Tag: os

Can you fall in love with your phone?

Yesterday I went to watch the Harry Hill Movie. It is, I’ll confess, utterly insane. The kids seemed to like it, although there weren’t a great of laugh-out-loud moments. I was just utterly puzzled about the whole thing and how on earth it had got into a movie. …

Rumour – Microsoft considering free Windows Phone version

Windows Phone, as an OS, has a cost attached to it. It’s an actual financial cost that needs to be paid by manufacturers who use the mobile OS. Trouble is, Microsoft have just bought the phone-making side of Nokia, and guess who provided the bulk of their Windows …

LG Fireweb announced to the (developing) world.

The LG Fireweb has been unveiled online but woahaaa, slow down there cowboy, because this isn’t an Android handset, it’s powered by Firefox OS 1.1. Mozilla have only just released the new version of their OS (which we saw in version 1.0 back in February) and, according to …

Samsung releases official Android 4.3 update for Galaxy S4

At the recent Unpacked 2013 event Samsung announced that the Galaxy S4 would be getting an update to Android Jelly Bean 4.3 in October and it has now started to roll-out around the world. Whilst Samsung don’t release an official changelog for their updates users who have been …

Chrome for Android updated with Gesture Support

Google has announced an update to the stable channel of Chrome for Android which brings gesture support to the browser. According to the latest Google blog post, in Chrome for Android, you’ll be able to: Swipe horizontally across the top toolbar to quickly switch tabs. Drag vertically down …

It’s not just a text editor, it’s a Firefox OS text editor

I’ve just read the email about this and have instantly transported back to 2003, when someone developed a text editor app for Microsoft Smartphone 2002 and we all thought that it was the most amazing … thing…..ever. Now the new Firefox OS (which you lovely Coolsmartphone readers will …

Sailfish OS – When, Where And Why You Should Care

As we reported in May the Jolla Sailfish phone has recently been revealed to the world. Well kind-of. An interesting handset concept was presented, the eponymous Jolla Phone and its Other Half. This new hardware is essentially a screen and raw guts of a phone as one half …

MWC – Ubuntu for phones, a demo

You may have used Ubuntu on the desktop, you may have considered flashing it to your device. Now it’s in an all-new phone from ZTE too. This is another mobile OS jumping on the HTML5 bandwagon and could prove to be a serious competitor for the existing smartphone …

MWC – Firefox OS, a full demo

The Android OS is represented this year by just a few guys in Android outfits. They’re running around and generally hugging random strangers. I always find that a little weird, because without the suits you’d be batting them away with a spade. The OS itself is, of course, …

MWC – ZTE Open hands-on

Following our earlier story we now have more details and (of course) up-close hands-on shots of the Firefox-powered ZTE Open. It’s to be launched across Spain, Venezuela and Colombia in “mid-2013″ and, although the specs aren’t something you’d perhaps get excited about it’s intentionally aimed at those switching …

42 percent of Android devices run Ice Cream Sandwich or above

Google have published the latest details showing which versions of Android people are running out there. Whilst it shows some good news it also contains some quite worrying info as well. Version Codename API Distribution 1.6 Donut 4 0.2% 2.1 Eclair 7 2.2% 2.2 Froyo 8 8.1% 2.3 …

Apple, Google, it’s time to step it up! – Opinion

So that’s it, the last of the “big” players to reveal their hand has now done so and BlackBerry 10 has been launched with a big fanfare and a promise from all the major carriers to stock the handsets. BB10 devices are out there and ready to take …

Android 4.2 – Review (updated)

A mere four months after the release of Android 4.1, we now have 4.2. It’s still called Jellybean, but despite the lack of a name change there are still some nice additions, more so than the last time we had two versions of Android with the same name …

Nokia Lumia 900 – Review

For the last 2 weeks I have been using a Lumia 900 as my main device, the current Nokia flagship device at least until the Nokia Lumia 920 arrives. The announcement of a new device didn’t make the Lumia any less relevant however as it will still receive …

Announced: Windows Phone 8X by HTC – All the details

HTC have, if we’re honest, had a rough time of it recently. Today in New York it seems like there’s a new direction. HTC have suffered against the relentless and huge Samsung marketing budget. Not only that, but there’s now an endless supply of handsets with similar functionality. …

Samsung to deliver Jelly Bean in October

If, like me, you like to stay on top of the latest software for your mobile device we have some good news. Samsung’s official public release of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for the Galaxy S III will be October/November. Also to follow in November will be the official …

Jelly Bean now on 1.2% of all Android devices

Yesterday Eric Schmidt gave us an update on how Android is doing and today Google updated their Android Platform Versions page. As you can see, Jelly Bean is now on 1.2% of Android devices whilst Ice Cream Sandwich has grown to 20.9%. Gingerbread is still by far the …

Nokia share price takes a dive. The compartments are flooding.

