Author: Scott Plowman

At IFA 2024 HMD has unveiled their latest innovation, the HMD Fusion, a smartphone that allows you to dress it based on what you are doing, wearing or planning to do through various available ‘outfits.’ Priced at $499 for the phone the upcoming outfits will be an added cost but each outfit will customise not just the hardware of the phone but the software based on the software associated with that particular outfit. The outfits are built based on a hardware developer’s kit and open-source software that is available to everyone, so HMD are hoping that more manufacturers help innovate…

At IFA 2024 Belkin has today announced new audio products and travel-focused mobile charging products. The three new SoundForm audio products are the SoundForm ClearFit, SoundForm Isolate and SoundForm Surround, each including Belkin’s Signature Sound. The SoundForm ClearFit are open ear headphones designed for the active athlete with an IPx5 sweat resistant rating, 8 hours of playback and a charging case which houses another 18 hours of charge.  Priced at RRP $89.95 you can get them from Belkin online and leading retailers. The SoundForm Isolate and Surround are over the ear headphones with similar builds, 60 hours of battery…

The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold is making its long-awaited appearance in Australia this year and after using it for the last week I can easily say that they have hit the ground running with a phone that can rival even the mainstays of our foldable device market. Starting at $2,699 RRP, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold sits atop the pricing pile of the Google smartphone lineup and when you get two phones in one it is easy to see why.  Available in Obsidian and Porcelain the phone is a great looking foldable, mostly following the design language Google has…

Sennheiser has produced several different true wireless earbuds this year, each with different use cases and so far we have been really impressed. The latest to cross our review desk are the ACCENTUM True Wireless earbuds which straddle the consumer and audiophile ranges, offering very near audiophile sound but at a “more-affordable” consumer price. The ACCENTUM True Wireless are available for RRP $349.95AU pricing them amongst the top of the range consumer earbuds. Read on to hear my thoughts on the new Sennheiser ACCENTUM True Wireless and where they sit in our ranking ladder of true wireless earbuds. Design…

OPPO Australia has today announced their latest entry-level smartphone, the OPPO A80, priced at just RRP AUD$360. The OPPO A80 uses various OPPO’s AI technology including a system-level AI model called AI LinkBoost.  This ensures that you will have a stable connection in any location. The A80 also includes an AI feature called AI Eraser, similar to Google’s Magic Eraser where you can identify and remove unwanted people or objects from photos and create a “flawless shot.” “We are excited to bring this innovative AI technology to Australian users through our new A80 handset, making advanced technology accessible,” said Michael…

On September 7 ALDI have another ECOVACS DEEBOT vacuum available as part of their Special Buys.   The DEEBOT NEO 2.0 will be available at ALDI until sold out for just $349, half of its usual RRP. The DEEBOT NEO 2.0 delivers a high 5,000Pa of suction power and a 5,200mAh battery that will keep it sucking for up to 180 minutes. Once the battery drops low the vacuum returns to its dock to recharge before completing its cleaning when the battery is charged. The DEEBOT NEO 2.0 can detect carpet floors thanks to its ultrasonic sensors and prevent carpet from…

Shookz has today taken the wraps off their new OpenRun Pro 2 open ear headphones, complete with all new DualPitch technology to deliver improved sound quality. The new DualPitch technology combines their tenth-generation bone conduction technology with an air conduction driver with the former providing the mids and highs of the sound and the latter the bass. The sound quality in the OpenRun Pro 2 is vastly improved on the sound quality I was able to extract from the first generation OpenRun Pro headphones.  The bass is much better and the overall sound is crisper and clearer.  Now don’t expect…

Home security cameras are normally fixed to a certain projection and to change where they are viewing you have to physically move the camera itself.  Now Ring has released a camera that can pan a full 360 degrees and tilt vertically 169 degrees. Unsurprisingly called the Ring Pan-Tilt Camera, the new camera has been front and centre in my kitchen for the past few weeks and although it’s a breath of fresh air when it comes to Ring home security cameras, Ring could have, and should have, done so much more. At just $129 it is not expensive so you…

Sony has today unveiled their smallest ever closed true wireless earbuds, the WF-C510. The Sony WF-C510 are will fit in even the smallest ears in comfort thanks to their ergonomic, compact design.  The shape matches the human ear shape to provide for a more stable fit. Sony used ear data collected ever since their first in-ear headphones were introduced back in 1982 to develop the new shape that will comfortably fit more people.  The outer surface of the earbuds is a wide, flat surface to allow you to operate the media you are listening to without interrupting the fit of…

