Category: Android

A walk-around from MWC Shanghai

My final bit of coverage from MWC Shanghai is a walk around the show halls. The venue itself is nearly purpose built for hosting large scale events, of which MWC Shanghai has ambitions to become one of the bigger events that the Shanghai International New Expo Centre (SINEC) …

Pokémon Go now in the UK too

Following on from my story yesterday, I can now confirm that the game everyone is talking about is available in UK app stores. Android and iPhone users just need to head to their respective places and grab the download the normal way. Yesterday we detailed a get-around that …

How to download Pokémon Go on Android in the UK now

OK. It’s turned into a dream for the PR company this one. Everybody seems to be talking about it, even here in the UK where you can’t actually download the thing just yet. Pokémon has returned and the ’90s have come back too (Robot Wars was on TV …

Honor 5X now £139.99 at Amazon

Prime Day has been and gone. I made the most of Prime Day and ordered a magenta coloured Fire tablet for my better half and 168 pouches of cat food. Great deals! On that note, you may have not missed out on all the deals yesterday: the Honor …

Samsung announce their next Unpacked event – August 2nd

A small and upcoming mobile company called “Samsung” have just announced a date for their next Unpacked launch. There’s not long to wait, and already we’re expecting the device in question to be the Galaxy Note 7. We don’t know a great deal about the event, however the …

Hands on with the ZUK Z2 Pro – MWC Shanghai

Some of you more ardent fans may have heard of us mentioning the ZUK brand before. It’s a sub-brand of mega corporation Lenovo. Well, while I was roaming the halls of MWC Shanghai I came across the Z2 Pro and I was very keen to see what it …

A quick break in our regular programming

Yes, it’s that time again. Another one of my bike rides and another attempt by me to relate it to mobile phones or something. No. I’m not going to do that this time. Yes, I’m doing a bike ride. Yes, it’s even more insane this year. We’re basically …

LeEco Le Max 2 unboxing – MWC Shanghai

As you may know, I was recently out in Shanghai and I was lucky enough to be given a Le Max 2 from LeEco for me to use as my own phone. So in the way of a true tech blogger, I decided  I would share the unboxing …

Microsoft Surface Phone might have a keyboard case

Although the Windows Phone OS remains a firm favourite amongst the highly paid staff at Coolsmartphone Towers, very few of us use the device regularly.  Indeed, Leigh has written a number of articles recently on the death of Windows Phone.  Microsoft seems to be prepared to have one …

The Beast is out!

Last week we told you about the fantastic Iron Maiden game, Legacy of the Beast. The wait is over! The game now be download from Google Play and Apple iTunes official from now (5th July, 4pm BST). James Hursthouse, CEO of Roadhouse Interactive comments, “As a lifelong Maiden fan, I …

Xperia X – Review, what is difference between Z and X?

Just a few weeks ago I rather hesitantly went to meet with Sony, and there I was given the replacement to my trusty and long-suffering Xperia Z5 in the form of the Xperia X. Now to say I wasn’t thrilled with this exchange was an understatement as I …

Wileyfox launches three new Android smartphones

Just a few days ago we found our Wileyfox launch invite. It had arrived in a lovely shiny plastic envelope and we kinda assumed it was junk mail. Doah. Anyway, down in London Wileyfox went ahead without us. They even handed out Fox’s Biscuits. Geddit? Fox? Fox’s ? …

ZTE Axon 7 hands on – MWC Shanghai

They only announced that this would be available the other day, but us being eager beavers here at Coolsmartphone (and with me being in Shanghai), I thought it would be worth a visit to ZTE. Before we get into that though let’s see what this thing is all …

Phones that will revolutionise mobile gaming

Every year mobile gaming becomes more involved and sophisticated with new games, better ways to play them and even greater connectivity with friends through social media. And, as this march of progress continues, the technology to play the games on moves forward too. At the forefront of these …

666 is the Legacy of the Beast!

For those lucky few who caught our live broadcast last week, you will know we have had a copy of Legacy of the Beast. This is a game dedicated to the British music legends, Iron Maiden. The game celebrates every single album by taking you through worlds based on …

Note 7 Iris scanner rumour looks more promising

According to the inter-web rumours, the next iteration of the Note series the Note 6…sorry the Note 7 (I don’t know either), is rumoured to have an iris scanner.  Now it appears that this latest rumour may have a bit more substance,m and good old leaker @onleaks (who has a …

Emojis – Even I’m using them now

There was a time, not too long ago, when I’d be pretty annoyed at using an emoji. My wife loves them, but when she sent me a text message my phone wouldn’t be able to understand it and I’d just get a stack of question marks where the …

Your home, in your hand…

You’ve seen a few of our recent camera reviews covering security gadgets for your home. Most of the time it’s security cameras, but they’re not always the fixed ones we’ve checked out – we’ve also used our smartphones to control cameras, to control the heating and more. Home …

