Category: Microsoft

Honor MagicBook Pro – Review

So the time has come to try and get my head around the Honor MagicBook Pro laptop review. I have already done a long piece on the hardware which can be found in my unboxing post. That is well worth a read as it will give you an …

Honor MagicBook Pro unboxing and first impressions.

So it has been a while since I reviewed a full-size laptop or even, for that matter, a small one! I typically gravitate toward the more compact and light style of laptops as I rank portability as more important than screen real estate. The last one I used …

Alienware thin and light gaming laptop – The M15

Yesterday I was invited down to a boxing gym in central London to see a new laptop from Alienware that is punching well above its featherweight level. The Alienware M15 Laptop is a brand new thin and light gaming laptop that will serve well as both a powerful …

Dell XPS 15″ 2 in 1 Laptop – Review

Here is something a little bit different for us to review, especially on a site originally dedicated to smartphones. It is a review of a laptop. Not just any laptop though, this is a laptop that hides behind a diminutive form factor (at least for its size). That …

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 …

Xbox Adaptive Controller Announcement

Playing Video games is something that everyone has tried on their console, PC or mobile device. Whether that’s Candy Crush, Battlefield, Gran Turismo or the game which has took the scene by storm – Fortnite. But accessibility to video games in the past has primarily relied on opposable …

#MWC2018 Huawei live blog

Time for us to see what Huawei have got up their sleeve for at this years MWC keynote. We pretty much know that we are not going to see a new phone but there may be some new tablets on the horizon. Join the live blog to find …

Free iPhone data transfer software – MobiMover

A lot of new smartphones will be getting turned on this Christmas to replace older phones. When you switch on that phone there might be a clever transfer system to move your data from your previous handset. If you’re moving from Android to Android or iPhone to iPhone, …

Eve-Tech announces the retail price for Eve V 2 in 1

You may remember that I was doing a lot of work with a company called Eve-Tech at the beginning of the year. This work was based on the Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign of the Eve V 2 in 1 laptop. Although it seems like it has been a very long …

Windows 10 Mobile – It’s definitely dead now.

Some 18 months ago, I wrote about the death of Windows on a phone. I’d been there. I saw how Microsoft chief executive, Steve Ballmer, laughed off the iPhone. I saw how many loyal fans were kicked away by Microsoft as continual reboots of the platform killed upgrade …

Bill Gates goes Android

It’s not something I talk about much, but I’ve actually met Bill Gates. He’s a bit shorter in real life and had a lot of bodyguards following him around at the time. We spoke about the Microsoft Smartphone because, way back when, Microsoft was actually pretty successful at …

Microsoft reveal a Chromebook competitor (almost)

Here at the Coolsmartphone hive of activity, a number of our writers use Chromebooks. I and the editor-in-chief Leigh use them predominately – I must use my Asus Flip easily 95% of the time. The Chromebook has been a runaway success, with it being an inexpensive device with a …

Eve V going into production

Some of you may remember that I have been an avid follower of Eve-Tech and their crowdfunded 2-in-1 project. After an extremely successful Indiegogo campaign that was run at the tail end of 2016, the company is now ready to push into production. The potential shipping for the computer …

You fanboy you

Google defines a fanboy as ‘a male fan, especially one who is obsessive about comics, music, film, or science fiction’. To most of us, however, a fanboy is a passionate, perhaps an irrational, but most definitely a misguided fan of a rival mobile phone operating system (could be …

Venturer PrimePro 12 TS 2-in-1 notebook – Review

A short time ago I carried out a review of the EliteWin S 11KT mini 2-in-1 notebook. It was also created by Venturer, and you can view the full review here. Now the company have sent me through the their latest device, the PrimePro 12TS Good Points:  Good …

Microsoft hike Surface prices and blames Brexit vote

Following the Brexit vote last year, it appears that Microsoft has jumped on the “Let’s hike the prices in the UK and blame Brexit bandwagon“. It always intrigued me that in the past when we had a strong pound, we had the 1 dollar = 1 pound pricing. …

Windows 10 Mobile on ARM

In my day job I have and still do work with Microsoft Operating Systems. It’s been a love / hate relationship over the years but now, when I get home, I don’t want anything more to do with it. Turning on a laptop, getting the endless updates and …

Eve V 2 in 1 computer Final Specs revealed.

So I have been following this community driven computer for the last 6 months. During that time there has been a lot of discussion within the community about what the specs should be. After much toing and froing the final specs list has been revealed. I can honestly …

Venturer Windows 2-in-1 Notebooks get updated

Premium audio and video manufacturer, Venturer, previously brought us the successful BravoWin and EliteWin 2-in-1 affordable notebooks. These were released here in the UK earlier this year. Today they’ve announced their new models – the BravoWin S and EliteWin S. Both Mini Notebooks have a stylish new build with a …

“Crowd-sourced” 2-in-1 named with specs – Eve V

Some of you may recall I wrote an article earlier in the year about a company called Eve-Tech. They were going down a different route with the design of a laptop / 2 in 1 device. Now they have crowd-sourced the whole design process. It is the community …

Microsoft offloads mobile support to B2X.