Ring has today announced the next generation of their Ring Battery Video Doorbell 2nd gen with some exciting new features to the model and a longer battery life. The Battery Video Doorbell now includes Head-to-Toe HD video, Colour Night Vision and an easy DIY installation mount and a battery life that is 23 percent longer than the previous generation model. The second generation model includes Ring’s HD video and an 150-degree by 150-degree field of view resulting in a head-to-toe of any visitors to your doorstep. This view is 66 percent taller than the first generation Battery Video Doorbell…

Google announced their 2024 flagship smartphone line-up just a week ago.  This year they launched four new Pixel 9 devices, the Pixel 9, the Pixel 9 Pro, the Pixel 9 Pro XL and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. With their respective availability being staggered in the coming weeks there will be reviews trickling out so it will be difficult to keep up.  We suggest you keep your eye on TechGuide for reviews as they are published.   First cabs off the rank are the Pixel 9 and the Pixel 9 Pro XL – their ‘traditional’ Pixel-sized and specced phones.  Dan has…

We have seen some CoPilot+ PCs make their way onto the Australian market but not everyone thinks that they, nor the world, are ready for that just yet.  AI might be the next big thing but is it really ready for the primetime? For a vast majority of us there’s not much of a need to CoPilot+ and lucky for us there are plenty of options available.  HP sent us one such option recently, the HP Spectre x360 16, a big, bright and beautiful laptop that has left us incredibly impressed. The Spectre x360 range from HP is the premium…

In July what was Australia’s biggest online bookstore, Booktopia went into voluntary administration. Founded in 2004, Booktopia posted record profits during the pandemic, even overtaking Amazon AU as the biggest online book seller in the Australian market.  Since then though, after over-capitalising on a new robotic warehouse, more online competition and a lower demand for books, Booktopia has become unable to fulfil orders as their funds dwindled. Funds were so scarce to come by that they struggled to fund money for approximately 50 staff who were unfortunately made redundant in previous cost-cutting moves. After Booktopia went into voluntary administration…

LG recently launched their UltraGear 45 OLED (45GS96QB) gaming monitor in Australia and for the past couple of weeks it has been adorning my desk and I’m in love. The new LG UltraGear OLED gaming monitors arrive in three different sizes, 34-, 39- and 45-inches with each size offering varying connectivity options and the 45-inch the only one with built-in speakers. My breath was taken away before I’d even taken the monitor out of the box.  Maybe it is because my Alienware 38-in ultrawide gaming monitor is thick(-ish) but this LG UltraGear 45 OLED (45GS96QB) is incredibly thin –…

The annual Made By Google event arrived earlier than usual with Google announcing their latest Pixel 9 series of phones overnight. The Google Pixel 9 series includes four devices, the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL, and the foldable Pixel 9 Pro Fold.  All devices are set to launch in Australia in the coming weeks.    Pixel 9 This year Google has opted for two Pixel 9 Pro devices, with only the screen size being different.  They have matching specs all the way down the line (aside from screen and battery size) and most importantly with…

Sennheiser are well known for straddling the line between mass consumer and audiophile-quality music.  They have products that are purely audiophile-quality but then have products that aim to bring a similar quality sound to a more affordable mass consumer product. The new Sennheiser MOMENTUM Sport have a RRP of $549 and although they are not cheap, they produce a high quality sound while offering a myriad of sensors not normally seen in earbuds. The MOMENTUM Sport house not just the usual audio sensors and ANC hardware but also a heart rate sensor and body temperature sensors.  Not only do they…

When you talk of e-readers most people think of those from Amazon.  What many folks don’t realise is that there are other players on the market that offer impressive digital reading solutions.  Kobo is one of them and have been my favourite for a long time. This year Kobo released updated e-readers to the world, with coloured e-ink displays making an appearance.  Kobo sent us the new Libra Colour and the Clara Colour to check out and we were suitably impressed with them, but be warned, don’t expect the display to look as good as your Android or iPad display. …

Motorola had  the feature phone that everyone wanted back in the day, the Razr.  In the last few years Motorola has reintroduced it in the form of a flip smartphone and boy has it impressed. The Motorola Razr 40 Ultra was thought by many to be the best flip phone of the year so this year when they released the next iteration, the Razr 50 Ultra we were expecting great things — and Motorola has delivered. The Motorola Razr 50 Ultra flip smartphone looks good, behaves how a flip/foldable phone should and is really well built with some incredibly useful…

The new Echo Spot from Amazon is an Alexa-powered device ideal for the bedside table or the desk with a screen that can display various custom clock faces and colours.  Priced at $149, the Echo Spot is designed to replace the Echo Dot with Clock in Amazon’s Echo line-up. While the device itself is only available in Black, Glacier White and Ocean Blue, the display can be customised to various colourways to match your décor — orange, violet, magenta, lime, teal and blue. The colour changes are subtle but add a little bit of customisation that can make a device…