnePlus. Their OnePlus One phone is amazingly high spec for a low price and now their CEO Peter Lau has revealed how they’ve been able to bring high-end features with Nexus-like pricing. The …
Starting today, Google Glass is available for practically anybody in the USA, as long as they are over 18 and have $1500 to spend. The Explorer version of the Google Glass wearable was sold only to developers who intended to write apps for the device, this was changed to a invite …
Not happy with your white, black, blue or gold versions of the Galaxy S5? Well if you’re living in Japan, today is your lucky day. Japanese carrier NTT Docomo has just unveiled a pink color variant of the Galaxy S5. Other changes include the NTT Docomo branding at the front and …
Archos has revealed what they are calling the “ArcBook”, which is an “Affordable Mobile Productivity Enhancer”. Errr… in other words an Android powered netbook. Google™ Certified ArcBook with a 10.1” touchscreen and fully-fledged keyboard designed for students and mobile professionals available in June for under £139.99 Spec’s include.. …
For some time now Google Maps has shown Transportation info for the USA. However, Google has now updated Great Britain too. You can now get directions for travel using public transportation. The app update is available now for iOS and Android, as well as on the web on …
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 …
Ari Partinen, the man who introduced Nokia’s “PureView” and had been the head of the company’s photography unit since 2007, has been hired by Apple to work on its iPhone camera systems. We all know that Nokia has been famous for both it’s camera software and hardware. And …
A couple of days ago documentation was leaked showing Samsung’s progress in bringing Android 4.4 KitKat to their older generation devices. These documents unfortunately indicated that the official KitKat update for the International Galaxy S III GT-I9300 had been “canceled for now.” This documentation stated that the hangup …
Tesco’s chief executive, Philip Clarke, has today told BBC Radio 5 live that the company is going to launch its own Android smartphone by the end of the year. It’ll compete with the Samsung Galaxy S5, but it’ll be cheap too. The smartphone will come with Tesco services …
Looking very much like a Samsung lawsuit waiting to happen, this is the Huawei Glory 3X. Apart from the familiar looks of the Samsung Note 3, the Huawei Glory 3X will feature… 5.5 inch 1080p display 13-megapixel rear camera 5-megapixel front camera 16GB of storage 2GB of RAM …
Following a very brief appearance on the HP website, the interwebs are now full of rumours of a upcoming 14 inch Android powered Laptop, named the Slatebook 14. The company hasn’t yet officially announced the SlateBook 14, but a video outlining the device’s key features and specs has …
Since buying James’ Note 3 (or, if you listened to our podcast, me bullying it off him), I have wanted to look into wireless chargers mainly because it came with the Samsung wireless charging back. Now here comes my dilemma, which is of two parts.. 1. I need …
Android if full of malware and viruses isn’t it? Well no, not unless you believe the hype. Yes the Android operating system has its weaknesses, but as long as you’re careful and not go around side-loading apps from the less desirable sites things should be OK. This is …
To carry on with their world smartphone domination plans, Samsung have announced yet another Galaxy Ace device. The Galaxy Ace Style, is aimed at the younger audience and the phone is said to have a “a fun, unique design with an enhanced camera and advanced features for superior …
This time lat year HTC were under some considerable pressure after reporting the companies lowest profits to date, people were saying that the death knell was sounding for the Taiwanese company. Despite launching two flagship devices the HTC One M7 and now the M8 this hasn’t stemmed the …
Following on from the Galaxy S4 Zoom, rumors for the next interation of the Zoom series the Galaxy S5 Zoom have been hitting the internet. We have now had a Mr Blurry Cam photo of the device, now if this is the S5 Zoom (referred to as the …
After finding out that users could accidentally disable the device by waving their arms. Google owned Nest Fire Protection has halted sales of the Nest Smoke detector. The company said the feature, Nest Wave, which allows users to wave their arms to deactivate the alarm, could be activated …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 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 …
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, 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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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, 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 …
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 …
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 …
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 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 …
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 …
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 …
