Tag: apps

Huawei – Who needs Google Play?

Well, if you’ve been around these parts for a while, you’ll know that Huawei (and therefore Honor) have had a rough time of late. America really doesn’t like Huawei right now, and they’re of the opinion that Huawei are bad in every way. It’s all cobblers of course …

Turkey for Christmas, but it won’t be getting any Google Apps

So, very much like “the Huawei problem” and the Trump Trade block which is preventing Google Apps from appearing on upcoming Huawei phones – Turkey will soon have the same issue. Google started having a few issues in Turkey after Russian internet company Yandex decided to file an …

National Lottery celebrates 25 years, and people still queue!

Unbelievably, despite me being just 3 years old (cough), I remember buying a National Lottery ticket on the first ever draw. In 1994 I paid a whole one pound to have a go, and everyone I knew just assumed they’d win. They didn’t, I didn’t. The 45-million to …

2019’s most entertaining online games

Mobile gaming is now more popular than ever. In fact, almost half of all revenue in the global gaming industry was earned through mobile games last year. Game developers used to only release games for PC and consoles, but now they’re investing and becoming more involved in the …

Honor 9X now available in the UK

This phone is another one from the Huawei stable that has been announced already in China. Like the Huawei Nova 5T that we covered last week, this nips under the radar – just before the outright ban that Donald Tump imposed on Huawei and it’s subsidiaries. This ban …

13 Android apps you may not have noticed

There’s plenty of apps out there – perhaps too many for us to ever mention here. Whilst many apps are heavily featured and recommended around the web, we’ve decided to take a look at some of the apps you may not necessarily have seen. Those apps that are …

Survey reveals that games continue to increase in popularity

We do talk about it quite a bit here but mobile gaming shows no sign of slowing down. A recent survey by App Annie has revealed that games now account for 40% of all mobile downloads, and over 70% of all consumer spend across both iOS and Google …

Hot trending apps to ease the boredom away

Got nothing to do? Got some time free? Waiting for a bus? Are you perhaps on a train, in a lift, on your lunch, in the coffee queue or waiting for a lift? Chances are, you’ll be looking down at your phone to soak up some free time. …

The Huawei Mate 30 – Missing more than just Google Apps

Huawei is a massively successful company. We’ve been to see them in China. We visited the university that teaches staff, the accommodation where workers stay and play. We saw their facilities and their innovative products. Yesterday though, something massive was missing from their Mate 30 and Mate 30 …

The Huawei Mate 30 – We’re live!

Let’s not beat around the bush here, this is a big turning point for Huawei. The US President has blocked them from working with Google on upcoming phones, so this will be the first phone that can’t have Maps, Drive, Music, Duo, Photos, Calendar, Gmail and YouTube. That’s …

Our reliance to technology shown in new survey

Unless you’ve printed this out (which is doubtful), you’ll be reading this on an electronic device. We are, and this is probably not a surprise, using smartphones and other technology more than ever. Now, in a poll of 2,000 adults, it has been found that 65% of respondents …

Mate30 and Mate30 Pro images leak ahead of Munich launch

We’re all ready for the launch of the new Huawei Mate 30 on Thursday but one thing that probably won’t be is those Google Apps. As you might know if you’re a regular here, upcoming Huawei phones can’t have those all-important apps. Sure, the ones in the shops …

6 best educational apps on iOS

Research suggests that people spent a couple of hours daily on their smartphones. Although this doesn’t sound good for our productivity, there are ways to make sure that the time spent on our phones isn’t wasted. For iPhone users, the Apple Store contains loads of educational apps that …

Business ideas for the smartphone generation

If you’re going to start a business, then it makes sense to .. Make sure that it fits into the modern world and Make sure that it fills a need for the people. It’ll be people, after all, that ensure you have a long-term, viable venture! While there …

IFA – The Huawei P30 Pro. This is what we now know…

We stayed off the beer (well, we had a bit) and arrived bright and early for the big Huawei announcement here in Berlin. There was confirmation of the upcoming Huawei P30 Series, confirmation of the P30 Pro, confirmation that it would launch in “Mystic Blue” on September 23rd, …

Remember when we used to locally installed Office on a PC?

I didn’t used to rate Microsoft products, but on mobile phones their cloud offerings are rather spectacular. Office 365, and the ability to work anywhere, is refreshing and simple. Today I’ve been using Excel, and it’s got me thinking about how useful and how integrated with the office …

Did you relax on holiday? Many are still glued to their phones

Here in England we’re starting to see the onset of Autumn, with leaves only clinging on and the weather turning a bit cooler.  Our suitcases are still cluttering up the house though, because many of us will only just be returning from our summer holidays. But, is it …

5 of the most popular app categories

Unbelievably there’s now 4 billion people connected to the internet. That, though, isn’t the most amazing number. There’s now a larger number of mobile phone users, now amounting to 5 billion. Mobile phones and the internet are both integral parts of life now, with many people shuddering at …

Parental Control apps to monitor usage

The internet can be a dark place. As we have now transitioned into our digital world, we’ve also had to wrestle with its complexities. The number of children using the internet grows each day, and the younger children are, the more likely they are to use the internet. …

