Category: Reviews

iOS app review – 5K Runmeter

All my life I’ve been a hopeless runner. No matter how hard I tried I’ve never been able to run for more than a couple of minutes. I was determined to change that, so a few months ago I started following the Couch to 5k program, and lo …

New excitement on Kickstarter

We’re all about the cool and funky here at CoolSmartPhone.com. It’s true to say we love a bit of innovation and being on the leading edge of news. But we also love the art of the possible and have stumbled upon what could quite possibly be the sexiest, …

PayPal for Windows Phone is now available

PayPal has always been one of those apps that was missing from the Windows Phone Marketplace, third party developers stepped into the void and kept us going. Yesterday afternoon the official PayPal app finally became available to install. SEND & REQUEST MONEY Whether you want to send a …

Sony Xperia Tipo – Initial Impressions

The Xperia range is rather large, covering every possible budget range some of the latest Xperia phones have been in the budget range. Including the Xperia Tipo. The Sony anti naming convention Xperia Tipo. It is a tiny little thing with an almost identical spec to the Motorola …

Nokia City Lense app now available for Lumia phones

Nokia City Lens is another of those Lumia specific apps, this time round it is a augmented reality type thing, where you can hold your camera up and it will show what is around you. City Lens has been around for a few weeks in beta form and …

Skydrive for Android now available

Cloud Storage is definitely one of those things you can’t just get by without these days. I no doubt don’t represent the average phone user with half a dozen different phones, plus tablets and a few pcs, all of which have their own files and structure. Cloud Storage …

Samsung Galaxy Beam Review

Announced at Mobile World Congress earlier this year the unique selling point of the Samsung Galaxy Beam against all other mobile phones currently on the market is the built in projector on the top, but we’ll get to that in a minute. First let’s look at the specs. …

Samsung Galaxy Note – Mugen extended battery review

You get a phone, you use your phone, you start to use your phone a lot more as you slowly realise what it is capable of, you then start to carry a charger around with you every day to charge up your new wonder phone. Your battery just …

Motorola Motosmart – Initial Impressions

Yesterday we got our hands on the new budget phone from Motorola the Motosmart. It’s bascially a smaller and slightly lower Motoluxe. Normally the smaller versions of devices are abysmal, like the Xperia X8 or some of the smaller Galaxy devices. I’m hoping the Motosmart doesn’t follow the …

iPad Case Review – The Pong

This week we’ve been given a number of iPad cases to test. This one seems to have stuck to the iPad the most so far – it’s the Pong, or just “Pong”. What’s special about it? Is it the fact that it’s presented in a posh white box? …

Chameleon Launcher Beta – Review

Over the last few months we have mentioned Chameleon Launcher quite a bit. From seeing the initial rumours on XDA, to seeing some concept drawings, a few leaked videos, the whole Kickstarter funding thing and then the whole “it’s available on the Play Store” thing most recently. You …

Three Euro Internet Pass Review

It has been a while since we reviewed a mobile service however as I am a Three UK customer and jetting off to Madrid and Austria for 11 days, it seems like a good opportunity to review a service that I will be using daily and that is …

Huawei WS320 WLAN Repeater review

A WiFi Extender? Are we really going to review it? Yes we are. Last week I received an email like many others, advertising the Huawei WS320 WLAN Repeater. At first I went to delete it, I really couldn’t be bothered to get one and spend hours banging my …

Huawei Ascend P1 – Review 2

Those regular eagle eyed readers out there will have noted that this phone has already been reviewed by our editor in chief Leigh Geary, so instead of rehashing what he has already done, this will give you a different slant on this slim powerhouse. Hardware The phone is …

Google Nexus 7 review – Final Conclusion

By now you will have hopefully read our selection of reviews for the Nexus 7. General consensus is that it is a great piece of kit. Jelly Bean is great. People are just going to go mad buying these. Amazon are screwed unless the next Kindle Fire is …

Google Nexus tablet group review – Video Comparisons

We have written a lot about the Nexus 7 recently, we have looked at every aspect of the device and even took looked at how to hack the thing as well. But how does it compare to other devices? It has been well documented that Google are not …

Google Nexus 7 review – Software

Software review (by Ravi Patel) I’m here to put a slight downer on things. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Nexus 7. Pound for pound it could very well be the best gadget ever. But it isn’t perfect (what is?) and I wanted to point out some …

Google Nexus 7 review – Photo special

We have talked quite a bit today about the Nexus 7, we have looked at every possible aspect of it & we have compared it on video to whatever other tablets we could get our hands on. One thing we haven’t looked at is some pictures of the …