Well, this is about all I need to hear to be honest. Microsoft are effectively washing their hands of remaining Lumia users. Today a customer care company called B2X has announced that they will be taking over customer care responsibilities for all Microsoft mobile devices. That’s all devices. …

No Windows 10 phones from Lenovo

Let’s face it, Microsoft have realigned their mobile efforts away from hardware. Not only that, but the traditional smartphone operating system doesn’t seem to be high on the priority list for the company. Their own Lumia handsets are being killed off and there’s not exactly a queue of …

Microsoft Band Canned. Team disband.

I tried out the Microsoft Band and Band 2. I was quite impressed but sadly there’ll be no third version. A few weeks ago Thurrott reported that the future of Microsoft Band looked less than promising. Let’s face it, Microsoft tried to do the “hardware thing” and failed …

Turrah Lumia. Nice seein’ ya.

Get yourself a drink Lumia fans. Turn the lights down. This is the end, my only friend, the end… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSUIQgEVDM4 News from WinBeta and elsewhere seems to confirm it. The Lumia range is dead. An anonymous employee states that Microsoft is about to “end sales” of the range …

EU finds nothing wrong with pre installing software

Eight years ago, the PC market was a completely different place than it is now. Windows Vista was the hot OS and customers where upgrading then regretting it en masse. However, one French user decided he just didn’t agree with Microsoft’s terms and conditions and started a fight …

Eve “crowd sourced” computer close to being launched. UPDATED

Since the initial publication of this article, I have been given some new information that is relevant. All the updates are in Italics Some of you may have come across a company called Eve (not the game!). Last year they launched a tablet that was designed to be …

Microsoft to cut thousands more staff

In May Microsoft announced that nearly 2,000 staff would be given the chop after their mobile OS business started to shrink. Now it seems that thousands more will be looking for work after Microsoft added a further 2,850 workers to the previously announced 1,850. The cuts, as before, …

Microsoft off-load nearly 2000 staff as the smartphone adventure ends

It’s a sad day for hard-working smartphone employees, especially in Finland. Microsoft has just announced that 1,850 jobs will go as they “restructure” their smartphone hardware business. 1,350 of the staff affected will be from the Microsoft Mobile division in Oy, Finland. The remaining 500 will be from …

Don’t want Windows 10 force fed? Give this a spin

Microsoft are playing a very dangerous game. It might not seem a big deal to many, but the company is under pressure. Sure, their desktop OS and Office offerings are performing well, but in the home there’s more iPads and mobile gadgets now. There’s less PC’s being sold …

Microsoft sees their mobile market share drop below 1%

It’s the same sad story for Microsoft. Without specifically stating it, they’ve effectively left Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile to die on the vine. Mobile efforts now appear to be concentrated on mobile software for Android and iOS. Meanwhile, their smartphone OS is dropping off the charts …

Goodbye Nokia. Goodbye Lumia. Hello Again Nokia.

Looking from the outside in, the recent history of Nokia has been a bit rocky to say the least. There was the whole “burning platform” thing and then Microsoft grabbed hold of the phone business but failed to capitalise on the brand name. Microsoft/Nokia-made Lumia handsets were pushed …

BravoWin 10KT MiniPC – Review

About a week ago I unboxed a new 2-in-1 PC that had a retail value of £150, and I posed the question of ‘can a machine this cheap be any good’? I also mentioned that I was going to be able to compare this to a more standard-priced …

Buy a mobile phone and get a free.. mobile phone!

It seems a bizarre and almost desperate pitch. Imagine a smartphone manufacturer offering up a £469.99 smartphone and then, if you buy it, giving you a phone worth £419.99 completely free. That’s be insane. You’d think that the manufacturer had totally lost the plot. You’d think that they …

The death of Windows Phone. Market share sinks further.

Say what you like about my Windows Phone tirade, it’s all sadly true. Call it what you want – Windows 10 mobile, Windows Phone, I’m angry at how easily Microsoft let their lead slip. I’m annoyed at how slowly they realised. I’m frustrated at how they treated the …

BravoWin 10KT Mini PC unboxing

We live in an amazing age where you can buy a reasonable spec computer for less than £300. However, this price usually gets you a non-touch-screen laptop tloaded with compromises and inferior components. The BravoWin 10KT is looking to challenge that perception and show that you can get a …

Venturer enter the affordable mini Windows Notebook arena

Venturer have launched the ‘BravoWin 10KT’ and the ‘EliteWin 11KT’ mini notebooks, equipped with Windows 10 and Office 365 or Office Mobile. The Venturer convertible tablets are equipped with a detachable smart keyboard that has a pressure sensing trackpad which clips on magnetically so it can be used as …

Windows Phone losing market share

The promised upgrade of all Lumia handsets to Windows 10 mobile hasn’t quite happened and Microsoft isn’t making a big song and dance about newly released handsets either. Things aren’t looking too great for the Microsoft mobile OS. However, Windows 10 mobile is available and, when these Kantar …

Windows 10 Mobile upgrade, but not for the Lumia 1020, 925 or 920

We covered the Windows 10 Mobile upgrade fairly recently. A raft of Windows Phone 8.1 handsets are getting the update and it was good to see an update happening so quickly. Sure, handsets with 512MB RAM weren’t fit enough because Microsoft tests showed that it didn’t give the …