Tag: review
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 …
It’s kinda hard to start with this one. This is a classic 1960’s-style phone. If you’re old enough you may remember seeing one of these on a special table at home. A few decades ago people would rent these from the telephone company. I know, it seems strange …
I was never a stickler for official cases. I never understood why I would pay over the odds for something I could buy somewhere else that would probably be just as good and a lot cheaper. When I got the chance to try out the official S4 mini …
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 …
The Huawei Ascend P2 was a device we first spotted back in Barcelona some months ago and, finally, it’s here. Inside there’s some pretty decent specs. Decent? No, that’s not the right word. Very good. Firstly you have that 4.7″ 720×1280 pixel screen. Resolution is great – the …
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, …
The Nokia Lumia 1020 is an amazing camera, that in the right hands can take some truly stunning photos and it can easily replace your point and shoot. But at what cost? Does Windows Phone support the Lumia 1020 enough? From the day I first saw the leak …
As mentioned in this weeks podcast, 2013 has very much been LG’s year. With the relative success of the Nexus 4, the rumoured Nexus 5 and the release of the much vaunted LG G2 what was a bit part player in the Android ecosystem has become a big …
With a lot of people now taking more and more photos on their mobile phones, a decent camera has become something we all look to have. Until now, the megapixel race hit a wall around the 13 megapixel mark. To be honest this resolution is really good for …
The Xperia Z Ultra is a great bit of kit but with the giant screen I am worried that I will break all that lovely glass in my bag or pocket (yes you can put this beast in a pocket). So the first thing I did after getting …
Do you remember back to when you were a kid and you used to watch Knight Rider? Remember looking wistfully at the Hoff’s watch communicator that he used to talk with Kitt? I did anyway. Now we’re getting a step closer to this becoming a reality. I present …
Don’t get me wrong, I love writing reviews, but of the large quantity of Android phones on my desk I was quite happy to at last see a tablet. The MediaPad is, for me, a perfect size. It’s easy to hold with one hand and weighs about the …
The people at MobileFun are lovely. They are. Really. Some two or three months ago they sent me the genuine Galaxy S3 Flip Cover to review. It’s only £19.99 and I slapped it on my phone. You fit it by removing the battery cover and, using a new …
Sometime ago I bought myself a shiny new retina display iPad, lovely I thought, that was until my wife saw it. ..I no longer have a retina iPad. Then Apple released the iPad mini. Great, I thought, I’ll treat myself, plus it will be easy to pop in …
Tablets are becoming more and more popular these days with new features and different screen sizes allowing for all types of customer. Small tablets are great for travelling and for taking to work, where as the larger ones can almost act as a laptop replacement for lots of …
The current generation of Acer devices are pretty impressive, at the top of the pile is the “S” range, which is the flagship device range. The Liquid S1 phablet is a great big thing with a 5.7″ screen and specs similar to the Galaxy Note II. I’ve had …
Review contributed by Richard King I first become a follower of MIUI back in 2012 when I was searching for a stable rom to put on an HTC Sensation XE. I was fed up with constantly finding bugs in other development ROMs that I was using, so I searched …
Yes. Fair comment, we do review a lot of Bluetooth speakers here at Coolsmartphone. It’s the new thing though. Gone are the days of kitchen radio, CD and tape players. Now it’s a speaker which you pair with your phone or MP3 player. What about FM radio though? …
So I’ve mentioned this new handset already. Out of the box it’s a corking design. Glance at it from the sides and you there’s a whiff of iPhone about it. Before I start though, I should also mention something else. I’m becoming increasingly impressed with Huawei. Sure, no-one …
Selling for around £137.34 from places like Ali Express, this is the Bluebo Beast B6000 MTK6589T. Yes, it does look a lot like a Samsung Galaxy Note. In fact, in the hands-on I was quite surprised at the build quality and speed of the device. It’s slightly thicker …
Yes, I’m busy writing another review, but I figured you’d like to see some up-close shots of the new Ascend P6 from Huawei. The specs include a 4.7″ 1280×720 display, a quad-core 1.5GHz processor, Android 4.2 and is an just 7mm thick. On the lower left of the …
Good alarms are hard to find… If it doesn’t work properly, or have the necessary functionality then no matter how pretty the app is, or whether the app conforms to the Holo style guide, its dead to me. Enter Neon Alarm. Good Points It is pretty intuitive. A …
Many people are doing away with their digital cameras and are instead taking more photos on their phone. Samsung have decided to test the waters with this, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom. It’s a device which merges a digital camera with an S4 Mini. Unfortunately I didn’t have …
A few weeks back I got my hands on a Sony SBH-20 stereo Bluetooth headset, and after using it for a little while I decided to jot down my views onto paper (or rather type them onto a laptop). Key features: Small unit with controls and built-in microphone …
Speakers. We’ve seen a few of them now. Slowly the idea of a radio sitting in your kitchen is becoming old fashioned and portable Bluetooth speakers hooked up to tablets and smartphones are replacing them. The is the Soundship Micro and immediately it’s a rather interesting design. Almost …
Morning all. I’ve got two bits of good news for you today. First, it’s Friday. Secondly, we’ve got a beautiful red HTC One for review. Yay! Now, I’ll let you into a secret. Come, follow me around the back of the Coolsmartphone servers and we’ll have a quick …
I’ve dabbled with external battery packs before, you know the sort. An unbranded 3000 mAh battery that refuses to work after a few weeks. It was after my wife and her friends went to a festival down south a few weeks ago and all of their phones died …
The HTC One is the best handset that HTC have made, in my opinion at least. Now they’ve shrunk it down, but only a little bit. Whilst writing this review I’ve shown this new HTC One mini handset to three HTC One owners and they’re all pretty impressed …
It’s no secret, I love this thing. I’m using it right now to write this very story and it has a lot of the features that I also love about the iPad. Firstly, the design. Somehow this tablet is better than the Xperia Z phone. It’s beautifully built …
Well, this is simple enough really. It looks like a little green robot and parks itself neatly around a UK electrical socket. Once you plug it in it’ll hold your phone and keep the endless cables nice and tidy in the clever little fingers in each “hand”. Made …
The LG Optimus L3 was part of the surprisingly successful L-Series of budget Android phones. So successful that there is a second series now available. I’ve had the entry level Optimus L3 II for a couple of weeks to see what all the fuss is about. Tech Specs …
Headphones. Everyone has them. Whether it’s the subtle white in-ear ones or those trendy over-the-ear jobbies that people sport on the way to work, it shows our love of music or podcasts. There’s a problem with these though. Unless you only have one ear plugged in, you’re going …
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 …
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 …
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 …
The Vodafone Smart III is a budget Android phone (real name Alcatel 975), designed to introduce the world of smartphones to those who haven’t discovered it yet. It’s fun, colourful and comes with some innovative thinking behind it. However, does it justify its £95 price point on pay …
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 …
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 …
