Author: Stephen Fenech

ASUS has entered the phone market in Australia with the ROG Phone II – a high-powered gaming phone that offers an immersive experience for players on the move. Available exclusively through JB Hi-Fi the ASUS ROG Phone II is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus which was clocked at 2.96Ghz with the Qualcomm Adreno GPU. Add to that power the world’s first 120Mhz/1ms AMOLED 10-bit HDR (high dynamic range) 6.59-inch display with Delta-E colour accuracy and 49ms touch latency. And don’t think the battery can’t handle the gaming performance. The device has a 6000mAh long-life battery with 30W ROG…

Can you believe it is just three weeks till Christmas? If you haven’t started your Christmas shopping – don’t panic, we’ve got your back with the Tech Guide 2019 12 Days of Christas Gift Ideas. Today it’s all about smartphones and there are plenty of choices. Christmas is a popular time of year to gift smartphones especially for teens who might be hoping Santa delivers their very first device. Here are Tech Guide’s 12 Days of Christmas Gift Ideas: Day 1: Cameras (Dec 3) Day 2: Smartphones (Dec 4) Day 3: Wearables/smartwatches (Dec 5) Day 4: Headphones/speakers (Dec 6) DAY 5: Gaming (Dec 9) DAY…

Apple has announced its first ever Apple Music awards and recognised the musicians who made the biggest impact on global culture this year in five different categories. The awards combine Apple Music editorial perspective along with the most streamed songs from around the world. Global Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year and Breakthrough Artist of the Year were chosen by Apple Music’s global editorial team while the awards for Album of the Year and Song of the Year are based on the sheer amount of time they were streamed by listeners this year. “The Apple Music Awards are…

Take a listen to Episode 377 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast, hosted by editor Stephen Fenech, to hear about the latest consumer tech news, views and reviews. If you’ve never heard a podcast before, Tech Guide is a great place to start with an entertaining look at the biggest tech stories of the week and reviews of the latest products. On this week’s show, Optus starts a new charity initiative where you can share data instead of money to children living in poverty, NBN reveals how much data we’re using and how much that has increased from last year…

We’ve got lots of great photos on our phones but how many do we print? Not many. But with the new HP Sprocket Select – you can instantly print your images on the spot. The device is slightly smaller than a smartphone and light enough to carry everywhere. The HP Sprocket Select connects to your device via Bluetooth and has a companion app that you can authorise to access your camera roll. The app also makes it possible to print from your social media platforms and also create collages. It uses special Zink Zero Ink photo paper and you get…

Christmas is just three short weeks away and there’s still plenty of time to find the right present for your friends and family with Tech Guide’s 2019 12 Days of Christmas Gift Ideas. To kick off our 12 Day Christmas Gift Guide we’re taking a looking at cameras. Despite our smartphones having a high quality camera onboard, there is a still a huge demand for dedicated cameras that can be used in a variety of ways and locations. And these products could be a perfect fit as a gift this Christmas Here are Tech Guide’s 12 Days of Christmas Gift…

You’ve heard about donating money – well how about donating data? That’s exactly what Optus is asking from its customers to help young Australians living in poverty to access the internet and the same resources and opportunities as everyone else. The new Optus initiative is called Donate Your Data and it will allow eligible Optus Postpaid and Prepaid Mobile customers to donate some of their data to people less fortunate than themselves. It will launch with charity partners The Smith Family and the KARI Foundation with Optus providing free Optus SIM cards to young Australians for unlimited talk and text…

Our data usage in the past year has increased by almost 25 per cent thanks to the rise in home and video streaming that change the way we communicate and access our entertainment. According to NBN Co, the data consumption has increased by nearly a quarter with the average Australian now consuming about 285GB of data per month or making 367 hours of video calls in the same period. These key network insights show Australians are hungry for content with more than 1.35 billion GB of data consumed in June this year alone. That’s the equivalent of watching the popular…

The new Bowers & Wilkin PX7 noise cancelling wireless headphones offer a true luxury experience when it comes to audio quality, product design and overall comfort. Anyone who owns or has driven a luxury car will tell you that not only is the interior immaculately appointed, it also has the latest technology, a head-turning design and a smooth ride. It doesn’t cost more just for the name of the badge on the car. It’s because it’s high quality across the board and the result of decades of research and development. Think of the Bowers & Wilkins PX7 ($599.95) as the…

Kick off your weekend with Two Blokes Talking Tech Episode 415 with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long as they discuss the biggest tech stories and products of the week. On this week’s show, we recorded at the offices of Kayo Sports streaming service which celebrated its first birthday, Optus release build-your-own plans, the NBN announces price and speed improvements and Canon extends its warranties to five years. Also on the program, the Tesla Cybertruck, Huawei calls out former PM Malcolm Turnbull over incorrect 5G information, Epson releases a new line-up of EcoTank printers and Samsung releases…