Google Nexus 7 review – Hardware, Design and Performance

Continuing the Coolsmartphone group review of the Nexus 7 tablet. Now we have Stephen and Garry covering the hardware side of things. Nexus 7 Hardware & Design (by Stephen Murray) Well, where do I begin…? Maybe the bit I found most surprising. The Nexus 7 is light, it …

Google Nexus 7 review – Introduction

It is now time for us at Coolsmartphone to review the Google / Asus Nexus 7 tablet. Over the years we have been sent devices for review, we have blagged devices from suppliers for review and heaven forbid we have even bought devices ourselves for review. With this …

Review – Nexus 7 SD Tabletwear Stand & Type Case

A few days ago we bought you news that the guys over at Mobile Fun have started to stock Google Nexus 7 Cases and Covers. One of the lines that is currently available is the SD Tabletwear Stand & Type Case and we here at Coolsmartphone have managed to …

Hannspree HANNSpad SN70T3 review

After using the HANNSpad for a few weeks now it’s time for the full review. I thought I should get this review published before my Nexus 7 arrived as that would just ruin my experience with the HANNSpad. First of all I feel I should point out this …

Word Hex – Addictive iOS Game

There is a new game developer in town. We are introducing Very Nice Studio. The new developers have come up with an addictive game that allows you to pass the time of day whilst using your brain. Word Hex. The aim of the game is to find the …

LG Optimus 4X HD Review

Quad core phones are the new benchmark in Android at the moment and LG have just launched the Optimus 4X HD. The specs are impressive, Android 4.0 Quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor, with 4.7” 1280 x 720 Screen 8.9mm thin 8-megapixel camera, 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, 21Mbps HSPA, 802.11 …

App Review: Whale Trail Frenzy

Fresh off the back of the spectacular game Whale Trail comes a new free app by the developers ustwo – Whale Trail Frenzy. Frenzy is a new game based on the original that moves into a new genre for both ustwo and the Whale Trail series – freemium …

Huawei Ascend P1 Review

I’m going to start this review in a rather unconventional way. Bear with me. Straight away. Gotta admit it. This really isn’t bad. I mean sure, when I hold the Samsung Galaxy SII, then switch to this, there’s an ever-so-slight quality difference. The camera sticks out ever-such-a-little too …

Review – Bugatti Leather Cases

My hands smell of leather. It’s a strange pleasure, and I can perhaps see why there are those who wear special “driving gloves”. We asked Bugatti whether we could “review” the Veyron, pictured below.. ..they said no. Perhaps it had something to do with the two cars I’ve …

Vodafone Mobile Wi-Fi R205 Review

So, what exactly is a Mi-Fi? It sounds a bit complicated but in reality it’s not that hard to grasp. It’s a small (and in this case, rather pebble-like) unit with a SIM card inside. The sticker on the front of the box sums it up best – …

Coolsmartphone recommended iOS app: Defense Zone HD

The tower defense genre is a well established one in gaming, and there are plenty to choose from on the App Store. But a star in the field is Defense Zone HD, from developer Artem Kotov. While the gameplay follows the standard method of defending against increasingly tough …

Gear4 StreetParty Wireless Bluetooth Speaker Review

If you’ve been reading our reviews recently then you’ll know we have tested a few speakers but none of them as yet have been able to become my own personal”Daily Driver” no pun intended. Recently I have ben testing the Gear4 StreetParty Wireless Speaker, a bluetooth speaker with …

Gear4 IceBox Edge iPad Case Review

I’ve been on the lookout for a case for my iPad 2 that looked good, didn’t add too much bulk or weight and would stop the back from getting scratched when I put it down on my wooden table. I’ve been using the Gear4 IceBox Edge for the …

How online music should be done. 7Digital Review

Over the last few years I have been looking for a solution to my music storage problem. Recently whilst playing about with Windows Phone I have come close to finding my ideal solution. That solution was 7Digital. First of all I should let you know what the problem …

LG Optimus L7 Review

The LG L7 forms part of the “L Style” range. When we saw the L3, L5 and this at Mobile World Congress. This is at the very top of that range but it’s still not one of the most powerful devices we’ve seen from LG. First impressions are …

SoundWave SW50 Bluetooth Speaker Review

Whilst many smartphones now come with in-ear headphones and on-board technology to make your tunes sound better, there’s still a certain amount of disappointment when you use the external speaker on your phone for playing music. Sound quality is also a bit pants when using the external speaker …

Vodafone Smart II Review

  So, if we’re looking at budget Android handsets we have to look at this – the Vodafone Smart II. It’s going on sale for just £70 and is powered by Android 2.3. Inside it’s actually an Alcatel device – the charger and battery gives it all away …