Category: Android

Sony Xperia ZR – The Xperia Z’s little brother

We like the Xperia Z here at CoolSmartphone towers, it looks gorgeous and performs just as well. Dan had one for a while and wrote about it here, we were all jealous. What if you had small hands and struggled with the screen size though? Well Sony has …

Win yourself a Sony Xperia SP

A brand new unlocked Sony Xperia SP, delivered by a sexy blonde from UPS? How does that sound? Sexist? Un-necessary? Yes. It is.. Ohh… awkward. Hmm.. Perhaps I should engage politically correct mode… If you’d like to be in with a chance of winning a Sony Xperia SP, …

Samsung Galaxy S4 – Review

It’s fair to say that Samsung’s success with the Galaxy S3 has been nothing short of astonishing. The handset even gave the lauded iPhone 5 a run for it’s money in terms of pure numbers, and for good reason. Great performance, a slim plastic (sorry Samsung, polycarbonate) shell …

Nokia advert on UK TV leaves us itching to know what’s coming

Last night in the UK during the The Inbetweeners Movie Nokia had a quick advert. An advert showing off a nice looking upcoming device, or a tiny part of it anyway. The below image was the focus of the advert. Nokia have also published the advert on their …

Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini detailed images leak

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 …

Samsung Galaxy S2 receiving Jelly Bean right now?

We’ve had a couple of emails from Samsung Galaxy S2 owners saying that they’ve just received the Android Jelly Bean update over the air. So far it’s SIM-free handsets, with Dave telling us.. Upgrade was to 4.1.2 baseband XXMS2 and build XWLSS. Anyone else get this? Good question …

Growth slowing in Windows Phone app catalogue

If you’ve got a Windows Phone then you’ll noticed that a lot of the “big apps” are now available to download. Microsoft are going to great lengths to show that major Android or iPhone apps are available, or versions of them, on Windows Phone. But, although it shouldn’t …

Google Play Games revealed ahead of Google I/O

With Google I/O just around the corner, you’d think the company would want to keep a lid on its forthcoming offerings but Android Police has to grab a copy of Google Play Services 3.1.36 which seems to be trickling out to devices as we speak. You’ve got to …

Coolsmartphone predicts……Google I/O

So the time is nearly upon us once again, Google is about to hold its annual developers conference, better known as Google I/O. This time last year at the Moscone Centre in San Francisco, Google announced not only the Nexus 7 but also Android 4.2 (jellybean) and Google …

Nokia announce the Lumia 928 a few days earlier than expected

For the last few weeks we’ve been dealt a confusing array of leaks and rumours surrounding the next Nokia Lumia device. This afternoon Nokia have published details of what they’re releasing in the US which might just give a huge insight into next weeks event. They have announced …

What the “New Nexus 7” might be like

I think I’d like to be an analyst, they get to just make stuff up and the whole world sits up and takes notice. An analyst from KGI Securities has released some information about the supposed New Nexus 7 and it kind of fits in with what’s expected …

My choice of apps – Android Edition #2

Every now and then we here at Coolsmartphone try to do a group feature.  Normally it is something where we can all contribute different things and that as a whole makes for something quite useful.  As has already been said, most of us use one or two eco-systems …

Huawei Ascend P2 – Release details

Three, already famed for their rather speedy and unlimited data access, are to take the Ascend P2 from Huawei. Now, if you’re a regular visitor (and we hope you are), then you’ll remember that we got a hands-on demo from a rather lovely rep at Mobile World Congress …

Three confirm Motorola RAZR i

Three are busy releasing phones it seems as today they announce availability of the Motorola RAZR I on the network Available from just £17 a month or £249.99 on PAYG The RAZR I is great value for money considering you get an 8 megapixel camera, 4.3 inch screen …

Huawei to hold event in London on 18th June

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 …

Half the storage on the Galaxy S4? Read the full story

If you read the newspapers or watch BBC’s Watchdog programme then you’ll soon see news of the Samsung Galaxy S4 storage “issue”. Headlines scream that the S4 comes with around half the storage you expect due to pre-installed apps. First I wanted to check this and compare it …

Three to stock Huawei P2

Well well well, this is a litle surprise tonight but it now looks like UK network Three are going to stock the new Huawei P2 we saw announced back at Mobile World Congress this year There was no news on this over on the coming soon section of the website …

Vodafone confirm new Lumia due soon

Nokia are due to announce their latest Lumia phone to the world next week in London where we will also be attending to bring you all the news as it happens. However, Vodafone have come out already and posted on their official blog that they will be stocking …

