Tag: android

Cyanogenmod Installer is now available

The thought of Rooting, unlocking bootloaders, flashing ROMs and all the other jargon like ADB & SDK to some may seem like an absolute minefield. A warranty voiding, potentially device breaking minefield. But to some it’s a means to an ends, a way of life, the thing to …

HTC Desire 500 – Photo Special

Take yourself a quad-core 1.2GHz CPU, 4GB of on-board storage (plus a microSD card slot for more space) and a 4.3″ WVGA screen. Sounds good so far. Add a dash of GPS, a 3.5mm audio port, Bluetooth 4.0, DLNA, WiFi and the Beats Audio technology. All this stuff, …

Vine officially available on Windows Phone

Vine, the six second video service that originally launched on iOS followed by Android is finally available for Windows Phone. Windows Blog made the announcement early yesterday saying “The popularity of Vine, a mobile service for shooting and sharing six-second looping videos, is nothing short of astonishing: In barely a …

Carphone Warehouse to stock HTC Desire 500

Bringing the best bits of HTC at an affordable price, it’s the Desire 500 and it’s now available at Carphone Warehouse. They have become the first UK retailer to start this device and you can hook it into all the major mobile networks. If you enjoy HTC BoomSound …

Motorola Moto G appears on Amazon UK

Motorola are due to return to the UK very soon, with the leaked and rumoured Moto G which seems to be a dumbed down version of the US only Moto X. Motorola have posted it up for pre order on Amazon of all places for a rather tempting …

Google Nexus 5 review

When reviewing the Nexus 5, I’m extremely conscious of getting caught up in the excitement phase that accompanies receiving a new phone. After looking back at last year’s review, I actually feel that my assessment was mostly fair. But still, the passing of time has allowed that device’s …

Sony announce update schedule for Jelly Bean 4.3 and KitKat

Sony have come under heavy fire in the past for not providing updates to its Android phones, but the release of its update schedule will come as pleasant reading to many Sony owners. Android Jelly Bean 4.3 will be rolled-out in December to the following devices: Xperia Z …

SwiftKey update brings new layouts and options

Swiftkey is the most popular third party keyboard replacement app for Android, and it’s easy to see why due to the uncanny predictions, swipe and standard input options, cloud sync and various themes. Now though, it’s got even more features! Fully paid up Swiftkey users will find an …

Get yourself a HUD, bud

I live in the UK and, right now, it’s pretty dark. I leave for work, it’s dark. I drive home… dark. Those daylight hours are pretty short at this time of year and, as I learned today to my cost, it’s probably not wise to remind those solar-panel …

The Advent Vega Tegra Note is announced by PC World

The Advent Vega was possibly one of the most popular Android tablets ever, mainly due to how hackable it was. PC World have teamed up with Nvidia to release a successor and it may be the device for you if you really want a Tegra 4 tablet. – …

LG G Flex coming to the rest of the world too

If you’re looking forward to getting something hard and curvy jabbing you in the thigh, then the LG G Flex is your thing. A launch in South Korea appears to have already happened and now there’s rumours that a gobal launch will occur “soon”. Vice chairman, Koo Bon-joon, …

Kazam bring the Thunder (and Trooper)

Back in June we first heard about Kazam, a new company headed up by a couple of ex-HTC staffers. They’ve today announced their new handsets – the Trooper and Thunder range. Let’s dive in and see what you can expect. Trooper Range There’s a number of models, including …

ZTE seem to want a piece of the modular phone pie as well

Modular phones sound incredible, pick and choose the components that go into your device, upgrade it as you please. If a modular phone ever made into the consumer world things might be a little more interesting. Motorola have recently hinted they are interested, teaming up with the PhoneBloks …

Android 4.2.2 and Sense 5 rolling out to the HTC One SV now.

The budget baby of HTC’s One range, the One SV is receiving an over the air update to Android 4.2.2 and Sense 5 as we speak. Whilst this is still a good few iterations behind its senior counterparts, the fact that HTC are showing willing to keep supporting its …

Moto G – Motorola are still kicking

As we head into the festive period Motorola look to have a little surprise for us. They’re not telling us a great deal at the moment, other than the fact that we should stand by for further details on Wednesday 13th November. However, a leak has possibly already …

LG G2 – Second Impressions

On Thursday pretty much everyone in Coolsmartphone Towers bought themselves a Nexus 5. Listeners of Podcast Episode 69 will already know that I didn’t, and that’s because I had bought an LG G2 that got delivered just as the Nexus 5 was launched! One of the reasons I …

Google Nexus 5 – Unboxing

The Nexus 5 must have been one of the most leaked phones of all time, thankfully the wait is over and on 31st October Google announced the Nexus 5 to the world at 6pm…… and the next day it was available in Carphone Warehouse to purchase! Not wanting …

Ascend W2 Gets colourful

Meet the Huawei Ascend W2, a new Windows Phone 8 device available in China right now in a new UMTS version. The W2 will also be available in Russia and the Netherlands this month and in “other markets” after. It’s got a 4.3″ IPS WVGA LCD screen, 7GB …

Want KitKat on your Samsung Galaxy Nexus? Oh look, a rainbow

Google Support seem to have revealed something that may upset many. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus won’t be getting an update to Android 4.4 (aka KitKat). Why? Well, Google tell us that because the device was launched two years ago (how time flies eh?) it falls outside the 18 …

