Author: Stephen Fenech

Astrophotography takes a bit of work to master plus a whole lot of gear before you can get any good at it. Imagine if there was an all-in-one automated solution that produces amazing results. We found it – it’s called Hyperia. On display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas recently, Hyperia is a smart personal observatory that produces stunning results. Hyperia is both a telescope and an automated mount in one. https://youtu.be/zsqEuR5ilA0?si=4XE2I2XEDozK-ylG  The telescope has a 150mm aperture with f/4 focal ratio which makes the unit more compact yet more capable when it comes to drawing light into…

This week on The Best Movies You’ve Never Seen podcast we’re watching the comedy Top Secret starring Val Kilmer and released in 1984. Top Secret tells story of Nick Rivers – a musician on tour for a cultural festival in Germany who is drawn into a gang of rebels and freedom fighters who have discovered a plot to destroy NATO submarines. Stephen saw Top Secret in the theatre and has rewatched it many times while Trevor is pulling up a chair for the very first time. We go through the memorable scenes and shares some interesting facts, behind the scenes…

Australian Formula 1 driver Oscar Piastri has partnered with Google Pixel for a fun national campaign explaining why he made the switched to the popular device. The campaign will feature Piastri in a number of scenarios using Gemini AI to help him with his tasks and to answer his questions. https://youtu.be/Zw1PxKHpYng?si=GIJKgfR9TnsXtC_x “Switching to Google Pixel was an easy decision,” said Oscar, in his typical deadpan and brief manner. “Am I a Formula 1 racing driver? Yep. Am I a professional actor with a full emotional range? Nope. But I’m excited on the inside to be on the winning team with…

The boys are back in town! Take a listen to Episode 715 of the Two Blokes Talking Tech podcast with Stephen Fenech and Trevor Long as they discuss the biggest tech stories of the week. On this week’s show: Apple partners with Google to upgrade Siri to AI, we’re one month in on the social media ban – is it working and Apple offers a new subscription to its to apps – but who is it for? You can listen and watch the show right here on the Tech Guide site using the audio player below or by pressing play…

Imagine a pair of sunglasses that you can manually adjust based on the brightness of your surroundings. That’s exactly what the POVEC electrochromic sunglasses can do – we saw them at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. POVEC C1 is the world’s first electrochromic sunglasses that uses the same technology in automotive grade dimmable windows. https://youtu.be/eKm_tce2g2w?si=MXMskjNhLoiD9qEo Unlike other photochromic lenses that rely on UV exposure and slowly adjust, the POVEC C1 are instantly adjustable by swiping the side of the glasses. These sunglasses are designed as performance eyewear with UV400 protection. They weigh just 38g. The glasses only consume…

The AI upgrade for Siri that we’ve been waiting 18 months for will now be powered by Google Gemini. Google and Apple released a joint statement announcing the partnership. It read: “Apple and Google have entered into a multi-year collaboration under which the next generation of Apple Foundation Models will be based on Google’s Gemini models and cloud technology. “These models will help power future Apple Intelligence features, including a more personalized Siri coming this year. After careful evaluation, Apple determined that Google’s Al technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models and is excited about the innovative…

The Tech Guide podcast is back for 2026 and we have a massive Episode 676 hosted by editor Stephen Fenech who has just returned from the Consumer Electronics Show Las Vegas. On this week’s show, we wrap up CES 2026 starting with the all the TV announcement – a popular product at this show and we discuss the latest from LG, Samsung and Hisense. We also talk about arguably one of the biggest announcements at the show – Lego Smart Play – we tell you how the remarkable new technology works and speak with Mike Ilacqua, Head of Product, LEGO…

It’s been one month since the social media ban came into effect in Australia and Meta has announced it has complied with the new law and removed more than 540,000 accounts in that period. But Meta says that while it abides by the law it doesn’t agree with it and the initial impact of the law suggests it’s not meeting its objectives or making young Australians any safer. As of December 11, Meta had removed 544,052 accounts from users on its platforms understood to be under 16 years of age. This included 330,639 from Instagram, 173,497 from Facebook and 39,916…

Australian company espresso has unveiled its latest portable monitor – the espresso Lite 15 – to allow users to expand their laptop workspace. And it comes in a range of colours. Launched at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the espresso Lite 15 is an entry level product but it still provides an enhanced dual-screen experience whether you’re travelling or working on the go. The display is light and rugged and connects with just one USB-C cable from any device whether it’s a laptop, a tablet or even a smartphone. “Our products are designed to meet the highest standards…

Grab the wheel and listen to the latest episode of Two Blokes Talking Electric Cars – The EV Podcast – with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long. On this week’s show: caller Simon shares his new car shopping experience and how one dealership’s experience was the reason he didn’t buy their car. Should you be able to test drive a car on any roads you choose? Derrick has a new Geely EX5 – why did he pick that and what’s it like? And Querida loves red cars and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 (N) is perfect for her!…

