Category: Reviews
A case made of bamboo. It’s not something you hear of every day, but that’s what he people from The Snugg have loaned us. It’s currently £29.99 or $29.99 (don’t get me started on that currency conversion) and here’s a look at it. First up. Yes, it’s very …
Recently I went on a holiday I have always wanted…. a week in New York. I was also lucky enough to have a Lumia 925 on me at the time (big thanks to Nokia Connects). The camera is really good at low-light photos and the PureView technology meant …
When I got my Nokia Lumia 925 I was worried, worried about the metal sides of the phone, metal tends to scratch and lo and behold within minutes I had a tiny nick on the edge. I set about trying to find a case and barely anything existed. …
Something wonderful seems to have happened here in the UK. The British summer has arrived. No, I’m not talking about that 15 degrees Celsius when the local teenagers start riding their bikes without tops on, this is actual, real, heat. At this point a lot of people will …
Shortly after getting the Sony Xperia Z I decided that it just felt a little too delicate for my liking. I wasn’t happy taking it out until I had a case. The nice glass backplate of the Xperia Z shouldn’t be covered up really, so I looked for …
The Sony Xperia Z, to the masses it has been eclipsed by the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4, to me it is the next logical step in my hunt to find my ideal “next generation” device. By next generation I mean compared to my Galaxy Note …
The LG L3 II is part of the second generation of the quirky L-Series smartphones. The range is characterised by its almost square screen. It’s certainly an individual look, and because/despite of this they have sold millions worldwide. LG have been kind enough to loan us one, and …
A rather nondescript envelope arrived at my house at the weekend. Now it had been a good night on the Saturday to say the least so I had forgotten arranging this delivery. With some trepidation as to what I may have bought in a Corona fueled haze I …
The Sony Xperia Tablet Z is just as much about the hardware underneath the seals and gaskets as the waterproofing itself, so in the second of our series on this £500 beast I’m going to take a look at the hardware and how it performs on dry land. …
The Parrot Minikit Smart car kit is more than just a mobile phone car dock. It’s intelligent, doing the same job as a Bluetooth enabled car. Will the £49.99 price tag save me the hassle of buying that Mercedes with the fancy stereo? Let’s hope so! Good Looks …
Thanks to the kind people over at Vodafone UK, we have been given an Xperia Z Tablet to use for FOUR WEEKS to be able to give our thoughts on it in a review. However this time will be slightly different as 3 different members of the team …
So you’ve read my OPPO find 5 review, watched the videos and your mouse is hovering above the add to basket button, but before you check-out you may want to think about a case. The problem is that there are no third party cases and the only place …
Now and again I like to try something a little different. Be it food, clothes, holidays, new words or just mobile phones. This weeks review is exactly that, something different. Prestigio have been selling tablets for a while now and recently they’ve branched out into Smartphones. There range is …
The OPPO find 5 is unknown to some, a curiosity to others and an item of desire to others (James). For me it’s been all three and is now my daily driver. To be clear, this isn’t a review unit that I’ve been sent, it’s my phone bought …
Well the time is finally here. I’ve got chance to review the brand new Lumia 925. I have been waiting for this phone for a while and I’m very happy to bring you this review. I have already given the hardware a thorough going over in my unboxing and …
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of using the HTC One and when my time with it was up I just knew what phone I had to get next. It just had to be the Samsung Galaxy S4. I had heard a lot of fuss online about …
Phone cases are a part of my daily routine, wake up, pick which phone case to use, get out of bed, brush teeth, itch, you know, all the normal stuff. I find phone cases fall into three different types. Minimal – minimum protection, no shock absorption, no screen protection, …
Many many years ago SPB used to make apps for Windows Mobile. The had something called SPB Shell, it was basically a launcher for Windows Mobile. Me and millions of others enjoyed it. Fast forward a few years and SPB have been bought out by Russian Search Engine …
I’ve said this many times before, or something similar anyway. An expensive phone deserves a decent case So when the Samsung Galaxy S4 arrived on my desk the first thing I did was get a case for it. Over the years my go to brand has been Otterbox …
I like to be organised, sometimes a little bit too organised. I add allsorts of things to my calendar, from reminders to go home, my holidays, the weekly podcast and some other stuff. The basic Windows Phone Calendar tile doesn’t really show much info and at times it …
