Category: Android

Huawei P20 – Review

The introduction Huawei are no longer a company who are sitting on the sidelines letting everyone else steal the show. Since the P9 their devices have really been impressive and put them on the map. Now everyone is sitting up and watching as the company are producing some …

OnePlus 3 & 3T to get Android P

OnePlus have a motto of ‘Never Settle’ and this also includes when it comes to offering the best software experiance possible to customers. Whilst a lot of manufacturers leave older devices behind when it comes to software updates, OnePlus is not one of them, especially after the news …

Avoiding common mobile phone scams

Online scammers and criminals are always waiting for the right moment to pounce. To trap you into revealing your personal data. Into sharing something you shouldn’t. The increasing use of mobile devices paves the way for mobile phone scams, and those scammers can cost their targets more than …

How your smartphone can help with your assignments

Struggle with getting your assignments written on time? Don’t know how to organise your daily routine? Can’t finish a research paper before the deadline? Actually, your smartphone can help a lot.  Gone are the days of hiding away in the school library, when all the students were hunting …

Galaxy Note 9 with improved battery life.

In just two week’s time, Samsung will release the new Galaxy Note 9, and the latest rumours point to a huge 4,000 mAh battery in the Galaxy Note 9. That will be a 20 per cent boost over the Galaxy Note 8’s 3,300 mAh model, indicating that the …

VLC pulls the plug on Huawei / Honor handsets

The battle for battery life isn’t a very complex one. You either leave your GPS, Bluetooth and WiFi on all the time, with background apps ticking along, or you start cleverly shutting stuff down to conserve battery life. A lot of manufacturers have added on board systems to …

Nokia Steel HR – Unboxing

Smartwatches are dime a dozen these days. Almost every manufacturer is dipping their toe into the market. We have seen some come and go (aka Pebble) and we have seen some stay the course. However, it is the lesser known brands for this area who sometimes prove to …

Do you really need Anti-Virus Software on your Android smartphone?

“Android Phone” (CC BY 2.0) by microsiervos The connected age has opened up endless possibilities, just as smartphones have put those possibilities into the palm of our hands. And, with every piece of technology hooked up to the internet, there is the opportunity for nefarious hackers to wield their malicious intent. …

Noreve Saint-Tropez Tab S2 Case – Review

There are a couple of sayings which are used in everyday life that come true when you use a case from Noreve: 1. You get what you pay for 2 You buy cheap, you buy twice   Good points Made from premium real leather Top build quality Feels …

The coolest Twitter apps for Bloggers

Despite some recent criticism, Facebook now has more than 900 million users. Twitter has over 500 million, LinkedIn more than 161 million, Google+ almost 400 million, and Instagram with over 80 million. These figures aren’t just numbers, but are concrete proof that social media really is stealing the …

How long can Android remain free?

As you may have read here on Coolsmartphone recently, Google Android was given a huge fine by the EU after exploiting their control over the Android OS. They were, it seems, reducing the appearance of rivals. However, with another huge fine being pushed through the door, people are …

Building a mobile app. Off-the-shelf or tailored?

Everything is “going” mobile at the moment. If you have your own shop or a business, it not only means that you have to be online, but you must have a website which works on mobile devices of all shapes and sizes. If you want to take things …

Sony Xperia XZ3 leaks early

With IFA just around the corner, one phone expected to grab a lot of attention is the flagship from Sony – the Xperia XZ3. Following on from the Sony Xperia XZ2, which launched at MWC this year, there have been lots of rumours what the latest model will …

Huawei announce press event for IFA 2018

Huawei has formally set its plans for IFA 2018 in motion. Today they’ve started sending out an invites to their keynote on August 31st. The great news is that we will be there to see exactly what Richard Yu will have to share with us. In fact, I’ll …

Smash your phone up. Right now. Go on. Huawei want you to.

So, this is a bit mental, but believe me, it’ll be worth it. Today, in Soho, Huawei have setup a popup store. However, things are a bit .. different in this particular store. They’re offering the rather excellent Huawei P20 Pro. It’s the one we raved about in …

Honor sees a massive 150% sales growth in the first half of 2018

Huawei have a bit of a problem, but it’s a nice problem. First, their Huawei phones are doing really rather well. Likewise, the Huawei sub-brand, Honor, is doing well too. The Honor 10 flagship phone sold three million units within the first three months of being on sale. …

Got yourself an Honor 10? There’s goodies coming!

Next month there’s going to be some gifts for Honor 10 owners. Two major upgrades will begin rolling out from August 3rd which add GPU Turbo and Automatic Image Stabilisation (AIS). First up, some info on GPU Turbo. It’s a groundbreaking hardware-software integration and graphics processing technology which …

Google to receive massive £3.8 billion Android fine

The BBC is today reporting that the Android OS is to be the subject of yet more fines from the European Commission. It’s another massive fine for the company after Google was hit with a £2.1 billion fine for their shopping comparison process. Today the EU have found Google …

Using your smartphone to stay organised

So let’s face it, we all have busy lives and tend to lose track of time in one way or another. Whether you’re reading this during a lunch break or on the way to catch a bus, now is the time to get in shape. Smartphones are in …

Oh moto – how cheap?

