Category: Software (Android)
Back in the day, and I’m talking way back in the day (anyone remember the Amiga?) I I used to love adventure games. Yes, it was a few years ago, but the graphics were just good enough to make you believe that you were stepping into a different …
There’s plenty of monitoring apps out there but, if you want to pay absolutely nothing, the new Easy Logger app might be of interest. It’s for Android and you will need to side-load an APK, but for precisely nothing per month you’ll get full logging of all phone …
Nokia, currently owned by HMD Global, is trying to make the next breed of handsets relive the glory days of strong battery life. This is something that has not been possible with the current era of smartphones. The new Nokia 2, which is due for release in the UK …
I review a lot of phones and one trend I’m definitely seeing is the addition of “phone health” apps. On Android they’re designed to keep your phone in shape. To make sure that rogue apps aren’t running in the background, sucking memory, power and space. Space, no matter …
If you’re travelling light then, even if you’re going ultra-light like I’ve done on my various charity bike rides (which, of course, I don’t like to talk about), you’re going to be taking your smartphone with you. To be honest there’ not a great deal of places where …
Have you ever heard about CMMS? Well, I hadn’t either. Not until I recently moved jobs. It stands for “Computerized Maintenance Management System”, or sometimes “Computerized Maintenance Management Software” and is basically a way to replace the classic pen and paper documentation. Back in the “old days”, if …
It’s pretty simple logic when you think about it. If there’s apps and manufacturers out there developing ways to disinfect and clean up your Android phone, then there’s obviously some apps out there that are misbehaving. Just this week, Google started pushing to get this fixed, with a …
If you constantly get distracted by your smartphone, there’s a simple fix. Just turn the thing off. Leave it in a cupboard. However, if you need to actually do work on your phone then… well, it’s easy to get distracted by Facebook messages and tweets appearing on the …
At the weekend I had “that call”. I’m sure many of you will have had a similar call from a friend or relative. It happens when you somehow become the “computer guy” and you seemingly have the ability to fix anything relating to tech. In this case, it …
I’m getting in the habit of not carrying cash much now. There’s several benefits to this. For starters, everywhere I go there’s the “tap to pay” machines and I tend to use my phone. Also, there’s the added benefit of using the, “Oh lads, can you get the …
Although tech can sometimes be a little imposing, it can supply the tools and the solutions for endless business opportunities. Some of the UK’s greatest start-ups have technology to thank, and this is especially true with companies like Uber and Swifkey. The mobile app industry has grown to …
Just last month we covered the fact that Google Play is now listing real-money gambling apps. For quite some time before, the iPhone and Android stores have differed in this respect. On the iPhone, you could download gaming apps that let you transfer your own cash into an …
Some of my favourite iOS and Android games I tend to see the same games being played on the bus to college in the morning, but I’m a little different. My choice of apps, and the games I have installed, isn’t always mainstream, but I enjoy them all …
Many of us will probably be getting numb to the fairly regular security warnings that become inextricably connected to our smartphones. There’s an acceptance of risk when we download apps, and we freely skip past that screen which tells us just how many permissions an app requires. Now …
Recently we covered the fact that Google Play have now allowed real-money gambling apps into their software store. Until recently, you either had to side-load (downloading an APK manually and then installing it with the security permissions reduced) or you would need to just browse to the site …
Anyone remember Golden Axe? Well, me neither, but this new / old SEGA game is now available for both Android and iOS. It’s free to download and play but you’ll obviously get a few ads to pay for the thing. You can though, if you wish, remove all …
I drive my wife crazy on a weekly basis it seems. It tends to happen when she asks if I’ve got any loose change. I don’t. I very rarely do. At work, the vending machines and the staff restaurant – they’re all “tap to pay”. When I go …
If you’ve spent any time browsing Google Play recently, you may have spotted that something has changed. The Play Store here in the UK, until very recently, not allowed gambling with “real money” in apps and games. Now though, following an update to the developer policy page, you …
I’ve just got back from the Coolsmartphone canteen, where I’ve high-fived almost everyone because I’ve crow-barred the this song into the title of this article. For the uninitiated, head to the bottom for “Magic” by Pilot, and re-live the 1970’s, baby. But wait, before all that, we’ve had …
At home I have a NAS box. I originally purchased one of these because I’ve somehow used all the storage that my cloud provider had available and the cost to upgrade was nothing short of insane. I’d tried other providers, however the cost, the reliability, and the fact …
