Author: Stephen Fenech

Tune in to Episode 509 of the Two Blokes Talking Tech podcast with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long as they examine the biggest tech stories of the week. On this week’s show, we take a look at the Apple product announcements – new MacBook Pros and the 3rdGeneration AirPods, Google launches the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, Jabra’s Elite 7 Pro, the vaccination certificates and the Nanoleaf Lines. 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 Sonos brand is quite well known in wireless audio and its new Beam Gen 2 brings that sound quality and connectivity to your TV viewing experience. The Sonos Beam Gen 2 is both a wireless speaker and a sound bar in one. You can listen to your favourite songs when you’re not watching TV but then enjoy the audio quality and Dolby Atmos when you are engrossed in a movie or TV show. The new Beam sound bar has more processing power on board and has a new phased speaker array which can steer sound around the room. This…

The Arlo Pro 4 Spotlight Wireless Security camera combines excellent video quality and ease of installation to offer customers a great way to keep an eye on their home or business. Arlo has a range of security cameras with varying video qualities – Full HD, 2K and 4K. The Arlo Pro 4 sits right in the middle with 2K video resolution. Choosing a camera resolution depends on the area you want to cover and how much detail you’d like to see. With the 2K Arlo Pro 4, it is ideal for monitoring medium to larger spaces and includes HDR (high…

Samsung is giving customers new ways to express themselves with the Galaxy Z Flip 3 Bespoke Edition which allows them to customise their device with various colour options. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 folding phone has been popular with design and style conscious customers and Samsung is giving future customers the ability to create different colour combinations and offer a range of matching accessories. https://youtu.be/rDPu-Ua5Rh4 The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 has a folding 6.7-inch AMOLED display and a 1.9-inch Super AMOLED cover screen. READ TECH GUIDE’S REVIEW OF THE SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FLIP 3 The Bespoke Edition is a…

Telstra has clocked an incredible speed of 3.6Gbps in the Sydney CBD using the new Google Pixel 6 Pro – the first smartphone in Australia to support mmWave 5G. Paul Milford, Telstra’s lead and head of technology discovery and validation, recorded the speed last week In George St in Sydney using the yet-to-be-released Google Pixel 6 Pro which supports both Sub 6 and mmWave 5G formats. Telstra sees mmWave as the next stage in the evolution of 5G. It can dramatically improve the capacity of the network by a factor of 10 when compared to Sub 6 and deliver much…

The new Jabra Elite 7 Pro earphones are a real surprise with an even smaller form factor, great audio quality and excellent voice calls. Priced at $299, the Jabra Elite 7 Pro earphones have a long and impressive list of features that make this a value buy. The first thing that will get your attention is how small the earbuds are. They are actually 16 per cent smaller than the popular Jabra Elite 75t – and in earphones that’s a big deal. Have a smaller size, they rest more inside your ear than out. We found them to be really…

Google has taken the wraps off its new Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro smartphones which are powered by the new Tensor chip so they are smarter, faster and more powerful than ever before. The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro have been reimagined top to bottom and include new camera systems, onboard machine learning and a slick new design. And of course, the Pixel 6 is the first smartphone to run the new Android 12 operating system. Android 12 features a redesigned UI and themed icons plus a range of new widgets to include on your home page. The…

Find some time to listen to Episode 473 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast hosted by editor Stephen Fenech – you won’t regret it. At the very least, you’ll be updated and educated about the latest consumer tech news and reviews in an easy-to-understand and entertaining way. On this week’s show: the new streaming service for news channels has just been launched, JBL celebrates its 75th anniversary and we talk to Australian general manager Marcus Fry and the new HP+ ecosystem that makes printing smarter and more sustainable. In the Tech Guide reviews, we take a look at the latest…

Apple today launched the next generation of AirPods with a new design, updated the HomePod mini with new colours and features and introduced the Apple Music Voice Plan. AIRPODS (3RD GENERATION) AirPods are the world’s most popular wireless headphones, and this third-generation update makes them even better. The earphones now have a new contour design and an Apple-designed acoustic system to deliver improved sound with adaptive EQ. The new AirPods sit at just the right angle for comfortable listening to direct audio into your ear and have a shorter stem than the previous generation. The new AirPods are also water…

Apple has unveiled a major update of its MacBook Pro line-up which is powered by its new M1 Pro and M1 Max silicon to achieve breakthrough performance and even greater power efficiency. And while the major improvements occur under the hood, the new MacBook Pros have also had a significant re-design. Available in 14-inch and 16-inch models, these new M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pros will be available on October 26. “We set out to create the world’s best pro notebook, and today we’re excited to introduce the all-new MacBook Pro with M1 Pro and M1 Max — a game-changing combination…

