Author: James Pearce
Ever since Google decided that no one used their RSS service Reader and decided to kill it off, I’ve been patiently waiting. I’ve been waiting for a decent replacement to step up. My main concern was the struggle I have keeping up with my RSS feeds on Windows …
Do you often get your tablet drenched? The Sony Xperia Tablet Z might be the tablet you are looking for. Spec wise it’s as you’d expect. Specifications: – Dimensions (mm) 172 x 266 x 6.9 – Weight 495g – Display 10.1 inches TFT, 1920×1080 pixels – Processor 1 …
Vine is a mini video sharing social network. That has been exclusive on iOS for a while now. Vine is the best way to see and share life in motion. Create short, beautiful, looping videos in a simple and fun way for your friends and family to see. …
Now and again a company gets it right when designing a phone. Like Apple did with the iPhone 4s, Nokia with the Lumia 800, Sony with the Xperia Z and now HTC with the One. When the HTC One arrived I knew that I wouldn’t be that shocked …
Another month and another Otterbox case it is for me, I just can’t help myself. I get an expensive phone, I just want to look after it from then on in. Which in my world means buying an Otterbox case. So onto the review, starting with a few …
Samsung have their core ranges of products and the Galaxy Tab range seems to have been around since the beginning of time Android. The original Galaxy Tab came out at a time when when Android tablets didn’t really exist. Nowadays Android are everywhere, some days I can’t move …
LG and their phones have pretty much passed me by during my time on this planet. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever even touched one. Here is my history if you’re interested, (according to that I did once have an LG). So getting my hands on the Optimus …
Acer UK have announced that they are continuing their £20 cashback deal on purchases of the Acer Iconia B1 8GB and 16GB models, making the final price £79.99 and £99.99. If you’re after a cheap basic tablet then the B1 might be the one for you. Cashback is …
I love the old female cowboy zombie killing genre of games. This latest game that has been released today fits right into that genre luckily, you take on the role of the female cowboy zombie killer, armed with only some guns and your heels. It might not sound …
Three have just announced that the Xperia SP which we reviewed the other week here. The Sony Xperia SP is available for £26 a month with no upfront cost on the Ultimate Internet 500 plan and for £29 a month with no upfront cost on The One Plan. Both …
I love Windows Phone, Microsoft, Samsung and Android so the following video doesn’t appeal to any particular bias I may have. But Microsoft seem to have lost it. Basically they’ve decided to compare the cost of the Samsung Galaxy S4 (about £500) with the cost of the Nokia …
We thrive on rumours and leaks these days, I can’t sleep some days until I’ve read what someone somewhere thinks some company might release at some point soon. Sometimes though @evleaks on Twitter is involved things are a little different, things are a little more real. So when …
Episode 49 of the Coolsmartphone Podcast is here. For this weeks topics we have leaks aplenty from Huawei, HTC and Samsung, some official Samsung announcements and the “Will they? Won’t they?” Situation with the now official Google Edition of the HTC One. Plus EE and their ludicrous pricing …
The Galaxy S4 Mini hasn’t been the best kept secret. What with various leaks around the internet and someone at Samsung accidentally adding it to their website as well. DOAH! Now it’s official.. Samsung have come out and announced the S4 Mini which offers a lower spec than …
A while back Google separated some of the core apps from the main firmware. Having them separated means that you an receive updates to your core apps. Such as Gmail, Calendar, YouTube, Hangouts etc. Google have updated the Calendar app a few times now and this latest update …
Otterbox make some pretty solid cases, I’ve bought no end for various phones that I wanted to protect. Today Otterbox have announced that they have become a member of SMAPP. That is short for Samsung Mobile Application Partner Program. That basically means that Samsung and Otterbox will be …
Finland is famous for several things, lakes, Angry Birds and Nokia. We all know how big Nokia used to be and you can imagine how many staff they used to have. Well Samsung have decided to capitilise on these technical Ex-Nokia staff and they’re opening up a new …
HTC just seem to suffer from one problem after another, some days I feel sorry for them. But this time it isn’t their fault something has gone wrong, it’s Google with their new overly complicated “Google Settings” app. The Google Settings app has a section about apps using …
There is something about white phones that gets me every time, it all started with the white HTC Hero, then Galaxy S2, Note, Note II, a few white mp3 players and a few white laptops. Now if a phone comes in white I just feel obliged to get …
Episode 48 of the Coolsmartphone means we are nearly at a year’s worth of Podcasts. Joining me this week are Khellan Payne, Nirave Gondhia and Ronnie Whelan. This week we are experimenting with guests, starting with Nirave. Hopefully more to come in the future. This week we talk …
