Author: Ronnie Whelan
Do you like left-field? No, not the band, the standpoint. Well, here’s something that’s going to interest you. The OPPO Find 5, Android, 5″ Full HD smartphone is officially coming to Europe via the all new OPPO Style web store. I’ve been interested in the OPPO 5 ever …
Where Samsung go, HTC will follow. In a remarkable change of direction, HTC will be releasing a ‘Google Edition’ of the HTC One. This follows almost immediately after Samsung announcing the Galaxy S4 Google Edition. Based on the developer incarnation of the HTC One, the Google Edition will …
You may not have heard of Tizen, but you should take notice, because it could well be coming to a phone near you soon. Tizen is a new(ish) open source mobile OS. Unlike Firefox and Sailfish this one has big backing, and could threaten the top four operating …
There have been several solutions to getting a proper game controller to work with mobile devices; most have been pants. The MOGA is the latest player on the block, and it’s now available for pre-order in the UK (with a provisional release date of 14th June). There are …
If you’re looking for a new TV and like the sound of free stuff, the this Sony offer may be just what you’re looking for. As of tomorrow, if you buy a Sony Bravia W9 46-inch or 55-inch telly you will get a Sony Xperia Z for absolutely …
“Are they big? I like them big… BIG!” The Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 is on its way, and you could be one of the first in the country to be lugging around this massive handset, because two major internet retailers have them up for pre-order. Expansys are asking …
Fancy the Nokia Lumia 920 at pretty much half price? Why didn’t you say? EE is currently doing the Nokia Lumia flagship phone for £250 plus £10 top-up on EE (also works on the T-Mobile and Orange networks). Until the Lumia 925 comes out this is arguably the …
If, like me, you got yourself a bargain Samsung Ativ S Windows phone recently you’ll know what a great handset it is and, like me, you’ll be wanting a decent case to protect it with. I scoured the internet and finally decided on the Covert Low Profile Flip …
Time once more for White Nexus 4 News! Yes, another one has been spotted, this time at Google IO. There were no announcements made about the white Nexus 4 during Google’s keynote at IO, but one was seen on the premises by Taylor Wimberly from Android and Me. …
When I started reporting on the White Nexus 4 I was only really interested in a nice piece of cake. Now I feel it’s my duty to keep everyone abreast of the subject, and with that I bring you today’s edition of White Nexus 4 News. Firstly I …
The Nokia Lumia 520 is the baby of the Nokia Windows Phone 8 Lumia range. I went out a snapped one up when Carphone Warehouse launched them on O2, but now Vodafone have launched it too. Get one now for £115 on pay as you go in either …
The Cygnett SoundWave Bluetooth speaker is a compact mains or battery powered wireless sound system that comes with the added bonus of a phone stand. I’ve had one on test for a couple of weeks, so here’s how it stacks up. Good Price Phone stand Big sound from …
Remember that lovely piece of cake I reported on back in January? You know, the one with the white Nexus 4 next to it. Well, there’s been another sighting of a white Nexus 4. Unfortunately there’s no sign of the cake though. This time the lesser spotted Nexus …
The Samsung Galaxy S4 is a big old boy, with its 5″ screen it can’t be anything other than big. So, just like the Galaxy SIII, the Galaxy S4 has a little brother on the way. It was inevitable that the SIII Mini would be succeeded by an …
We haven’t heard much in the way of exciting new devices from Huawei since MWC in February, so it came as a bit of a surprise when I shuffled down to the Coolsmartphone Towers front door this morning and found an invitation from Huawei on the mat. It …
TV catchup app ITV Player has been released for Android. Yay! But you can only use it on Samsung devices until 31st August. Booo! It’s been a while coming, but the new ITV Player app has finally hit the Google Play store. It seems pretty good too. All …
CyanogenMod is arguably the most popular custom ROM for Android phones and tablets, and the latest incarnation is almost ready for final release. Based on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, CM 10.1.0 is so stable that they’ve decided to issue a release candidate for it. If you’ve ever flashed …
Smartphone cameras are a hot topic this year, and a straw poll would probably see Nokia as the camera phone kings. However, there’s an ever growing queue of manufacturers waiting to out snap them. The latest leak from Sony’s direction is the C680X Honami phone (expected to be …
Nokia Lumia 928 marketing meeting, May 2013 – “No videos, no secret photos, no leaks and, no matter what, no billboard posters until 14th May. Right, everybody got that? Good”. Oh dear, somebody was too busy playing Cut The Rope during that meeting, because a full ten days …
So, you’re a child genius, trusted with the engineering systems of the universe’s most powerful starship. You can realign dilithium crystals and program holodeck worlds, but when it comes to rooting an HTC One you’re stumped. What do you do? Take to Google+ and moan about it, just …
