Author: Stephen Fenech

Dell has updated the XPS 15 and XPS 17 laptops with to offer the power and portability to stay productive and entertained wherever you are. The Dell XPS 15 and Dell XPS 17 start at $3,499 and $4,999 respectively. They both include DDR5 memory and configurable with up to a massive 64GB RAM. The new Dell laptops can also be purchased with i5, i7 and i9 12th generation processors. Dell XPS 15 and XPS 17 also come with Windows 11 Home or Windows 11 Pro pre-installed. DELL XPS 15 The XPS 15 has a 15.6-inch InfinityEdge display with a 92.9…

Rode, the Australian company behind excellent microphones and the Rodecaster Pro podcasting deck, has released its first pair of professional over-ear headphones – the NTH-100. The NTH-100 brings together exceptional audio quality and impressive design so they can be worn comfortably for hours at a time. Under the hood are custom-matched drivers which deliver incredible accuracy and almost zero distortion so you can hear remarkable detail and clarity while creating or editing content. They have been created to provide a clear and crisp way for user to monitor their audio at home, in a studio or on the go whether…

Bose has unveiled the new Smart Soundbar 900 which incorporates Dolby Atmos to improve your music-listening and movie-viewing experience. The Smart Soundbar 900 uses proprietary Bose spatial technologies and elevates Dolby Atmos content by separating the audio from instruments, dialogue and effects and placing them around the room. The soundbar can place and pin distinct sound to the right and left where there are no speakers as well as creating the overhead sound show so you’ll think helicopters are hovering above you while actors can run past you and not just across your screen. Non Dolby Atmos content is elevated…

The Sony LinkBuds look nothing like a regular pair of earphones. They have a unique design and a stunning sound to set them apart from other earphones on the market. The LinkBuds don’t a silicone tip that’s inserted into your ear canal. Instead there’s a ring that rests on your ear and provides audio transparency. That means you can hear what’s going on around you and, if you play your content loud enough, others will hear it too. The Sony LinkBuds are not noise cancelling earphones – for noise cancellation you’ll need to buy different earphones or headphones. One thing…

This week on The Best Movies You’ve Never Seen we’re watching Good Will Hunting – written by and starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and featuring a stunning performance by Robin Williams. Good Will Hunting tells the story of genius Will Hunting who happens to find himself on the wrong side of the law after a tough childhood but is placed in the custody of an MIT professor along with a therapist (Robin Williams) who tries to get through to him. Stephen has watched this movie several times, but this is Trevor’s first watch – did he like it? Tune…

Two Blokes Talking Tech Episode 528 with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long takes a look at the week’s biggest tech stories and product launches. On this week’s show, Samsung has introduced its affordable Galaxy A Series smartphones, Netflix may charge you extra for sharing your log-in, Dyson opens its Sydney demo store, new technology for the radio ratings and we take a look at Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Studio. You can listen to the show right here on the Tech Guide site using the audio player below. Click on the Two Blokes Talking Tech link at the…

Huawei has just released its new Watch GT3 – a stylish smartwatch that’s powered by HarmonyOS 2.1 and can be paired with both iPhones and Android smartphones. The company has also launched Huawei Watch GT Runner which has a high strength polymer fibre body and ceramic ultra-light bezel. Tech Guide took hands-on look at the Huawei Watch GT3 which is available in 42mm and 46mm sizes. The Huawei Watch GT3 is just 11mm thick from the bottom of the sensor to the top of the screen and looks slim and sleek on your wrist. It weighs just 46g. The watch…

Apple has announced it will be making its iPhone SE with aluminium that was manufactured, in a world first, without creating any direct carbon emissions during the smelting process. Apple has made a $4.7bn investment in Green Bonds which helped develop the low carbon manufacturing process. This aluminium is the first to be manufactured at industrial scale outside of a lab and without releasing any carbon into the atmosphere in the process. “Apple is committed to leaving the planet better than we found it, and our Green Bonds are a key tool to drive our environmental efforts forward,” said Lisa…

Motorola has released its new flagship edge 30 pro smartphone which was unveiled at the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and featuring a 6.7-inch OLED display and 5G connectivity. Priced at $999, the edge 30 pro will go on sale on March 31. The Motorola edge 30 pro is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Mobile Platform – the first time it has been seen on a smartphone – which will enable features like ultra high-resolution cameras, 5G connectivity, AI, gaming and reliable wi-fi and Bluetooth connections. The smartphone has a 6.7-inch OLED screen with a 144Hz refresh…