One of the more interesting discoveries at the Consumer Electronics Show was an AI-powered robot chef called Nosh. Nosh is slightly larger than a microwave oven and can prepare more than 500 dishes. All you need to do is prepare and load the ingredients into a drawer on the side, the spice rack on top and place your meats and proteins in the bowl and Nosh does the rest. https://youtu.be/lKaE5BiiXys?si=MTRh1yEt0UIRpyc_ It used induction heating to prepare the meal. There’s also a camera onboard so the unit can make sure things are browned and cooked just right. Also inside is a…

Roborock always save their major announcements for the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and this year was no exception. They created a fair amount of buzz around the show with the launch of the new Saros Rover robot vacuum. Outwardly, the Saros Rover looks like most other robot vacuums but there is one huge difference. The Saros Rover has legs. https://youtu.be/sab0mJ0eoNY?si=3eo1SB27c-XciTqp And it can use those legs to climb stairs and navigate uneven surfaces and access parts of your home the robot vacuum would never dare to venture. We saw the demonstration on the Roborock stand at CES 2026…

Tech Guide had the opportunity to check out all the new offerings from ECOVACS ROBOTICS which were on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas including a pool cleaner, a next generation lawn mower and a robot dog. We know ECOVACS well through its robot vacuums but in Las Vegas we saw the latest versions Including the T-90 Pro Omni and the DEEBOT X12 Pro Omni cyclone. What these had in common was the new OZMO Roller 3.0 which is now 26cm long – that’s 50 per cent longer than the previous generation. https://youtu.be/gveyvqQnFzU?si=t7yVMtxWL6yQ9UR9 When comparing the old…

Hisense had a huge presence at the Consumer Electronics Show and Tech Guide took a look at the booth to see new RGB technology and its range of impressive projectors. Hisense had the world’s first RGB MiniLED TV at CES last year with its 116-inch model and this year it is also unveiling the new RGB MiniLED evo technology which brings in a four colour – sky blue to join red, green and blue in the backlight. https://youtu.be/AuZnxvn7DvY?si=4rpRhRBAT5gcvRy_ The benefits are that the TV can achieve 110 per cent of the BT.2020 colour gamut so the range of colours the…

Two Blokes Talking Tech – Stephen Fenech and Trevor Long – bring you Episode 714.3, the third and last show from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. On this episode we talk about all the robots, Aussie companies, Samsung’s AI built into the Freestyle Projector as well as Reolink’s AI smarts in your home. You can listen to the show right here on the Tech Guide site using the audio player below or by pressing play on the YouTube player. It is also possible to subscribe to the popular weekly tech podcast on Apple Podcasts.

We could describe LEGO Smart Play and how it works but you can’t truly appreciate the genius of this new technology until you actually get your hands on it. That’s exactly what Tech Guide did. We looked at the new LEGO Smart Play platform at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas where we were shown the new tech and how it works. And it all starts with the smart brick – this is a four by two LEGO brick which is packed with technology including an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, a speaker, Bluetooth, and a battery. https://youtu.be/mkQQVW4Qq7A?si=KZ-2fXVomF2uAp0K Think of…

LG has unveiled its new home robot at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and it demonstrated how which can take over chores and do your housework. LG CLOiD is the company’s first venture into home robotics and has been designed to deliver on LG’s lofty vision “Zero Labour Home, Makes Quality Time”. It has two articulated arms with seven directions of movement to replicate natural human movements. https://youtu.be/2TAfZDaXdBc?si=zl-dmmY4ltfuL64M On each are arm are five actuated fingers to provide the required dexterity to complete fine and delicate tasks. We saw a demonstration on the LG stand at CES 2026…

Tech Guide has taken a hands on look at the new Reolink AI box and OMVI triple lens security camera at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The main new Reolink product launched at the show wasn’t a security camera – It was a small box that can fit in the palm of your hand. But it’s not any old box – it’s the new Reolink AI Box which can integrate into existing Reolink cameras, home hubs and network video recorders to bring the latest in ReoNeura AI capabilities to previously non-AI devices. It is a small device about…

You got nothing, kiddo. Snake eyes. The house wins! This week in The Best Movies You’ve Never Seen podcast we’re watching Snake Eyes starring Nicholas Cage and Gary Sinese and directed by Brian De Palma. Snake Eyes tells the story about a fight night at a casino arena that’s about to be toen down and Detective Rick Santoro finds himself right in the middle of a conspiracy plot that involves a fighter, a politician, a military officer and a whistleblower. Stephen watched Snake Eyes in the theatre in 1998 and hasd rewatched it numerous times while Trevor is sitting ringside…

The new LEGO Smart Play platform, which has taken the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas by storm, was eight years in the making with the company making a deliberate move to not involve smartphones and apps in any way. The new LEGO Smart Play platform is a standalone system that can bring builds to life and provide an all-new experience and new ways of exploration and storytelling. LEGO Smart Play will include a smart brick which include sensors, accelerometers, light sensing and the sound sensor along with a mini speaker that’s powered by an onboard synthesiser. The LEGO announcement…