Category: Android
The Note 7 is lit. Unfortunately not in a good way — for Samsung anyway. The news of exploding phones has spread from a few tech related reports, to dramatic news stories in main stream media. Samsung have finally admitted defeat and cancelled further production and sale of the Galaxy …
Serial leaker Evan Blass is rarely wrong when it comes to upcoming handsets and gadgets. He’ll get the pictures and the gossip ahead of time and today he’s revealed that Google will indeed be stepping into the Smartwatch ring very soon indeed. As we mentioned before, Google seems …
HTC have got a lot of ground to make up. They’ve got less cash coming in and have recently launched a brand new handset with no NFC in it. Now there’s another mid-range device coming, this time with a 5.5″ screen. It’s the Bolt, known internally as the …
Welcome to the first in a series of articles celebrating apps which are an example to others on how things should be done. I’m probably preaching to the converted, but I wanted to talk about the BBC iPlayer Radio app. It’s available for iPhone,, Android and Kindle. For …
I think it’s fair to say that Samsung have been having quite a few “problems” recently. The initial reports of Galaxy Note7 handsets going up in smoke were one thing, but then when replacements started to do the same, Samsung canned the phone completely. What has to be …
Head to Amazon and you can pick up a ZTE Blade V7 for a pretty small amount of cash. For your money you’ll get a phone with a 5.2″ 1080 x 1920 pixel screen, Android 6.0 and an octa-core 1.3GHz CPU. It also comes with 2GB RAM, 16GB …
The smoking Galaxy Note7 situation has now officially gone from bad to worse. Initially the first few exploding phones were said to be due to bad batteries, and a recall was issued. New phones with green “fixed” battery technology were issued and we assumed that Samsung would weather …
South Korean news reports are today stating that Samsung have halted production of their troubled Samsung Galaxy Note7. It follows replacement handsets continuing to go bang despite being checked and cleared by Samsung. Two US mobile networks have also taken the decision to stop selling the phone. Both …
I still love HTC. I really do. Sure, they’ve made some missteps over the years in terms of product, and they may have put out one too many phones that are pretty much exactly the same bar shape and look, but Nokia did the same thing when they …
HTC were responsible for kick-starting this site way, way back in 2002. They were just a manufacturer then, with Orange or other networks sticking their branding on. Back then nobody knew who they were. Then they fought. They pushed on and built a brand. Soon everyone had a …
As much as I hate to admit it, we’re now definitely in the Autumn. The leaves are falling off the trees and I can no longer sit outside the pub without several coats on. It’s a bit naff, but if you time the weather right, there’s still the …
If you are a regular reader of this site, you will know that I’m a real OnePlus fanboy. I’ve owned every device that the company have released, and upon seeing the price of the new Google Pixel phones I’ll definitely be staying in the OnePlus stable. To be …
There’s a definite increase in popularity for mobile trackers. Many attach negative connotations with the software, perhaps thinking that their only purpose is to track and secretly spy on partners. However, with the traditional PC now leaving our homes, more and more kids are using the internet in …
Having a dabble online with one of the many betting and casino sites is something that some may shy away from. It involves spending money and maybe, perhaps, winning some back. The part in the middle – where you’re actually playing those games and enjoying them – can be the …
Fancy a phone and a 4G contract for just £6 per month? Check this offer out from iD Mobile. They already do SIM only plans from just £4 per month and sure, that’s only 250MB of data, but for another £2 per month you can get a phone …
Morning. Last night Google unveiled the phones we all expected them to unveil. The Pixel and the Pixel XL – a phone and a slightly bigger phone. From a distance, from far, far away, it’s like the Apple launch in a way. Two phones, one a big larger …
Yes, we kinda know what we’re going to see now. The two new Google handsets leaked all over the place yesterday so the Pixel and Pixel XL are going to be no surprise when the event starts at 5PM UK time. If you’re elsewhere in the world, don’t …
Head down to Tesco Mobile to get your Galaxy S6 and S7 and you’ll get more than just a very smart Android handset. Tesco are giving away goodies worth between £39.99 and £199 which you can perhaps keep and use as Christmas presents if you don’t want them …
We have managed to do it – we finally have an unboxing before a phone is due for release. This took us a fair few hours of persuasion and persistence from me upon the bigwigs at Sony to allow us to have this device, the Sony Xperia XZ. …
Looks like someone at Carphone Warehouse is going to be buying the Fail cakes after full details and product shots of the Pixel and Pixel XL spilled all over the interwebs. The actual launch is tomorrow, but we now have various photos and specs of both devices. These …
