Author: Stephen Fenech

Alcatel, the company which has made a name for itself making quality affordable smartphones, will be offering footy fans a chance to win a life-changing one million dollars. In a stunning activation that’s part of Alcatel’s sponsorship of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, one lucky fan could win a million dollars at each of the Rabbitohs’ 12 home games. Entry to the Try for a Million competition is free but also limited to the first 5,000 entrants ahead of South Sydney’s first home game of the year against the Gold Coast Titans. To win the million dollars, fans will need to…

Samsung has announced the pricing and availability of its 2019 home entertainment range which includes 8K TVs, its 4K QLED TVs and the line-up of soundbars. There are now more screen sizes to choose from with even more that are 75-inches and above. The 2019 Samsung QLED TVs offer improved picture quality, wider viewing angles, a more intuitive user interface and new design elements. “Our 2019 home entertainment range has been designed for Australians who want the best combination of picture and sound quality, smart TV capabilities and design,” says Jeremy Senior, head of consumer electronics at Samsung Australia. “Samsung…

Sony has unveiled the world’s smallest and lightest premium compact camera – the RX0 II – which combines the versatility and ruggedness of an action camera with the quality of a dedicated digital camera. The Sony RX0 II measures just 59mm x 40.5mm x 35mm and weighs in at a lightweight 132g. It includes a Zeiss Tessar 24mm f4 fixed wide-angle lens with a 15.3-megapixel image sensor. And it’s all packed into a compact and rugged waterproof body that easily fits in your pocket and ready to go anywhere. It can handle going to a depth of up to 10m…

Taking photos with our smartphones is something we do every day and the new Huawei P30 Pro offers incredible new photographic abilities no other smartphone has been able to achieve before. Tech Guide has taken a hands on look at the P30 Pro in Paris and put the incredible camera through its paces. Design-wise the P30 Pro is pretty slick with a stunning 6.47-inch curved OLED display that includes a small notch for the 32-megapixel front facing camera. On the back panel of the three Leica lenses and, beneath the flash, is the small TOF (time-of-flight lens. Despite having such…

Huawei has unveiled its latest flagship smartphones – the P30 and P30 Pro – which takes mobile photography to an all-new level and deliver results that need to be seen to be believed. A year ago Huawei’s P20 Pro was named the best mobile phone camera by DxOMark but the company has managed to improve it even further with what the company is calling the world’s most advanced camera system. And the P30 Pro camera has now been awarded a higher score of 112 by DxOMark (the P20 Pro scored 109 alongside the Samsung Galaxy S10+) and is now rated…

Download Episode 341 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast hosted by editor Stephen Fenech to stay updated and educated about the latest consumer tech news and reviews. On this week’s show, why your water resistant iPhone is not covered under warranty for water damage – two Tech Guide readers found that out the hard way. We contacted Apple on their behalf to see if there was anything we could do – tune in to hear Apple’s response. Also on the show, and still on Apple, the company announces updated iPad Mini and iPad Air along with a faster range of…

Apple has announced Apple TV+ – the company’s new streaming service which will boast original programming from some of the world’s most talented creators including Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston and JJ Abrams. At this latest event, Apple had no new iPhone, iPad or other product to announce but a raft of content services including Apple Arcade for games and Apple News+ – a new subscription service that will offer access to more than 300 magazines from a wide range of categories and interests. Apple’s new original video subscription service will include inspiring and authentic stories with…

Today, professional gaming has gained a lot of popularity, and it is anticipated that it will keep growing. The popularity hails from the fact that pro gaming has become a reliable source of income across the world. However, the competition in the gaming platforms is tight; therefore, pro gamers have to master their skills to rise above other gamers. To escalate the pro-gaming ladder, you have to be dedicated and put in a lot of work. That’s why this article will outline ten things that you need to master for pro gaming. 1.    Have your hardware in order If you wish…