Suggestive Hustle Castle adverts appear on Twitter

Whilst we can’t fully verify that the Twitter account in question is directly linked to the makers of Hustle Castle, some serious money has been spent recently advertising this game on Twitter. The adverts, as you’ll see below, are very suggestive and seem to signify that the game …

StorySign from Huawei gets a new Story added

Last year we talked about an app that had been developed by Huawei and the British Deaf Association called StorySign. This is an app that helps young children to read stories via the use of sign language which is provided to them via an Avatar called Star which …

The uncontainable expansion of mobile apps

Virtually every segment of our lives is monitored by an app. We use them to track our diet and exercise routines, meditate and unwind, run our business or just have fun. Since their conception, these apps have come a long way. From a so-called hand extension, they have …

Earning rewards through exercise

I seem to be the only person I know who doesn’t get a great deal of surveys from Google Opinion Rewards. The app, for those who aren’t aware, delivers quick surveys to you. Once you answer one, you’ll get some Google Play Credit. I’ve got 92p so far, …

Some of the best Monopoly smartphone games

  It’s the Easter holidays, so I’m doing my best to ensure that my son isn’t stuck to his smartphone all the time. Today it’s resulted in him bringing out a whole load of board games. We’ve had the infamous “Mousetrap”, plus “Buckaroo”, “Scrabble”, ”Trivial Pursuit” and, of …

How APK sideloading became mainstream

Here at Coolsmartphone we download pretty much everything for our Android phones via the Google Play Store. There’s over a million apps and games available there, and they’re all categorised and reviewed. For years though, all Google Android phones have been able to “side load” apps. This means …

The benefits of using a VPN on your smartphone

OK, so you’re a bit worried browsing to certain places on your phone. If you’re using the work WiFi then they’ll be tracking you. If you’re using the free WiFi at the local coffee shop then, yes, they might be snooping. You can’t be sure that the information …

Got yourself a PS4 or an Xbox? Why?

We’ve spoken lots here about mobile gaming, but there’s a battle that many smartphone manufacturers have fought for many years now. Running a graphic-heavy, high frame-rate game on your phone needs grunt. Lots of grunt. It sucks your battery, it makes your CPU work hard, you need more …

My gaming history

I remember, when I was a kid, a time before a “console” was even a thing. At Christmas I remember playing records. Proper records. Big vinyl double-albums with pictures of all the bands and singers. It was great. I even had my own record player. Then, one day, …

Sky Mobile offer unlimited streaming from all Sky apps

Do you use Sky Go? Or Sky Sports? Perhaps Sky Cinema or Sky Kids? If you do, then you’ll know that streaming all the great football and TV content can impact your data allowance. However, if you’re a Sky Mobile customer then you can use the new “Watch” …

Mobile Bingo – Where To Play?

I was sitting down this morning, straight from the school run, being subjected to the car-crash TV that is the “Jeremy Kyle” show. It’s sponsored by a Bingo website and it got me pondering, because it’s making bingo a more approachable and acceptable pastime due to it being …

Huawei StorySign investment continues

Kids are the future and we need to keep developing technology that will allow them to develop. This case is even more poignant if children have a disability that will impede their learning. Examples of this include deafness, and this is an area where technology can be particularly …

PS4 financial figures impacted by smartphone gamers

It’s fair to say that my son loves his Playstation 4. Fortnite has been the main reason for this, and the fact that he can have a chat with his mates after school adds to the social element of it. However, he’s also a big fan of our …

Passing IT Certification exams in less time with Prepaway

I work in IT. You may have guessed 🙂 One thing you always have to do in IT is learn. You can never sit still. The industry is continually growing, with new technologies appearing on a regular basis which you have to understand. If you don’t look at …

Free Aaptiv membership to get fit thanks to Three

OK, so this isn’t a gym but – instead of sweating your bits off in front of strangers, you get an app with professional personal trainers. They offer thousands of workouts and programmes, which have been specially created and guided by world-class certified trainers. You also get some …

Top 10 apps based on TV shows

When I was growing up (which seems a long time ago now), I was a big fan of Knight Rider. I checked the Google Play store recently and it was great to see so many apps dedicated to it. There’s a Knight Rider Watch simulator, a car creator, …

Bored whilst travelling? Your phone can do much more

I went to Reading recently. Reading. It wasn’t that thrilling. The Holiday Inn is nice enough, but apart from the local Aldi and a business park, there wasn’t really anything to do. So there I was, in a hotel room, watching the free TV channels and getting bored …

Being productive with your smartphone

It’s no secret that people are becoming more hooked to smartphones—and there are numbers to prove it. As of 2018, there are already 2.53 billion smartphone users around the world and it is projected to grow to 2.87 billion by 2020. China leads the smartphone industry with a …

The Christmas gaming charts

Let’s face it, the PS4, Xbox and Nintendo Switch are hugely popular. The likes of Fortnite, Fallout 4, Overwatch, Grand Theft Auto, Tomb Raider and the like. Go into a gaming store over this last Christmas shopping weekend and you’ll find it rammed with people buying games and …