Sport streaming service Kayo has successfully completed its first full year of operation and released some impressive customer insights and stats which highlight the platform’s popularity. Viewers streamed more than 65 million hours of content across more than 50 sports including some of the year’s biggest sporting events including the Cricket World Cup and the Rugby World Cup. In 12 months, Kayo has streamed 16,200 live events across 57 sports with customers on average watching seven sports and streaming nearly 6 hours each week and more than half (58 per cent) watching on their big-screen TVs. Kayo CEO Julian Ogrin…

When it comes to audio Sennheiser has a reputation for providing great quality and that expertise has now entered the gaming space with the GSP 370 wireless headset. The headset provides a wire free low latency connection to a PC, Mac or Sony PlayStation 4. For our review we connected the Sennheiser GSP 370 to our PlayStation 4 while we were playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare multiplayer. We connected the headphones to the PS4 with the included USB dongle. The headphones have a closed acoustic design with integrated digital sound processing to ensure you get an all-enveloping directional experience.…

Epson has expanded its popular range of EcoTank printers with six new models which can run for up to two years before you need to buy new ink. The company has actually sold more than 40 million EcoTank printers globally. The new line-up consists of five new mono models and one single function colour model which are all cheaper to run than a traditional printer which requires regular expensive cartridge changes. It’s also better for the environment because there are no ink cartridges or toner cartridges that need to be disposed of. All of the new Epson EcoTank printers have…

Black Friday is almost upon us and if you’re looking for a tech bargain there are a lot to be found from major retailers and major brands. Here is the pick of the bunch. The Black Friday sales began in the US as an event in the first weekend after Thanksgiving and it has since taken on a life of its own and became a monstrous event. Stores – both bricks and mortar and online – have embraced Black Friday as a huge sale in the lead up to Christmas. Here are the best tech bargains in the Black Friday…

JBL has released two new speakers – Link Portable and Link Music – which not only offer great audio but also Google Assistant to meet all of your audio, search and a smart home needs. Released just in time for the Christmas rush, Link Portable and Link Music are ideal to listen to music, audiobooks and podcasts. Link Portable, as its name suggests, allows users to take their music anywhere thanks to its on-board rechargeable battery that will run for up to 8 hours. It comes with a charging stand so it will always be powered up and ready to…

Huawei Australia is called out former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over what it claims are incorrect statements regarding the decision to ban the Chinese company from delivering 5G technology to the network. Turnbull appeared on Sky News today and was responding to a question about the decision in August 2018 to exclude Huawei from bidding for the lucrative 5G network rollout. This was his response: “It is possible to have equipment from what you might call high-risk vendors in fixed-line networks where the equipment is at the edge of the network and the risk to the overall networks because the…

The NBN will be getting faster and slightly cheaper following a five month wholesale pricing review with retail service providers (RSPs) and industry groups. It’s not unusual to see the NBN come under fire for either connection and reliability issues or pricing but these changes will be a breath of fresh air for customers. We’re getting close to the NBN completion – the rollout is on track to be completed in 2020. This latest review has outlined a roadmap which will see customers able to access speeds truer to what they are paying for, wholesale discounts which will be passed…

Get updated and educated with Episode 376 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast, hosted by editor Stephen Fenech, so you can stay updated and educated on the latest consumer tech news and products. On this week show, Optus has launched new build your own mobile plans to suit your needs, Canon is now offering an unmatched 5-year warranty on their cameras and lenses and Tesla has unveiled the Cybertruck –  a vehicle built like an armoured tank that has divided the motor industry. In the Tech Guide reviews, we’ll take a look at the new 16-inch MacBook Pro, TCL has…

The Samsung Galaxy A90 5G smartphone is now available and bringing affordable 5G connectivity to Australian customers on the Telstra and Optus networks. The device is available through Samsung channels, Telstra and Optus stores and selected retailers. It is priced at $1,049 making it one of most affordable 5G smartphone on the market today and the cheapest 5G device from a major brand. The Samsung Galaxy A90 5G has a 6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED Infinity U display to enjoy your content on the move. Also onboard is a 48-megapixel main camera alongside a 5-megapixel and 8-megapixel ultrawide camera that make…

The new Apple 16-inch MacBook Pro is a huge jump for an already powerful laptop. Not only do you get an extra inch of screen space but a tremendous boost in power and performance. And this doesn’t just sit beside the 15-inch in the MacBook Pro range – it replaces it. The additional inch of screen real estate means a lot for users who would be attracted to this product like photographers, graphic designers, film editors, music producers and other creatives who want to stay productive on the move. Design-wise, the new 16-inch MacBook Pro looks almost identical to the…