What happened there exactly? Out came Nokia, all guns blazing, with two very respectable handsets. Earlier, they had spent the morning telling people to “#SWITCH” and that they were about to feast on Android… Breakfast in New York on a big day for us! Today we dine on …

Opinion: Apple v Samsung – After the Main Event

So the dust is beginning to settle after the so-called tech court case of the decade.  Apple has come out the victor and Samsung supposedly have been crushed – or at least their lawyers have.  So what’s next? For Apple it will be business as usual, there will …

Samsung handsets receiving Android 4.0.4

Just this morning we heard that the Motorola Xoom had updated itself to Android 4.0.4. It seems like other handsets are getting in on the action too. We’re hearing that the Samsung Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Note have received the “stability upgrade” and we’d be interested to hear …

Galaxy S3 to get Jelly Bean in September?

    A post over at Sam Mobile claims to have learned of the timescales Samsung currently have in mind for updating devices such as the Galaxy S3 and S2 and also the Galaxy Note. The post gives the following timescales Galaxy S III – End Q3 begin Q4Galaxy …

Android is going to be a bit more secure with Jelly Bean

ASLR is a security feature used in many operating systems. From Windows XP through to OSX or iOS6 and for a while Android has been avoiding using it. Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich partially used it and now with the release of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean it uses …

RIM post large losses, cut jobs and delay Blackberry 10

5000 jobs are set to be axed by Blackberry maker RIM as the company announced a $518m (£334m) net loss in the three months to June 2nd. This, when compared to the $695m profit made in the same period last year, shows how the tide has turned. Sales …

OS Updates and Fragmentation

While Android OEMs have continually shown a tendency to not support their handsets with updates, either promptly or at all, Apple have just announced that the 3GS will receive its 3rd major update with iOS 6. The fact that only 7% of devices accessing the Play Store are …

Linus Torvalds uses an Android phone

It’s not the mosy surprising news in the world, especially when the Android kernel is based on his creation, but the BBC interview with Linus Torvalds is well worth a read. Linus talks about the birth of Linux and why, in his opinion, Linux hasn’t cracked the desktop …

Windows Mobile still more popular than Windows Phone in the US

The latest Nielsen figures are out and they reveal that Windows Phone still hasn’t overtaken the previous Windows Mobile operating system. More than half of US mobile owners now have what’s classified as a “smartphone” but Windows Phone is still struggling to beat the “Other” category at the …

Gartner Smartphone Sales figures prove tough reading

The latest Gartner figures are out and, for Microsoft, they’re probably best ignored. Less than 3 million Windows Phones sold worldwide for a Q4 1.9% market share, down from last year’s Q4 of 3.4%. Windows Phone,market share is still lower than the Bada OS. Although this was to …

Android most used OS in UK

The Guardian have posted some great statistics on the number of OS installations across the UK which shows, perhaps unsurprisingly to a lot of us, that Android is now more widespread than iOS in the UK. Android now has a 36.9% share of the smartphones in the UK …

Where do I go now?

So where do I go?  I should explain… The last time I upgraded, I plumped for the HTC Desire.  If I recall correctly, there wasn’t a huge amount of choice (feel free to flame me in the comments…) and it was the sister phone of the Nexus One, …

HTC Sensation update – Have you got yours?

We’re seeing some HTC Sensation owners on Orange get system updates today. It seems to introduce the rather excellent Signal Boost technology which hooks onto any WiFi and gives you a mobile signal. Ideal for in office environments where those special reflective windows kill mobile signals from normal …

Get ready – Windows Phone 7.5 is about to arrive

The big new update for Windows Phone handsets is really close now. Overnight, several Microsoft websites have transitioned to new Mango-specific pages. The US and UK pages are available and the Windows Phone 7.5 schedule is online so you can see just how close you are to the …

More Mango features revealed

A few extra features have been uncovered in the new Windows Phone Mango release. They include extra messaging features like the ability to “nudge” friends and multi-party chats. There’s also the ability to share your Xbox Live profile with Facebook, multiplayer gaming, voice chat and only parties. Other …