Do you like the Xperia Z but not the price tag? Want to sample the high speed data of 4G LTE technology? Well you could do a lot worse that pick up the new Sony Xperia SP that’s now available on contract with EE, Orange and T-Mobile. However, …
The Veho 360 degree M3 Bluetooth speaker is a highly compact piece of personal pocket PA. It’s all very well being small and wireless, but I wanted to know if it’s any better than the speaker on my phone. Likes Compact Loud for its size Robust feel Dislikes …
The Leicke Sharon Bluetooth keyboard case is designed especially for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1. I had never heard of Leicke Sharon before this case appeared in my Amazon search, but it looked good, so I decided to wing it. Likes Case feels high quality Strong Velcro …
Have you got one of those new-fangled Samsung Galaxy S4 phones and want to gain root access? You’ve come to the right place, my friend. Don’t worry about what network you’re on either. Just as long as it has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor, which it will be …
Art. It’s a subjective topic. One man’s idea of a masterpiece is another man’s Samsung Galaxy S4 cooked to death. Yes, if you like your smartphones burnt to a crisp then you probably need to meet this man. (Tip, don’t go alone!) His name is Kenny Irwin, and …
Episode 44 of the Coolsmartphone Podcast was hosted for the first time by Mark Peters, our holiday cover for James. What a stirling job he did too (watch out for your job James!). Joining him this week were Dan Carter, Simon Allum and myself, Ronnie Whelan. Topics included …
Nokia have got something exciting to tell us. The trouble is that they don’t want to tell us yet. They have given us a date though. They’re going to keep us all waiting until the middle of next month. Spoilsports! Today press invites started landing in inboxes around …
You’ve heard of the Galaxy Nexus, right? Well, how about the two Nexus One ‘budget’ satellites that are watching us from an altitude of 150 miles as I type? The idea is to get off the shelf components and make a fully functioning satellite for less than $10,000. …
I was alerted to the DMZmusic Bluetooth dongle by a comment on Leigh’s recent review of the StreamPort Universal. In it, Graham Eastham suggested that it wasn’t worth spending £59.99 on the StreamPort and instead suggested the DMZmusic Bluetooth dongle for just over a fiver! Having an eye …
Geeksphone is a Spanish company that is pioneering Firefox OS smartphones, and today is the momentous day that they finally go on sale. The Keon, priced at 91 Euros and the Peak at 149 Euros (both excluding VAT), are the first of their kind, so are for the …
The Nokia Lumia 520 was released a couple of weeks ago, so I rushed out and bought one so that I could review it for you lovely people (how selfless, right?). I set it up, gave it a first impressions review, then turned my Nexus 4 off. How …
Today EE have announced the launch of the UK’s first first next-generation 4G device, the Huawei E5776 mobile Wi-Fi hotspot. It’s a pretty regular Wi-Fi hotspot that allows up to ten wi-fi enabled devices to access the internet on the EE network. The difference, of course, is that …
The Samsung Galaxy Mega has been more or less official for the past week or so, at the end of the London Samsung Galaxy S4 World Tour event on Tuesday night it was announced that there would be Mega handsets available for demonstration, and so I finally got to play …
Fancy winning a Nexus 4? Of course you do! Mobile Fun are running a free to enter competition to do just that. You can even enter as many times as you like! All you need to do is follow this link to find out more – Nexus 4 …
Like the look of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and want to know more? Me too. Like Jason Bradbury? Yeah, he’s OK. Like Gary Barlow? Me either! Well, if you liked at least one of those then you would have enjoyed the Galaxy S4 World Tour event in London …
Momax have taken a fresh look at the case/stand hybrid concept with The Core Smart Case, which uses an origami inspired design for the stand coupled with a traditional gel casing. Good Fits perfectly Magnetic fasteners Screen protector and cloth included Bad Stand angle is too upright Unstable …
Batteries are a contentious issue when it comes to smartphones. It seems that no matter how much the phone technology advances, batteries can only just keep up. One day on a full charge is normal but, quite frankly, unacceptable. There are various options available to ease your power …
Nokia have announced that the Lumia 920, 820 and 620 will all be receiving updates in the near future. There has been no word on updates to the Lumia 520 or 720, but considering they were only recently released you’d hope they wouldn’t need updating yet! The Lumia …
There’s not a lot you can get for £48 these days. In fact, you’d be pushed to get a budget smartphone for that. How do you fancy a 7″ Android Ice Cream Sandwich tablet with a two year warranty thrown in? No, it’s not reconditioned, it’s not second …
The Huawei Ascend G510 is the latest in the new range from the Chinese manufacturer that’s been making serious inroads into the budget Android smartphone market, and it’s coming to a Vodafone store near you tomorrow (Friday 12th April)! Hot on the heals of the release of the …
