Category: General
We’ve been looking at those “virtual network operators” lately and have already checked out Virgin Mobile and TalkTalk. Both of those networks were keen to get you on board if you were already using one of their other services (like TV or broadband) and, in the case of …
You’ve heard of the Galaxy Nexus, right? Well, how about the two Nexus One ‘budget’ satellites that are watching us from an altitude of 150 miles as I type? The idea is to get off the shelf components and make a fully functioning satellite for less than $10,000. …
Cast your mind back to April 5th 2012. Nothing of note happened unless you are part of the Tesco Mobile team for they won the annual Which? magazine mobile satisfaction survey. Now, coming back to one year later and guess what…..they’ve only gone and done it again. The …
Back in October I wrote a small piece regarding the launch of iPlayer radio. At the time the app was only available on iOS with an Android version said to be following soon. Well, some 6 months later the Android version has finally launched and it looks quite impressive. Clearly …
The team at Ofcom have been busy doing research into the mobile landscape. Their results seem to echo the results of our survey in that internet usage is on the rise, and over half of UK adults use a mobile phone to hit the web. According to the …
I was alerted to the DMZmusic Bluetooth dongle by a comment on Leigh’s recent review of the StreamPort Universal. In it, Graham Eastham suggested that it wasn’t worth spending £59.99 on the StreamPort and instead suggested the DMZmusic Bluetooth dongle for just over a fiver! Having an eye …
Getting a fast car is great. You can beat people off the lights and smile as they stuggle to keep up. Trouble is, in the long run, you’re going to run out of fuel quicker and that guy you accelerated away from will end up driving past as …
The details for the first quarter of this year show that demand for the 4G network seems to be in line with company expectations. The 4G section has been in operation for five months now and, with 318,000 customers using the shiny new masts, they’re looking to hit …
Waze is quite a useful app, it is a Sat-Nav, mapping and traffic app, where just by using it you are contributing to it’s accuracy. It is one of those apps that has never made it to Windows Phone, possibly due to user numbers in the past. Israeli …
Water, water, everywhere, but it’s all in my phone. AGH! You know what it’s like, the screen looks like an electronic goldfish bowl and it makes a sad swishing sound when moved around. A drop in the bath, a fall into a drink or even an unfortunate accident …
The guys from T-Mobile have a pretty decent deal on right now. It’s 5000 texts and 300 minutes per month plus another 500 minutes to T-Mobile customers every month. There’s also 750MB of data per month but, right now, they’re giving another 250MB of data per month for …
I’m a big fan of Cut The Rope, and noticed yesterday that a new version is out, called ‘Time Travel’. This edition sees the awesome Om Nom travel though time (see what they did there?) meeting ancestors and gulping down yet more candy. Perhaops they’ll be a ‘Cut The …
If you listened to our lovely podcast this week you’ll have heard us discussing the various merits of the Samsung Galaxy S4, in particular, VS other (cheaper) handsets like the Google Nexus 4. I really like my Nexus 4. I like stock Android, it’s whizzy fast and does everything …
Today EE have announced the launch of the UK’s first first next-generation 4G device, the Huawei E5776 mobile Wi-Fi hotspot. It’s a pretty regular Wi-Fi hotspot that allows up to ten wi-fi enabled devices to access the internet on the EE network. The difference, of course, is that …
Amazon’s new digital currency is now just a month away from being introduced. It’s a currency and payment method that you’ll be able to use in the Amazon Appstore and will soon become second nature for those with a Kindle Fire HD. Amazon Coins will let you buy …
Three have today launched the Motorola Defy+ on their UK network bringing the well built sturdy phone to the masses at a price of just £10 a month on contracts or £69.99 on PAYG Dust, scratch and water resistant, the Motorola Defy+ is a handy phone for those …
Battery life. The bane of modern smartphones. We’ve discussed this on the podcast as one of the aspects begging for technology innovation, and it looks like our prayers just might be answered. A team from the United States claim to have invented a new type of battery technology, which provides TEN TIMES …
Got an iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S? Fed up of the battery going flat? Well, those “PowerJackits” are now reduced quite significantly. They were already slashed in price by 40% but now there’s another 50% off, meaning that some of the ones that were £50 are now just …
It’s fair to say that ever since I saw a carphone in a Jaguar XJ6 I’ve been obsessed with mobile telephones. Over the last few years I’ve swapped phones around regularly, usually flip flopping between Android and iOS devices. I usually end up going back to the iPhone sooner or later. …
Here at Coolsmartphone we rather like WordPress, it is the basis of everything we do and without the mobile apps this site would be a totally different place. Last night an update for WordPress for Android appeared. The update amongst other things brought a whole new UI to …