It’s that time of year again the lull between the iPhone launch and the Google phone launch. It is during this time that we normally see a few other smaller scale players have announcements in time for the holiday season. One such company is Huawei (who are by …
At school I played a game to see how well me and my friends “matched” each other. It was a bit like the origami paper game where you’d create a folding “fortune teller” device which had a concealed message. You’d ask each other questions and then, based on …
Are you an “OK Google” superuser? To be honest, I’m not. I keep forgetting that it’s there, but today Google has announced an update to the Google Maps app which I think that I will use and be an extremely useful addition. “OK Google” and voice commands …
Not being able to get a signal in the middle of a city is still, in 2016, all too easy. In Lichfield I can walk out of a Vodafone or EE store and, just a few metres from the door, I’ll have no signal at all. Even with …
Over on VentureBeat, serial leaker Mr Evan Blass has posted an image of the device we’re all expecting Google to announce during their October 4th event. It’s thought that the “Nexus” brand will be cast aside in favour of the new “Pixel” name, and this HTC-built device is …
Those of you who follow us on Twitter can look away now. Indeed, if you’re a regular visitor then you really don’t need to read this story, because this is something we told you about way back in June. Our readers knew all about the OnePlus 3 arriving …
When I was in my teens, smartphones weren’t really a “thing”. Sure, we had mobile phones, but they were big clunky things and you couldn’t even text on them unless you paid for the texting “service”. Plus, they were pretty much confined to older people, not “grandpa” old, …
As Coolsmartphone Podcast Listeners probably realised, there is a slight difference of opinion within the team on the whole issue of how Samsung have performed over the Overheating Galaxy Note 7 issue and associated product recall. Judging by my Twitter timeline today, it looks like it’s not just …
Head to your local supermarket and you’ll find many weird and wonderful tablets which are all pretty well priced. They may look like a decent option for your kids, but how do you know if they’re any good? How do you know if they’re supported? Amazon have the …
Remember the Ouya console ? Well, this little device lets you do something similar and then some. You plug it into your TV and share your Android screen, watch YouTube, show your pictures and videos from a USB stick too. There’s a stack of additions on this, some …
That’s this weeks live CoolSmartphone Podcast wrapped up folks – you can check out the reply below – or download the audio version from Friday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6FMRS2xJO8
I’ve started to develop a bit of a habit now – leaving the house without my wallet. At work the canteen and the vending machines all use contactless payments. When I get fuel – call it Apple Pay, call it Android Pay – the petrol station, the supermarket, …
I’ve mentioned this a few times before, and I’m guilty of it myself. Over-using my phone. Head down, plodding along the street, engrossed in some meaningless tweet. Someone could walk past me wearing nothing but a pair of socks and I’d probably not notice. My son told me …
For some odd reason I’ve now got that Adele song stuck in my head. Y’know.. “Hello, it’s me I was wondering if after all these years you’d like to meet To go over everything….” That’s it. It’s stuck in your head now. In a few minutes you’ll be …
Not too long ago you could pick up my phone and find it to be a productivity powerhouse. I’d have my email, my Citrix Receiver, Office 365, my calendar and not much else. It was a portable office. Now though, after coming back from holiday, I’ve found that …
Google has recently announced a new app that helps you sort all your travel plans. It’s a free app, and available both on Android & iOS. What with it being a travel app and all, it comes with an offline mode, allowing you to download all the info you …
Well, we knew that the Desire 10 was coming and, just seconds ago, it was announced on the HTC website. The Desire 10 is a metallic, stylish handset with a full glass frontage and 5.5″ HD screen. The one you’ll be getting in the UK has a 13 …
Allo yes, this post may have the worst title but I couldn’t help it. Back at the Google I/O Developers Conference in May, they announced two new applications, Duo and Allo. The Duo app was released about a month ago, which is the simple video chatting application if you’ll recall, and …
The launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note7 was explosive, but sadly not in the right way. Batteries seem to be melting through the handset as it’s charged and the advice now appears to be, “Woah there! Put the phone down! Put it DOWN” If you’re in the UK …
You may have done it yourself. You may see others do it. Perhaps you’ll catch an approaching driver looking down at something and you’ll wonder if they’re really just “tuning the radio” or perhaps browsing the web instead. It’s on the rise and, with the deep cuts in …
