Category: Software (Android)
When you get “into” running a website and it gets a bit of traffic, you start hitting a problem. Paying for some web space isn’t enough. You need a virtual server, perhaps two or three, then when things get busier you’ll be looking at a full dedicated server …
Our daily dose of Kickstarter pleas usually go into a box marked “meh”. Some are pretty dull, and they almost make us want to add our Kickstarter Campaign for the “Coolsmartphone Readers Beer Bus”. This one, though, jumped out of our crowded mailbox and has caught the imagination …
You’ve probably seen sped up videos online, where the original video is played back at 10X the speed. So the video of a man skiing down a mountain look really smooth and arty. But when you’ve tried to do it yourself they just look rubbish. Well amazingly Microsoft …
I don’t often plug apps that much because, for reasons best known to developers, we get about 10 “auto submitted” emails every day in an incomprehensible format which tells us nothing about the app or what makes it great. Gianluca, on the other hand, emailed me directly with …
Remember this interesting Google Maps “addition” ? What initially appeared to be a dig at Apple actually turned out to be a prank by someone using the Map Maker system. It allows users to add extra detail to Google Maps, such as rivers or parks etc. Trouble is, …
I did something I’ve done before last night. It didn’t take long and, after I’d done it, I felt better. I reset my Android phone. Why? Well, I’m sure we’ve all been there. Many call me an Android fanboy but I’m fully prepared to point out the faults …
The OnePlus One is a good phone. Heck, it’s a great phone for the price. In fact, it’s kind of like the Nexus line when you think about it. Don’t get me wrong, there are some things that were missing that could have made it an even better …
Here we go again. Another battle between Sky and Microsoft and, after a lengthy case, the court has agreed with Sky. What’s the problem? Well, somehow, it would seem that Skype .. … could be mistaken for Sky.. This isn’t the first time that Sky have thrown their …
My wife loves reading books. She’s probably read more books in the last month than I have … err.. ever. Now, if you’ve got Android then you may have your favourite e-reader app already, but have you considered the others that are out there? There’s stacks of apps …
You knew that Sainsbury’s offered TV and Movie content over your smartphone, didn’t you? No, I’ll admit, neither did I, but I do now. If you use Sainsbury’s Entertainment and have their app, you can now output your favourite content to your TV via Chromecast. It’ll also let …
Just a few hours ago Google were proudly showing this rather interesting shot of an Android robot relieving himself all over the Apple logo… Now it’s all cleaned up and the location is free of the image now, although some devices are still showing it. The “new park” …
I’ve been emailed just now about some sort of “Easter Egg” in Google Maps. The mail came with this preview image, which I assumed had been Photoshopped, because as a global company you surely couldn’t get away with adding that into your product…could you? Thing is, it’s not …
It’s been a problem for some time now, and to some extent it still continues. I’ve been banging on about the fact that the “family computer” is now a distant memory. You can’t really keep an eye on your kids when they’ve got small connected gadgets which …
In my head it’s already the weekend, so I’m spending this afternoon looking for deals. Amazon are having another one of their giveaways via their Amazon freebies. You need to go and get the Amazon app store for your Android phone first, then – until Saturday at noon …
For many of us using Android, our apps will magically update themselves whenever the developer adds new features or fixes bugs. However, the official Twitter app, which has always been a little buggy on every phone I’ve tried (try sharing an image directly from the gallery for example), …
Honestly it seems like we’re getting some sort of taxi app every week here at Coolsmartphone HQ. Today it’s the turn of SPLYT, who’ve raised our eyebrows by offering shared taxi fares to reduce the cost of getting around and 99p rides for a week, beginning next Monday …
Well, that certainly didn’t take long. No sooner has the Apple Watch been announced and we’re already getting emails telling us about apps that’ll run on the thing. That’s expected I guess, but when betting apps also set to arrive on the thing, you know it’ll probably be …
Getting Office documents working on your mobile device can be a hit and miss affair. Sometimes you’ll find an app that opens certain documents but won’t let you edit them. Sometimes you can edit some document types but not others, and you can find that the document will …
The people at OpenHours have sent me a missive about their new Android and iOS apps for checking the opening times of stores, banks, restaurants and more. You can give their website a spin now and put in something like “TSB Birmingham“. It’ll then tell you how long …
Don’t get me started about politics. One group tell you that things are great. The other guys say that things are still rubbish. Me? I’m voting Monster Raving Looney. I think they’re marginally better and my local MP is dressed as a chicken. Brilliant. If you’re not feeling …