Pop along to any major supermarket and you’ll no doubt find a bargain-basement 7″ tablet. Those cheap tablets will usually have a fairly large frame around the edge of the device but, for keeping the kids entertained, they will do. Now, imagine lopping less than an inch off …
I think I have found it, the Windows Phone device that will draw me, a diehard Android user for the last 4 years to move over. Bold claim I know but one that I feel can be easily substantiated by the quality of this device. I have for a …
The Vodafone Smart III (aka Alcatel 975) is an entry level Android smartphone with an eye on those who want something a little different; something fun, functional and funky (you can have that one, Apple, if you’re after a tag-line for iOS7!). I’ve got one for a week, …
Another month and you know what that means, it is time for me to get a new case for my Xperia Z. Those of you who have read my precious reviews will know that I have been using a Leather book style case for my phone up until …
The LG Optimus L5 II is an interesting little phone, plasticy, lightweight and covered in fingerprints yet still it is an appealing little phone. Introduced as the middle device in the 2nd generation of budget “Optimus L” phones, there is also an L3 and a L7 which are …
The Lumia 720 is one of the latest smartphones in the Windows Phone 8 range and packs an amazing amount of features into such a small and thin design. Whilst it’s not 4G ready, doesn’t have DC-HSDPA capability, and has a lower resolution camera than the 920; the …
OPPO are an unkown quantity to many in the UK. It’s no surprise then that the launch of their latest flagship, the Find 5, was virtually undetected. I saw it on their web store and was so intrigued that I spent my own hard earned 399 Euros (about …
What do you do if you share a car with someone who has a different phone to you, but you both want to use a car kit when driving? Get a universal phone mount, of course, Einstein! But which one? Ah, now that’s a little more tricky. The …
Now and again a company gets it right when designing a phone. Like Apple did with the iPhone 4s, Nokia with the Lumia 800, Sony with the Xperia Z and now HTC with the One. When the HTC One arrived I knew that I wouldn’t be that shocked …
Another month and another Otterbox case it is for me, I just can’t help myself. I get an expensive phone, I just want to look after it from then on in. Which in my world means buying an Otterbox case. So onto the review, starting with a few …
LG and their phones have pretty much passed me by during my time on this planet. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever even touched one. Here is my history if you’re interested, (according to that I did once have an LG). So getting my hands on the Optimus …
For training purposes or just to be generally nosey….. Here at Coolsmartphone we’ve been contacted by copluk. They wanted us to review their call recording app – “Free Call Recorder – ACR“. It is available for free from the Play Store, then you have the option to pay …
Someone has sent us a Samsung Galaxy Y. If I’m honest I have absolutely no idea. The bag was ripped and this popped out. This is the slightly older Y, aka the “Young”, and not the one announced last week. You can get a locked one from Tesco …
If, like me, you got yourself a bargain Samsung Ativ S Windows phone recently you’ll know what a great handset it is and, like me, you’ll be wanting a decent case to protect it with. I scoured the internet and finally decided on the Covert Low Profile Flip …
I’ve had the BlackBerry Q10 for a couple of weeks now and I’ve grown to love like it quite a bit. The Q10 is the new age Bold, with premium materials, high end specs and a new ish OS. This in theory is the device that would persuade …
When I was contacted by Three about reviewing Sony Xperia SP device I was really looking forward to trying it out. The reason? Well, I already use the Sony Xperia Z as my own phone and wanted to see how it compared. At time of writing this review …
I’m sitting outside right now. I’m sitting in the sunshine on a beanbag. It’s not something I do very often but I think I’ll start to make a habit of it. There’s a back-story to this though, and sadly it involves my rusty garden furniture getting thrown away. …
The Cygnett SoundWave Bluetooth speaker is a compact mains or battery powered wireless sound system that comes with the added bonus of a phone stand. I’ve had one on test for a couple of weeks, so here’s how it stacks up. Good Price Phone stand Big sound from …
So, in the time after my original First Impressions post on the Gemini Devices JoyTab Duo 7 3G, a few things have happened. North Korea decided to try and bluff the world into a nuclear war, Margaret Thatcher died, I began revising for exams and the document that …
It’s fair to say that Samsung’s success with the Galaxy S3 has been nothing short of astonishing. The handset even gave the lauded iPhone 5 a run for it’s money in terms of pure numbers, and for good reason. Great performance, a slim plastic (sorry Samsung, polycarbonate) shell …