I am a very proud owner of a Sony Xperia Z and up until now I have been using a very cheap case that I picked up in a market which has been offering me minimal protection. When Mobilefun offered the chance to review the Muvit Slim and …
Orphaned files and folders aren’t a new phenomenon. For hundreds of many years people have been uninstalling apps only to find that the uninstaller hasn’t quite done it’s job properly. I’ve seen this bug in umpteen versions of Windows on my desktop PC, I’ve seen on every version …
There have not bee a huge a mount of decent quality cases out there for the new Blackberry Z10. Howevere Blackberry have come to the rescue as they normally do when they release a new model. Infact the have released several different case all of which can be …
Controversy around the T-Mobile ‘Full Monty’ package is nothing new here at Coolsmartphone. See here and here. However, it seems the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) have also waded into this particular row. The summary is the ASA have agreed that the plan does NOT offer unlimited access to …
The Galaxy S4 is just around the corner now and, if I’m honest, I’m looking around for an upgrade. I’ve started looking for a more data on my next plan because I got kicked for going over my paltry 750MB data allowance with my current network… Doah… And …
Changes are afoot for the Facebook app for iOS. The iPhone and iPad apps will both get an update today which means that it will now include new features in private messages. Stickers are a new way of expressing yourself within messages…… Also released is the much vaunted …
Handset accessories are often a sticking point. They nearly always take an eternity to launch if they put in an appearance at all. The Nexus 4 is no different. Not only did LG / Google take forever to get supplies of the handset itself up to an acceptable …
Ofcom, the UK telecoms regulator has announced that they are looking into the standardisation of the “confusing” costs of calling non geographical 0845 and freephone 0800 numbers from mobile phones. Costs of calling these numbers currently can vary from 20p to 40p per minute for 0800 and vary …
I use the phone on my camera a lot, capturing moments in time to share with others at a later date. With Windows Phone Camera Lenses you can do a lot more with your photos. I’ve tried lots of different lenses out some just make pictures look rubbish …
Momax have taken a fresh look at the case/stand hybrid concept with The Core Smart Case, which uses an origami inspired design for the stand coupled with a traditional gel casing. Good Fits perfectly Magnetic fasteners Screen protector and cloth included Bad Stand angle is too upright Unstable …
Phone cases are all pretty similar from a certain distance. This one, though, isn’t. An iPhone 5 case that costs £199.99? That’s gotta be pretty good to start with. The Izzi camera case protects your iPhone and also adds three different lenses that sit over the existing lens. …
Batteries are a contentious issue when it comes to smartphones. It seems that no matter how much the phone technology advances, batteries can only just keep up. One day on a full charge is normal but, quite frankly, unacceptable. There are various options available to ease your power …
Over the next few weeks we’re taking a look at the many MVNO’s here in the UK. That acronym, by the way, is just fancy talk for a network using masts owned or operated by others. With the shift and merger of Orange and T-Mobile into “EE” you, …
Can’t wait for the HTC First? Want to make your high-end smartphone the ultimate Facebook machine? If so, good news – Facebook Home has just been pushed to the Google Play Store and should be available shortly. If you have a Samsung Galaxy Note II, Galaxy S3, HTC One X, One X+ …
Story so far then. Just yesterday we posted about the Huawei Ascend G510 and how cheap it was at just £130 on Vodafone Pay As You Go. The device has a 1.2 GHz dual-core CPU, 4.5″ 854×400 screen, 4GB internal storage, microSD expansion, 5 megapixel rear camera and …
You know how it is. You’re on the bus with your Samsung Galaxy S2 or HTC Desire S and some flash Harry steps on with the latest HTC One, iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy S4. It’s a pain, but we’re all resigned to either waiting our turn for …
Following pretty successful tests across the Black Country, the company responsible for checking that the 800MHz 4G doesn’t bleed into digital TV is now testing in London. This test is far bigger than the first and will squirt a 4G signal at 800MHz across 170,000 homes in Greenwich, …
It’s true – in this day and age, there is actually a company who keeps their word. When Viber announced free calling between its users for iOS and Android, they did say Blackberry 7 users would also receive the update at some point. We weren’t sure about that, …
Anyone who’s been more than an occasional Google services user on their phone will recognise the problem. You send an email to a friend through Gmail, follow up with a google talk chat session, send a post through Google+ to illustrate your point and may also have a …
The Chrome beta has been out for a few months now. In the past it was hard to see what the beta version actually offered over the normal version, but with last night’s update they’ve gone and added fullscreen browsing. Plus some other stuff of course. – Fullscreen …