Right, April Fools is now over… unless you’re in America, then it’s probably definitely still on. Either way, I’d like to state up-front that this is definitely an April Fools joke. This is the First Direct Swear Jar app. An app that runs in the background and detects …
If you use WhatsApp then I really don’t need to sell this thing to you. It’s a cross-platform messaging app that cuts out the need to use text messages. Instead you send everything over your data connection and you can also keep in touch with people in other …
The big selling point of Windows Phone, at least in the TV ads, has been the fact that Cortana is supposedly better than Siri. Get yourself a Windows Phone and you’ll have a proper digital assistant, they say. So, the very last thing you’re going to want to …
In London our underground system works very well considering the age and complexity of it. People commute in and out of the city and leave their cars in expensive car-parks or, if you run a business servicing the city, you have to try and get your big diesel …
After reading Leighs problems with his TV (it had an unfortunate collision with a Nintendo Wii controller), I noticed that it would ruin his yearly get-together watching the Cheltenham Festival. Hopefully he’ll have a new TV sorted by then, but if you’re into your horse racing you’ll no …
The new YouTube Kids app we mentioned yesterday is now here and, in a pleasant surprise, it’s available for both Android and iOS. Whether kids or parents will actively download this instead of using the current YouTube app (complete with rather dodgy content that may or may not …
Sitting a kid in front of YouTube is a recipe for disaster. I’ve already mentioned this and the safety concerns surrounding it. The trouble with YouTube is that it’s “reactively moderated” and, even if a video contains scenes that disturb kids, a lot of people either don’t bother …
For years, gamers have been imploring Nintendo to release its older games on smartphone platforms and operating systems. These pleas have fallen on deaf ears, however, current president Satoru Iwata is instead taking an entirely different approach. More specifically, he plans to remake popular smartphone games for the …
1995 was an interesting year. The music charts featured the “Outhere Brothers” with “Boom Boom Boom” and there was those unforgettable lyrics… “Boom boom boom now let me hear you say wayoh, wayhoh!” Back then I was too busy partying and wasn’t really concerned with working in IT. …
Pebble have been playing catchup to Android Wear this year, with the latter offering more features. Festive such as actionable notifications, whereby you get an email and you can delete it from your watch. It was the one feature that kept me using Android Wear. During the night …
Creating your own app is hard enough. Learning to code, getting it right, making something popular and then hoping it’ll be downloaded lots is a long and bumpy road to travel. However, if you’ve got a thoroughly enjoyable and addictive game, or a useful and interesting app, it …
Thinking of creating your own app? It’s not as hard as you think, provided you put your mind to it. In our regular feature we take a look at teenage developers, how they got started, what drives them and the challenges they face on the way. This week, …
When I was looking around for some serious online storage I came up with this list of providers. They range in price and storage. I should’ve also mentioned flickr, as it’ll actually give you 1TB for nothing and you can use the mobile app to back your photos …
After starting in London, the on-demand laundry and dry cleaning app known as Laundrapp has just launched in Edinburgh too. They’re planning to launch in another four cities over the next fortnight. The idea is pretty simple. Instead of having to carry your suit or smalls across town, you instead …
The super-popular WhatsApp multi-platform messaging app looks to be rolling out of their highly-anticipated voice calling feature. A WhatsApp user from India has posted some screenshots of the new UI and explained how the whole procedure works. According to him, the voice calling option will only show up once …
Roulette and card games haven’t really ever been my forte if I’m honest. However, I do like the challenge of making an educated guess, so when the guys at NENX gave me some free cash and told me to simply guess which way the financial markets were going …
Tracking your car is possible with just a smartphone. Various apps will let you do it, but it’s a matter of having a spare smartphone with a data plan and GPS, plus you have to leave it plugged into the 12v charger and that alone will probably attract …
Another story about London today and, if you want to pop out for a meal tonight, you’ve got quite a selection to choose from. Not only that, but finding a restaurant with a free table can be a challenge. A new app called Uncover will let you find …
Gah. The amount of emails I’m getting about this is insane. I updated my instructions on how to get Skype working on a Chromebook earlier this week and I’ve already got people saying that I’ve hacked my Chromebook or done some other weirdness. Others have stated that this …
The hunt for the perfect office suite has been a long one, dating back to Windows Mobile. The hunt for the ideal office suite continues today. I and many others just want to quickly and easily edit Word, Excel or PowerPoint files on the go. The problem is …