Microsoft is enjoying a great run with its Surface laptops, and it has taken a step up with the new Surface Laptop Studio which has an adjustable display to suit what you’re doing or what you’re watching or playing. It looks like a regular laptop, in fact, it looks a bit like a MacBook Pro when its open in laptop mode. But that’s where the similarities end. The Surface Laptop Studio is running Windows 11 and has a display that can swing forward to cover the keyboard and even rest flat to become a tablet. But if you want a…

Dyson has opened the doors on its first ever demo store in Australia in the heart of the Sydney CBD where customers can see demonstrations and interact with Dyson’s range of products. Tech Guide took a tour of the store, located at the entrance to the busy Wynyard Station, a few days before its official opening today. The store, located at 301 and 285 George Street Sydney, is home to Dyson’s complete range of technologies and products and is a place where customers can go hands on to discover, explore and understand how Dyson’s impressive technology works. There are several…

When we want to find the name of the song, we simply Shazam it – now finding concert tickets to our favourite artists is just as easy thanks to a new feature in the Shazam app. Live concerts are back and Shazam, one of the most popular music apps in the world, has come up with a new and easy way for music fans to find concert information and tickets for upcoming shows in their city. Now when a user Shazams a song, it will also conduct a search and tell them dates, times and locations of upcoming live shows…

Navman has released its latest range of dash cam models so they can be your eyes and ears on the road. The company, Australia’s leading manufacturer of dash cams, says driving without a dash cam is like driving without a seat belt or a spare tyre. And in the unlikely event of an incident, you’ll be glad you have one. It gives drivers peace of mind. The new models include the MiVUE 770 Safety, the MiVUE 900 DC and the MiVUE 1200 Sensor XL DC. The range now includes a Dash Cam for all types of vehicles including trucks and…

Stay updated and educated about the latest consumer tech news and reviews with Episode 494 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast hosted by editor Stephen Fenech. On this week’s show: Australian seniors are using more tech but admit they are still struggling to keep up, Samsung has launched its affordable range of Galaxy A Series of smartphones and iconic film The Godfather turns 50 this week – we talk to the team that oversaw the 4K restoration. In the Tech Guide reviews, we look at the iPhone SE, we check out Version 2 of the thin and light Espresso Displays,…

Most Australian workers will need to learn more digital skills if they want to keep up with job changes brought on by COVID-19 but only a third of companies have the required training in place. According to research by Amazon Web Services, 81 per cent of Australian workers said they need more digital skills training to be able to cope with changes to their job during the pandemic. The study found that 3.7 million workers will require more digital skills and that only 30 per cent of organisations have the necessary training programs in place. The Building Digital Skills for…

The epic film The Godfather – considered by many to be the greatest movie of all time – is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this week with the trilogy of films restored and re-released in glorious 4K. The Godfather was released on March 24, 1972, and went on to become one of the most beloved films in movie history. Tech Guide spoke with the leaders of the restoration team – Andrea Kalas, Senior Vice President of Paramount Archives and James Mockowski, film archivist and restoration supervisor for Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope. https://youtu.be/w3Wo6QiD3eU It was a monumental task with the idea…

Older Australians are a lot more tech savvy nowadays yet nearly half of senior users say digital technologies needs to be designed to better suit senior users, according to a report from National Seniors Australia. During the COVID pandemic, older Australians were forced to adopt new technologies and methods including adopting streaming services, moving into digital banking, video calling and using apps on a smartphone. many services were moved online or became automated, and seniors had no choice but to keep up or be left behind. And today most of these users, who may not have tried these products and…

When Australian company Espresso launched their amazing thin, portable displays it allowed us to increase our screen real estate and improve our workflow and productivity quickly and easily. Espresso has just launched Version 2 – and it’s even better. Espresso entered the market at the start of the pandemic, at a time when we were reassessing how and where we worked. Their thin displays (just 5.3mm thick) offered a solution for those who wanted to break free of their small laptop screens and have more room to move and to get their work done. Version 2 of the Espresso display…

They hear you, you die! This week on The Best Movies You’ve Never Seen podcast we’re watching A Quiet Place starring Emma Blunt and John Krazinski. It tells the story of an apocalyptic event where fierce predators have somehow been let loose on earth. They are blind and armour plated with superior hearing and attack anything they hear. Stephen has watched the movie many times while Trevor saw it for the first time – with Stephen in his theatre. We go through the memorable scenes and share some interesting facts, behind the scenes tidbits, trivia, plot holes and other things…

Two Blokes Talking Tech Episode 527 with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long takes a look at the biggest tech stories of the week. This week: it’s TV season and Samsung are the first to release its 2022 range of Neo QLED and Lifestyle TVs, our verdict on the iPhone SE, stats on true wireless earphones, a small Bose speaker and a large LG speaker and will Apple every release an iMac Pro after launching the Mac Studio. You can listen to the show right here on the Tech Guide site using the audio player below. Click…