Are you interested in that huge “phone” from Samsung, the Galaxy Mega 6.3? Well guess what, it’s coming to everyone’s favourite network Three. No word on official pricing yet, I just spotted this appear on their YouTube channel. I’ll update this article soon when we get some official …
Remember a few months ago when Microsoft announced the Surface tablets? The Windows RT version and the Windows 8 versions seemed to be the answer to everyone’s problems. The RT came out and people complained about installing non store based apps, Microsofts answer was “buy the Pro version”, …
HTC have apparently sold 5 million Ones, which is quite a lot. Not a lot in comparison to the Samsung Galaxy S4 or the iPhone 5 but it is still good. People are obviously buying the HTC One. According to WSJ an HTC executive has revealed the figures …
Everything needs to test in the real world and I don’t mean by squirting something into a monkeys face. I mean by flipping a big switch and seeing how many people complain. The airwaves in York are about to get busy. So who are are at800? They are …
It was only a few days ago that we saw what will be the second high end waterproof phone the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active and now it seems that LG want a slice of the waterproof pie as well. LG has announced a waterproof smartphone, called the Optimus …
Last week Google and Microsoft got in a bit of an argument. Basically Microsoft made their own YouTube app and it failed to comply with several requirements of the Google API read about it here if you want. Part of that argument involved Google giving Microsoft a deadline …
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 is an interesting device, as an 8″ device with the S-Pen it intrigues me, yet the slightly mediocre spec and the usual selection of Samsung software also appeals/worries me. The Galaxy Note 8.0 hasn’t exactly been pushed as much as the S4 and …
Aren’t Nokia great? They continue to push out great updates to there Here apps, that really benefit the whole Windows Phone ecosystem. The latest in their long line of apps and updates is Here Maps. Which is available to all Windows Phone 8 users. Nokia Maps is now …
Bank holidays seem to make people gather in groups. Big groups around the country, be it country parks, beaches, the capital city or just down the pub. But where is our favourite place for the bank holiday? Well that’s quite a hard one to quantify, you’d need to …
Flickr the original photo sharing website has had a bit of an upgrade during the night, as part of Yahoo’s new direction Flickr has had a refresh and the main selling point here is a whole Terabyte of storage. That’s a whole lot of photos, Flickr have actually …
Having a waterproof phone is increasingly becoming something that people want these days. For a few months it was just Sony with this trick up their sleeve. Samsung sell a phone for every conceivable niche of the mobile market. From tiny handed people through to giants they make …
I’ve had the BlackBerry Q10 for a couple of weeks now and I’ve grown to love like it quite a bit. The Q10 is the new age Bold, with premium materials, high end specs and a new ish OS. This in theory is the device that would persuade …
This afternoon Jolla are meant to be announcing the first Sailfish OS device and in true new phone style the details have already appeared online. The phone intriguingly is a phone with a replaceable backplate that changes the whole theme of the device. Interesting. At the moment it’s …
Episode 47 of the Coolsmartphone Podcast is going to be a tale of two companies. Google and Nokia. Oh and possibly our usual off topic tangents. Joining me this week are Dan Carter, Mark Peters and Ravi Patel. We actually recorded this weeks podcast in two sections so …
HTC has reportedly been struggling to make the HTC One quick enough. Mainly due to supply constraints with the camera module. In a recent report in Taiwan, Jack Tong the president of HTC North Asia said the following: “Our capacity is expected to rise significantly starting from mid-May. …
People bang on about pure Android quite a bit these days. With some people refusing to buy a device not running stock Android. Hence the “success” of the Nexus range. But what other options are there if you want a stock Android tablet? Especially a super thin waterproof …
Sony are heading along a rather dodgy path, making dozens of different handsets each year. Only Samsung can really cope with the financial implications of doing that. It’s why HTC have decoded to try and stick to one device per year. But who am I to warn Sony …
The Huawei Ascend W1 is one of those entry level Windows Phone 8 devices, you know the ones with 512MB of RAM yet they still run really well. Well O2 are having a clear out, no doubt down to the killer prices of the Lumia 620 and 520. …
The Vodafone Smart range are at the budget end of the Smartphone market. Not everyone wants the latest and greatest device and not everyone wants to spend a whole load of cash each month either. That’s where the Smart III comes in with it’s basic spec and budget …
Last Sunday my world was turned upside down. There was another Instagram app for Windows Phone 8 available. Even though I could post on my Android devices I just had to have this. I duly paid for the app and realised it was just a beta. It turned …