The new Hisense premium 4K Laser TV range with TriChroma technology is now available in Australia to provide a high-quality big screen home entertainment experience. The short-throw projector has three primary colour lasers which can produce stunning images on its included 100-inch screen which can easily be mounted on your wall. Priced at $6,999, the Hisense Laser TV unit can sit just 30 centimetres away from the screen which makes it easy to set up in your home unlike a regular projector which requires a ceiling mount and running long cables to your sources. The Hisense 100L9GSET TriChroma Laser TV has 3000…

Apple Watch Series 7 has just become an even more attractive daily companion that now allows you to do even more things right from your wrist thanks to a larger display, faster charging and other key improvements. It might not seem like a big change from Apple Watch Series 6, but when you place them side by side the differences become more apparent. Firstly, the display offers 20 per cent more screen area than Series 6 and more than 50 per cent more screen area than Series 3. The borders on the display are just 1.7mm wide which is 40…

I see a little silhoetto of a man, scaramouch, scaramouch, will you do the fandango! This week on The Best Movies You’ve Never Seen podcast, Stephen Fenech and Trevor Long are watching the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. The 2018 film, tells the story of how Queen became one of the biggest bands in the world and how frontman Freddy Mercury, played by Rami Malek in his Oscar-winning role, became one of the most flamboyant and charismatic performers in the world. Stephen and Trevor go through the film’s memorable scenes, unpack the behind-the-scenes facts, take a look at the fact v…

Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long, the Two Blokes Talking Tech are back together again to record Episode 508 of the popular podcast which looks at the week’s biggest tech stories. On this week’s show, what we can expect to see at Apple’s Unleashed event, we share our impressions of the Apple Watch Series 7, news streaming service Flash, HP+ smart printing ecosystem, how you can show your vaccination certificate when you check in with the Service NSW app and the Paperlike iPad screen protector that makes it feel like you’re drawing on paper instead of glass.…

Nanoleaf has added yet another product to its impressive line-up of smart lighting – it’s the new Nanoleaf Lines – smart backlit LED light bars in a never-before-seen modular form factor. And just like the other Nanoleaf shapes and light panels, the Nanoleaf lines allow users to design their very own lighting patterns. These lightweight lines connect at 60-degree angle increments to allow you to create stunning layouts, geometric shapes and ceiling designs with mounting plates integrated with every Lines mounting connector. Every Line features dual colour zones so you can display two colours at once while the diffused lighting…

The Service NSW app has had a major update so you can now show your proof of vaccination as soon as you check in to venues across NSW now that shops, cafes, restaurants, pubs and cinemas are back open again. Since Freedom Day on October 11, NSW residents had to check in with the Service NSW app and then exit that app and then go into the Medicare app, Apple Wallet or Google Pay to produce their proof of vaccination. The latest update to the Service NSW app (version 7) can now display your vaccination certificate as soon as you…

Foxtel has activated a brand new streaming service for those viewers who want to stay up with the latest news – it’s called Flash and it provides access to 25 of the most popular news channels. Streamotion, the company behind Kayo Sports and Binge, has applied a similar formula to the Kayo Sports service but instead of grouping all the sports channels in one service, Flash does the same thing with the news channels. Customers will have access to popular international news channels like CNN, Fox News, Al Jazeera, BBC World News and Sky News Australia for $8 a month.…

Bowers & Wilkins has unveiled the new Zeppelin – a complete stereo system in one – which offers better sound, has a new design and is smarter than ever. The new Zeppelin has been reimagined for the streaming age. It’s smarter and more flexible while still offering high resolution audio that is as crisp and dynamic as ever. The unique shape and style of Zeppelin has remained one constant over the last 15 years but, like every other Bowen & Wilkins product, its design is defined by acoustics. This time out, the redesigned Zeppelin is available in two finishes midnight…

Apple has once again warned of the dangers of sideloading apps with the release of a new security paper that says the practice could cripple the iPhone’s privacy and protections and expose users to serious risks. This new paper comes at a time when Apple is facing growing pressure to allow developers the ability to offer customers their apps in a direct transaction rather than through the curated App Store. This practice is called sideloading. Apple is gaining support against sideloading with data and recommendations from the US Department of Homeland security, the European Agency for Cybersecurity, NIST and Norton.…

Canva, the Australian visual communications platform, has expanded to video creation to make it even easier to create content and social media posts. Canva Video Suite is an online end-to-end video creation product which allows users to easily create and publish professional quality videos. It’s available for free on web, desktop and mobile and combines editing, recording and collaboration features along with video templates that you can customise to suit your needs. And the good news is these templates support online platforms like TikTok and YouTube and can be used for workplace and business videos with other templates to suit…