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Kids – A safe tablet for the rug rats

I love my son, he’s great. But when he picks up the iPad I have a number of concerns… 1 – Chocolate, like, everywhere. 2 – At least six thousand games will be installed. All have something to do with jewels. 3 – The battery will be flat. …

Nexus 5 Dummy Units arrive at retailers

The world record for the most leaked handset of the year has to go to the Nexus 5.  With more leaks than a dodgy plumber, the Nexus 5 has been revealed to us by all but those that actually make and market it. Another leak has happened today …

Orange announce two new own branded smartphones

Orange have today announced two new own branded handsets for the European market. The Orange Yumo and the Orange Hiro are being launched ” in response to customer demand for sophisticated smartphones at a more accessible price” although there are no plans to launch them here in the UK. …

Who needs a bullet-proof vest? Try a HTC instead

If you’re walking around the US and don’t want to get shot, try sticking your phone in your chest pocket. A member of staff in a petrol station has got his HTC handset to thank for being alive after getting shot in an attempted robbery. A man entered …

Help For Heroes: Hero Bears

The word hero is bandied around to cover anything from a footballer scoring a last minute goal to someone that helps an old lady to cross the street.  Whilst some may view these people as heroes, the reality is that heroes are few and far between in today’s …

Play Store updated, Google+ improvements on the way

Today the team responsible for Google+ are preparing to announce their big update. Vic Gundotra, Senior VP of Social Business for Google, has been keeping us updated on preparations and there’s a Twitter hashtag of #momentsthatmatter. Not only that, but it looks like the Play Store itself is …

I love Gold – Pimp your HTC One mini

Yeah, your gas and electric bill is more than the gross domestic product of St Kitts, but you don’t care. You’re rich. You’ve got money to burn. You want to get yourself a 24 CT Gold HTC One mini. Sure, it’s £1497, but for yourself or as a …

Keep us with your RSS feed using Flyne for Android

Since Google killed off their own RSS service third party apps and services for keeping up on your RSS feeds have been regularly cropping up. The latest being Flyne, it’s by the developer who made the hugely popular Falcon Pro Twitter app. Flyne acts as an aggregator for …

Nexus 5 goes on sale

The Nexus 5 could almost be compared to the Loch Ness Monster.  Several people claim to have seen it, there are pictures and video but it has never been officially confirmed that it exists. That however hasn’t stopped a Dutch site (Belsimpel) from putting it on sale for …

ThL W8s – Review

This is a review of the ThL W8S.  You can read my initial impressions post here. I purchased the phone from Pandawill, a China based exporter and it cost $295 (which converted to £185.67 on the day). It is now listed at $279 with only one battery and …

LG G Flex officially announced

LG have officially announced their latest smartphone with a rather unique design. The LG G Flex features a 6 inch curved screen from top to bottom, unlike the Galaxy Round that has a curve from side to side.. Specs include a 720p display, a 2.26ghz quad-core Snapdragon 800 …

Grab a 7″ for less than £50 – Cheap tablet ahoy!

It’s called the Avoca and usually costs £99, but right now Carphone Warehouse are kicking them out for less than half price – just £49 while stocks last. Don’t get your hopes up, this isn’t exactly going to match up with an iPad, but it could be the …

Wrappz.com custom skins

I have recently been looking around for a new look for my, now 12 month old, iPhone 5 and stumbled across wrappz.com. Wrappz.com make custom cases and skins for LOADS of different devices such as phones, tablets, laptops and even hockey sticks! The process of creating your masterpiece …

Nexus 5 Cases available for pre-order

The rumour mill is working overtime around the whole Nexus 5 launch. With a Google event taking place today in New York, speculation is rife that the launch is imminent and adding fuel to the fire is the fact that not only are there devices up for sale …

Plants vs Zombies 2 Now Available on Google Play

I have to admit that I am one of the few people that did not play the original Plants vs Zombies however apparently Plants vs Zombies 2 is now available on the Google Play store. The follow up to the hit game from Electronic Arts “brings the fun” …

Dead Trigger 2 for Android is now available

Everyone loves shooting zombies right? Someone surely made this a rule a few years ago, personally I think it’s all Danny Boyle’s fault. But if your a big zombie shoot-em-up fan then you’re going to be busy today. The original was a big hit, with millions and millions …

Chrome Browser for Android updated to include swiping between tabs

Chrome Browser for Android is part of my life, it’s part of many people’s lives no doubt. Google Keep adding new features and  pushing the browser ever onwards. Today’s update adds a quick way to switch between open tabs. To move between tabs you just swipe across the …

LG G Flex gets man-handled

Not so much a leak this one. Perhaps more of a complete and utter waterfall of bendy LG action. Either way, the curvy creature has somehow found its way onto Argentinian TV with yet more photos appearing along with this professional TV appearance.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1SNEEYtP2k&feature=youtube_gdata_player The screen, apparently, is …

Review: RHA MA-600i Earphones

  Music is a thing of beauty.  It can make you feel elated, sad or any of the emotions in between.  The one thing that music requires however is a decent way of transmitting the sound to your ears.  From large floor standing speakers to headphone to earphones, …

HSBC release mobile banking app

HSBC have released a brand new mobile banking app which brings the majority of their online banking features to the mobile arena. The brand new app which is available on both iOS and Android has features whereby you can: View balances and up to 90 recent transactions Make …