Category: Android
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. …
Got yourself a HTC phone at the moment? If you have then there’s sadly not enough of you. Earlier in the year I took a look at the current HTC phones – namely the HTC U Play and HTC U Ultra. They’re properly gorgeous things. Polished, well designed …
Here in the UK things will be kicking off in just 30 minutes. However, there’s again no physical launch event and no hordes of reports. Instead, no matter where to are in the world, you can watch the brand new HTC handset getting unveiled here on the HTC …
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 …
Last year I carried out a review of a new Android TV streaming box called the Probox 2 Air. You can view it here, which in summary, I was truly impressed with. Well, I’ve been asked if I wanted to review the latest version of this streaming box – …
I’ve been taking a look at any mention of this company here on the site. The nearest I can find is this review of a battery pack they made some years ago. STK actually make phones too. Today they’ve announced a partnership with Carphone Warehouse, who will be …
Descartes wrote ‘i think, therefore i am,’ or he would have done had he been using Google Gboard for Android with auto-correct turned on. This bug, where the letter “i” for the first-person singular pronoun failed to default to the upper case “I”, has recently been fixed with a …
You may remember how excited we were to get our hands on the Honor 8 Pro when it was announced on April 5th. We got to spend some time with a blue one in a pub before the announcement and it won me over. So I preordered one …
Right, you want one of these shiny new Galaxy S8 handsets, yes? The Samsung Galaxy S8 is available on giffgaff, as is the S8+. Price-wise you’re looking at £689 for the SIM-free S8 or £779 for the S8+. Looking at the monthly prices, the network is offering the …
Well, this is impressive. It was a no-brainer that the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ were going to rack up some amazing numbers when placed for pre-orders. EE has announced that these current two smartphones have broken records for them, outselling last year’s incumbents (The Samsung Galaxy S7, …
For some, today (Friday) will herald new phone day – that is of course if you are planning on picking up the latest device from Samsung in the form of the Samsung Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+. While the phone is truly gorgeous and a sight to behold, …
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, …
Well, it very much appears that Samsung is rising like the phoenix from of the ashes of the Note 7. (Did you see what I did there?) The Note 7 disaster now seems to be far from customers minds, with virtually no impact on customer confidence with the …
Someone who is far braver than I am over at IHS Markit decided to get hold of the latest flagship from Samsung the Galaxy S8 and take it apart to have a look-see what’s inside. While ferking around, they have decided to do a quick cost breakdown of …
Our very own Matteo had some hands-on time with the Honor 8 Pro and he was so impressed that he ended up ordering one for himself. That’s saying something. So now, following all the specs and details plus our bulging gallery of Honor 8 Pro pictures, we’ve got …
Look at me. I’ve got me an LG G6. Aren’t I all big and clever? I get phones first. I’m so amazing. Wait though… it’s not like that at all. In fact, I get phones on loan for a few days or a couple of weeks, then I …
We’ve started to see more and more smartphones coming out with three cameras instead of two. You’ll have two on the rear for wide-angle or clever RGB / monochrome detection and there’s usually one up front for selfie shots. However, Oppo want to turn that setup around with …
Today I’ve been using the LG G6. Matteo has already taken a look at the handset up close but I wanted to bring you a full review. Before all that, here’s a look at that camera and how it compares to the Huawei P10 that I’ve got with …
Just yesterday we covered news of the HTC U. Today we’re getting details on a launch on May 16th for this particular handset, and a tagline suggesting that it’ll be “squeezable”. Leaked details suggest that the frame will be touch-sensitive so you can gently squeeze it to perform …
HTC have already released two top-end handsets this year – HTC U Play and U Ultra (see the MWC hands-on here) – but neither were exactly a replacement for last year’s HTC 10. Rumours of this year’s iteration of their flagship have long abounded under the codename ‘Ocean’. …
If you’ve got yourself an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy S7 you’ll find it relatively easy to find a case for it. However, if you’ve got a phone made by another manufacturer then it can sometimes be a little tricky to get hold of one. Take, as an …
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 …
Two networks have just got in touch with us about the LG G6, the first is Three and the second is Sky Mobile, who operate using the O2 masts up and down the country. Three is has today started pre-orders and they have a contract with a £129 …
Say what you will about the Nokia 3310, it achieved one major goal in focusing interest back to the Nokia brand. Those memories of solid, durable, reliable Nokia handsets came flooding back and we all remembered a simpler time, when we didn’t feel the need to check our …
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 …
Well, this is a nice surprise to see from the London-based company: they’re on track with the big guns to update their existing handsets to Nougat. Not only that, but they’re going to be the first company outside of Google to update to Android 7.1.1. Even though my …
So, you’ve had a look at our Huawei P10 First Impressions article. You like the phone, but you want a slightly bigger screen? Well, your luck is in. The P10 has a 5.1″ panel, but the P10 Plus has a 5.5″, and Vodafone have just made it live …
I’m a big gamer. Absolutely love it. There was a time when, if you wanted a “proper” game, you’d have to wait until you got home. An expensive console was needed. Some expensive games. It was a costly business. Still is. Now, though, if you have a look …
In 2013, billionaire space-tourist and Linux advocate Mark Shuttleworth announced Ubuntu Phone. It was based, rather obviously, on the Linux distribution, Ubuntu. Ubuntu had already seen a lot of success in the server and desktop world, and could arguably be the most important distribution since the creation of the open-source …
I’m going to start this piece by saying that I’ve never been greatly bothered by phone insurance. It’s not something I’ve considered getting because I’m generally pretty careful. However, thanks to our bank (and a regular monthly fee) we have a few “perks” which includes travel and mobile …
It’s been a year since I called it. Windows on a mobile phone? It’s long dead. Trouble is, people are still running those Windows Phone devices. A lot were waiting for the new Windows 10 Creators Update Release, but Mary Jo Foley has dug out a list of …
The price of smartphones seems to be going in two different directions at the moment. At the top end, the likes of the iPhone 7 and the Samsung Galaxy S8 will see you paying more and more for your flagship mobile. At the bottom end, something else is …
The Chinese brand, LeEco, are reported to be suffering some issues according to Bloomberg. They have tried to hit the US market hard with smartphones, TVs and even autonomous car development with Faraday Future. Check out the video below if you don’t know who Faraday Future are, the video …
We had a play around with an Honor 8 Pro recently and were really impressed with the overall experience delivered by the device. We have a gallery here to feast your eyes on Honor’s latest flagship which starts shipping on April 20th. Full specs and thoughts about the …
Honor have just announced their new flagship device: the Honor 8 Pro. The Honor 8 Pro has a sleek all-metal body design with rounded edges, a dual-camera setup that doesn’t protrude and a selection of colours to choose from which includes Midnight Black, Navy Blue and Platinum Gold. …
This comes on loan from EE, where it’s available for £40.99 per month with 5GB of monthly data and unlimited texts and calls. Although I’ve perhaps not totally unleashed everything it can do – I’m properly impressed so far. Out of the box, it was the build quality …
I’ll be honest, I’ve been experiencing a bit of a lethargic phase recently. There’s been a degree of apathy in the last few weeks as the never-ending wave of phones from Mobile World Congress has almost deadened my mood. Why? Well, as much as I understand the reasons, …
We are used to hearing news that more people are accessing the web on a mobile device rather than a desktop. However, a new and somewhat significant milestone has been passed, this being that Android’s internet use has overtaken Windows PC’s. According to StatCounter the Android platform represented 37.93% …