HTC app update kills HTC One M8 and M9 camera

On June 27th HTC updated this app. It’s called the “HTC Service PNS”, and is basically their push client supporting HTC services and apps. Since this got updated HTC M8 and HTC M9 owners have started having problems with their camera app. HTC 10 owners seem unaffected so …

OnePlus threaten to increase prices as a result of #Brexit

Errr… so, we’ve been sent quite a few “announcements” from companies following the EU referendum last week. The information we’re getting is sometimes contradictory, sometimes wrong and sometimes biased. Pretty much, you might say, like the whole campaign has been to date on both sides. Anyhoo, we’ve got …

Evernote reduces free users to only two devices

A post on the Evernote site posted on Monday 28th June states that Evernote Basic, the free tier from Evernote, will be limited to only two devices. This accompanies a price change for the paid levels, with Evernote Plus now costing £29.99 per year and Evernote Premium £44.99 …

Google changing the smartphone game

The Telegraph in the UK have reported that Google are looking in producing their own smartphone. This is different to what we have been used to as the Android creators previously left the manufacturing to other huge names like Samsung, HTC and so on. We also have the Google …

Vodafone launch another own-brand smartphone – The Smart ultra 7

OK, it’s been a busy few days. We’ve left Europe, but Scotland wants to stay, as does Northern Ireland and Gibraltar. The opposition is crumbling, the pound has tumbled to a 31 year low, the markets are in turmoil, the people behind the “Leave” camp have disappeared and …

OnePlus 3 – Review

OnePlus seem to have been in the news quite a lot recently, and this time it seems to be for all the right reasons. No over the top, morally and ethically questionable campaigns or events this time. It’s all about the OnePlus 3, the third flagship from the …

EXCLUSIVE – Yes, yes. The OnePlus 3 IS coming to O2

So, while I was mourning the loss of our Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (it’s only lasted a week and there seems to be some issue with the graphics driver), I received another email. It was from our mysterious, but trusted, source. The same one who mentioned that the …

OnePlus 3 coming to O2?

OK, I’ve had a pretty cryptic email from an anonymous source. It says that the OnePlus 3 is going to be ranged by O2 and will be in stores soon. Anndd…. that’s about it.. Sorry, that’s all we know so far. We’ve got no real evidence just yet, …

Doro 8030 – Review

A smartphone can be a scary proposition for some. It’s like being asked to perform brain surgery for a certain section of society and it’s something that they’ll run from. Why? Well, they’re older. Age will happen to all of us, but put a modern smartphone in front …

Vodafone Smart platinum 7 now available

Remember that Smart platinum 7 we told you about just days ago ? It’s now available to buy for just £295 on Pay As You Go or from a mere £28 per month (with a £20 up-front charge) on contract (1GB data, unlimited everything else). In addition, you’ll …

Honor 5C Announced

Oh I like this. Honor have sent us pictures of their new Honor 5C outside, next to a river. Perhaps James took it to the pub and snapped some photos? Well, perhaps that’s a topic we’ll need to talk to him about over a cold beer. This is …

Motorola Moto G4 – Now available to buy

The Moto G handsets have always been known as good value and good quality phones. Now, the Moto G4 that we covered a short while ago is available to buy. Expansys have it unlocked for £168.99 and John Lewis for £159.95. You can also find it for £156 …

Jide Announce its next Remix, the Remix Pro

It has been a bit of time since we last heard any news from Jide (the makers of Remix Ultra Tablet and the Remix Mini). They have been working very hard on a few different projects and building their portfolio up. So, what have they been working on so …

Moto phones get their own Motorola Camera app in the Play Store

Why is this a thing worth mentioning? There’s a camera app specifically for Motorola phones (called surprisingly enough, Motorola Camera). It largely depends on whether you have a Motorola phone or not. More precisely, whether you have, or intend to get, one of the 2016 crop of Motorola …

Panasonic goes rough with the ToughPad FZ-A2

Our smart gadgets are great, that’s for sure, but they break all too easily. In the end, if you’re going to use a tablet or smartphone outside of a soft, cushioned room; you’ll need to wrap it in a case or a cover and definitely never ever drop …

Facebook Messenger Now Does SMS

Are you someone who lives in Facebook Messenger? Would you like to spend even more time in the app? Well after the latest app update, you can now set Facebook Messenger to be your default SMS app (if you are on Android). For now iOS users can’t set …

OnePlus keep the punches coming with the OnePlus 3

I was recently on holiday and when I returned I found that this strange contraption was waiting for me in my hallway. Now for those of you who have followed us a for a while, you will no doubt be familiar with what this is. It is, of course, …

SIRIN LABS open up their Mayfair store for SOLARIN buyers

Hop off at Green Park or Bond Street and, if you want to buy a new smartphone with military-grade security, it’s probably best that you only look through the window of the new SIRIN LABS store at 34 Bruton Place in London. Why? Well, chances are that if …