A lot of smartphones now come equipped with a blocking system to let you stop unwanted calls from repeatedly bothering you. On the HTC U11 I’m testing now, you can see that in action below.. However, in the UK we have something called the “Telephone Preference Service”, or …
With my son getting to a “certain age”, he’s now off on his own. He plays in the local park and goes on his scooter with his friends. Even as a geeky phone guy, I really didn’t want to give him a phone. Like most kids, I knew …
I’ll be honest, What I know about a Mac can probably be written on the back of a postage stamp. So, when a friend who lives quite some distance away asked me about their Mac, I was a bit stumped. Somehow, and don’t ask me how, they’d managed …
It’s Friday. Friday at last. Last night, whilst randomly looking for a YouTube video (and I’ll be honest, I was trying to find some Leslie Chow clips because I’m a bit bonkers), an advert appeared before the video. You know the sort, it’s one of the many YouTube …
The car company has now become the “first European industry to feature an app that is compatible with Android Auto”. The SEAT DriveApp is available only for Android at the moment and supplements the other Android apps that the company has already added to the store. It’ll let …
Fancy getting a new job? Well, you’ve definitely got a choice of apps to deliver the very latest opportunities. In days of old (which really wasn’t that long ago) we’d have emails delivered with the latest opportunities. Sure, it worked and you could customise the mails that came …
My father-in-law is a keen fisherman. Or angler. Or fish catcher. I’m not honestly sure of the term, but I had a strange and yet straightforward question recently. “Are there any decent fishing apps for my phone?” Well, I’l confess to not knowing the answer to that one, …
Meet me and you’ll soon learn that I have a penchant for beer. Perhaps even the odd cocktail. This love of alcohol has sometimes caused problems though, and when you’re attending a swanky PR launch for a new phone with free alcohol … well, things can get blurry …
When I was a lad we used to go and meet girls at the park or maybe at the local nightclub. Now, with powerful smartphones, you simply swipe your finger across the screen. In a way it can be a little disheartening to see everyone communicating via a …
I walked into the kitchen this morning to find my son drawing what appeared to be a platform game on a piece of paper. When I asked what he was doing, he told me that he was designing his own smartphone game. “That’s nice”, I thought, but then …
Go on, have a look on iTunes and you’ll see over 2 million apps now. That’s a pretty massive selection, and means that everyone in the Republic of Macedonia could have one app each. At the top of the app charts you’ll find a constantly shifting set of …
Remember my old story about getting Strava working on Huawei handsets? It involves disabling the sometimes over-zealous power management on your Huawei phone. Why do this? Well, if you’re running Strava (the running and cycling recording app) on a Huawei phone then the battery control software will see …
Our local health centre is seriously under strain. A number of local GP surgeries have closed as doctors have retired and, with more houses being built an no additional infrastructure being put in, there’s a few battered portacabins and an engaged tone when you call up. In 2017, …
Trust me, it’s not a scary thing. Just recently I had a relative ask why I had two WiFi networks at home. I explained that one was a VPN router, and offered me privacy and security. That, if I’m being honest, made their eyes glaze over a little. …
Here at the Coolsmartphone newsroom (which to be honest is normally a kitchen) we’ve heard rumours that the latest version of the Netflix app is showing as incompatible with rooted devices. Netflix has just confirmed that with the v5.0 update adds some special.. ahem .. “new features”. They’ve …
We were big fans of the MSQRD app when it first came out. It’s quite a fun little gadget which, with the aid of your phone camera, puts masks and hats on your face via augmented reality cleverness. Now there’s another one to add to the collection, it’s …
I get quite a few emails from App Annie. They’re an analyst firm which produces business intelligence tools and market reports, and on their site you can have a look at the most popular games and apps for different mobile operating systems. Advertising is definitely a big driver, …
You may remember my indestructible Audi A4. She’s an old girl now and has been on the road for a decade. I bought a Bluetooth OBD gadget to plug into it just so that I could find out what all those error lights on the dashboard are. Yes, …
Let’s be honest. If you’re buying an Android phone then, if you’re careful and don’t install much, you’re probably not going to be bothered by viruses or other nasties. However, looking at my son’s phone, he’s definitely not careful, and when I’m rushing to find an app to …
You may remember my trip down memory lane when Microsoft launched their classic Solitaire app for both iPhone and Android devices. It was true to the original Windows desktop version, and Microsoft took great pride in promoting the “classic” feel of it, with the same graphics and te …