Microsoft are rumoured to be buying Nook Media

Every self respecting ecosystem needs books and magazines, don’t they? Apple have them, Google have them, Amazon have them and Microsoft don’t really have them. Relying entirely on third parties like Kindle and Nook. So what better way to start selling books etc? You just buy a third …

Android ITV Player app exclusive to Samsung

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 …

Sony Xperia A images leak

FCC applications are possibly the single biggest source of leaked information about new devices and this latest one is no exception. Sony are really just plugging away with their confusing naming convention and if this FCC application ever appears Sony will have just started again at the beginning …

Google Earth, now with Street View

The best way to see the third planet from the Sun or the best way to zoom in on your ex-girlfriends back garden? You decide. Whatever your reasons, the Google Earth app got updated late last night and now includes Street View too. The newly-updated street-level images reveal …

CyanogenMod 10.1.0 RC1 ready to flash

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 …

My choice of apps – Android Edition #1

So you might have noticed that a few of us here at CoolSmartphone want to give you a bit of help selecting apps from the billions available on the Play Store. Most of us have been using our respective ecosystems for quite a while and built up a …

Sony Xperia i1 Honami to be Pureview competitor?

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 …

Genuine HTC One Double Dip Flip Case – Review

I’m one of those people that always has to have a case on my phone. I usually go through several for each phone I have, as I like the change it brings, and most cases have a flaw of some kind or other. To go with my new …

Having a bad day?

Try being involved in Microsoft or Nokia right now. First Microsoft, who received lots of attention yesterday for all the wrong reasons. The Financial Times compared Windows 8 to “New Coke”…. Microsoft is preparing to reverse course over key elements of its new Windows 8 operating system, marking …

Nokia 928 – Pureview featured in new video

The new Nokia 928 has possibly been the worst kept secret in town. With advertising billboards up before launch and Nokia all but confirming it’s existence, it would seem that the Finnish company have finally given up and decided to properly join in with the publicity. A video posted on …

YouTube for Windows Phone amazingly gets updated

YouTube for Windows Phone has been awful for years. It was basically just a shortcut to the mobile website. For ages people have been waiting for Microsoft to update the app, it’s one of those things that are awkward to deal with as Google own YouTube and Google …

My choice of apps – Windows Phone edition #1

Earlier on today I posted an article about our articles covering our favourite apps for our chosen OS. As I came up with this idea I’m going to start the whole series off. So what do I use that is worthy of recommendation, well lets have a look shall …

What on earth are these “My choice of apps” articles about

We all use apps on our phones, some more than others, some install huge games that take several GB of space, some install dozens of Social Network apps, some install bafflingly pointless apps like fart apps or soundboards. It really is a personal thing it’s your phone and …

Nokia Lumia 928 all but confirmed

A new Lumia device from Nokia called the Lumia 928 has been getting a lot of attention recently although it has not officially been announced as of yet. Nokia have all but confirmed it’s existence now over on their Nokia US website with a teaser asking people to ‘stay tuned’ for information …

Leaked LG handset. Perhaps the next Nexus?

The guys from EVLeaks have just posted this over on their Facebook page. There’s not a great deal of information on what it is, and the presence of a large blue rectangle on the screen is raising more questions than answers. The handset could be a new Optimus …

The S4 – Biggest marketing campaign ever

Now, I’ll be honest with you, the Samsung Galaxy S4 is everywhere this weekend. The money cannons from the Samsung marketing machine are now cranked up to full power, squirting a juicy splodge of Galaxy S4 all over every screen you care to look at. The Samsung PR …

Nokia Lumia 928 billboard poster seen 10 days before launch date

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 …

Cat B15 Tough Smartphone now available

The Cat B15 Tough Smartphone is a bit of a rugged looking device. With an IP67 rating meaning it can withstand dust and water, in depths of up to 1M for 30 minutes. Impressive stuff really, although it is a bit of a chunky device. At 14.95mm thick …

Acer announce two new Android tablets

Acer this afternoon have announce six new devices. Some are Android tablets and some are Windows 8 devices. Lets have a look at the Android tablets first, Acer have announced two devices with two variants, so four in total. They have announced the Iconia A1 and the Iconia …

Go on, Play with your Nook

Today it’s been announced that the Google Play store will be available for both the Nook HD and Nook HD+. You don’t have to wait either, just ensure that your little Nook is firmly attached to WiFi and an over-the-air patch will roll out to give you all …