I get it, I really do. I get that a manufacturer will build slightly different products for different markets. There are different LTE bands to consider, and maybe the charger will be different. You may even want to change the packaging, depending on how big of a push …

OnePlus 6 Red – Hands on

The OnePlus 6 has been a huge success for the company. Many new customers have joined the OnePlus movement, ditching more well-known phones in the process. We were lucky enough to be at the launch event in London, but also to have a device before launch to cover …

HTC. The Exodus begins

So, after losing a quarter of their remaining staff, they’ve decided to call their upcoming smartphone the “HTC Exodus”. Hmm.. I’ve got to question the logic on that one. Even their marketing says, “The Exodus Begins”. After losing so many staff it seems a bit .. insensitive. They’re …

5 Android apps you probably never knew about

As Dylan once said, the times they are a-changin’. And with each passing day, our lives are made a little more convenient with the help of gadgets. Almost everyone owns a smartphone and out of those more than 80% phones run on Android. Perhaps one of the biggest …

HTC Desire 12 available for pre-order

Many months ago, when we used to have clouds here in the UK, the HTC Desire 12 was announced. Today we’re hearing that the device will be available from Amazon on July 14th from this link, but you can pre-order it now for just £149. For your money …

HTC to cut a quarter of all staff

Huawei and Honor remind me a lot of HTC a few years ago. There’s a definite drive, a tenacity, a push to become known and to show the world just how good their phones are. However, some years ago HTC seemed to lose that. It’s hard to pinpoint …

ROIDMI Handheld Cordless Vacuum Cleaner – Review (Part 2)

In my video last week, shown again below, I gave an overview of this new Xiaomi-backed vacuum cleaner. This, the lightweight and easy-to-use ROIDMI F8, is on Indiegogo right now. In my previous video above I gave you a quick tour and there was a look at some …

OnePlus 6 in Red now official

We were at the launch event in London for the latest flagship from OnePlus, the OnePlus 6, and during the launch two versions of black and a limited edition white were shown. Today after some recent teasing, the company have announced a new red colour will be available, …

EE confirm gold Galaxy S9 now on sale

EE have today confirmed the Samsung Galaxy flagship, the S9 and S9+, is now available in Gold on their network. This is an exclusive deal, so anyone wanting to pick up the gold version will have to go to EE. However, with the largest 4G network, VoLTE and …

ROIDMI Handheld Cordless Vacuum Cleaner – Review (Part 1)

Remember when we just used to review phones? Well, not any more people. Now we’re reviewing vacuum cleaners. This, though, isn’t just any vacuum cleaner. You might have heard about Xiaomi, right? Well, they looked into the vacuum cleaner market and decided that they could do better than …

The Honor 7S arrives in the UK

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to get a hands-on with the Honor 7S. It’s a budget smartphone and we’d been given a privileged early look at it. When we asked about the price we were told that it would sell for “around $110”. If you …

Gemini from Planet computers to get Sailfish 3.0 soon

I recently reviewed the Gemini from Plant Computers and I was on the whole quite impressed with the way it worked. Apart from a few issues with the build (primarily down to the pre-production status of my review device), I was left happy and enthused about the product. …

WORLD EXCLUSIVE – Microsoft return to smartphones

Thought that Windows Phone was dead? Was it really the end for Microsoft Smartphone, Pocket PC and Windows Mobile? Nokia phones, after being purchased by Microsoft, re-appear with the Microsoft mobile Operating System, but have now returned yet again with Android. The Windows Phone OS, which was the …

A simple hack to watch FIFA 2018 from anywhere

It’s probably not escaped your knowledge that the Word Cup is currently taking place. Here in the UK we’ve all gone a little crazy, with these massive FIFA 2018 football matches appearing for free on BBC and ITV instead of the usual subscription channels which tend to cost …

Discord – Whats it about?

Discord is software primarily used for people to talk while playing games. So you may think well why is this relevant to me? Well Discord is something I use everyday and it is growing to be a social network of sorts to. There is an iOS, macOS, PC …

BlackBerry Key2 launches in UK today

Today is a very big day for BlackBerry with the UK launch of their latest flagship device, the Key2. Even better news, it is on sale today! The company have taken a load of feedback from KeyONE owners to make the Key2 the best BlackBerry device ever made, …

Need emotional support ? Tell a Buddy

I’m one of those people who just didn’t have a phone at school. Even at college, the mobile phones were basic and therefore less distracting than the phones of today. Trouble is, the phones of today can let a lot of the world into your life. With social …

How to choose a Kanban app

Have you heard about a Kanban? In Japanese it translates to a “billboard”. Kanban boards come into play to optimise and streamline workflows. I’ve used one of these in the day job so I’ve been interested to find out more about them. Working remotely isn’t uncommon now, and …