We all use apps on our smartphones but did you know they are giving away your personal information and location. A recent report in the New York Times said many companies receive anonymous and precise location data from apps whenever the user enables location services when they want to access local news and weather. And the same report highlighted that these same companies are also tracking up to 200 million mobile devices in the US alone. Companies use apps to source location data to provide advertisers and affiliate businesses says Anushka Bandara, co-founder and CEO of Elegant Media, one of…

Coffee lovers take a look at the new Jura E8 fully automatic coffee machine that can produce your favourite brew at the press of a button. Available in piano black, the updated Jura E8 now includes a wider choice of coffee specialties and a new professional fine foam frother. There are now 12 coffee varieties available at the press of a button including espresso macchiato, espresso doppio and even hot water for green tea. The new rotating professional fine foam frother G2 creates finely textured milk foam with the right consistency for a café-quality cappuccino or a hot chocolate. On…

In 1995 roughly 16 million people were connecting to the internet. Today that number has grown to a significant, 4.3 billion connected users across the globe. The rate at which technology is evolving is mind blowing. Business adoption to technology is becoming alarmingly important and fundamental to surviving. To outwit and take a bigger share of the pie, small business owners should be looking to engage with their customers online. After all this is where most of us shop, socialise and earn a living. The following are five tech trends your business should explore, to get an advantage over the…

Jaybird has already made a name for itself in the wireless earphones space and its new Run XT wire-free and waterproof earphones will certainly enhance its already fine reputation. The Jaybird Run XT earphones tick all the boxes when it comes to audio quality, design and durability. For a start they have an IPX7 rating which now makes the earphones totally waterproof so they can easily handle a hard workout session whether you’re sweating in the gym or out running in the rain. On the design side, the Jaybird buds are quite small and are the right shape to fit…

Did you know that your water resistant iPhone is not covered under warranty for water damage? A couple of Tech Guide readers found that out the hard way this week after their iPhones were soaked in their pockets during a downpour. Now you’d think that a device with an IP67 rating – which means it can be submerged in 1m of water for up to 30 minutes – would be able to handle a bit of rain. IP stands for ingress protection with the first number the rating for solid particle protection and the second for liquid ingress protection. Our…

Amazon has unveiled an all-new Kindle e-reader which has an updated design and allows users to adjust the display brightness depending on the lighting conditions whether they’re inside or out. The redesigned Kindle also features the latest electronic ink technology for even better contrast and a real paper-like reading experience. The 6-inch 167ppi (pixels per inch) glare-free display has even better contrast and uses capacitive touch to prevent accidental swipes. The new adjustable front light provides the precise amount of light for your reading depending on your environment and still provides weeks of use on a single charge. The refreshed…

Dyson has launched its all-new V11 cord free vacuum which boasts the most powerful suction of any cord free vacuum in the market. It’s even 20 per cent more powerful than last year’s Dyson Cyclone V10. With the V11, Dyson has once again raised the bar and created a new machine that blends design, technology and performance into a single unit. There are improvements across the board and Tech Guide was lucky enough to get our hands on the V11 ahead of its release. Dyson says the V11 is the culmination of more than a decade of cord free vacuum…

Apple has released the second-generation of its popular AirPods wireless earphones which now offer the convenience of hands-free “Hey Siri” and a new wireless charging case. The new AirPods include improved performance, faster connect times and longer talk time. AirPods are now available with the standard charging case or the new wireless charging case which can be charged on the go using any Qi-compatible charging mat. The new H1 chip includes custom audio architecture to create an improved audio experience along with easier and faster synchronisation. The new AirPods, which look identical to the first gen AirPods, deliver up to…

Join Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long – the Two Blokes Talking Tech – for Episode 382 as take a look at the latest tech issues and products. On this week’s show we take a detailed look at the new 2019 range of LG TVs and go through each category – OLED, Super UHD and UHD – and explain the new technlology, the new AI and voice assistants onboard and the webOS software that can help pick up catch up content where you left off and also discover new content. The blokes also check out LG’s impressive…

Apple has just updated its iMac range with faster processors, improved graphics performance and faster storage which is all housed in a sleek all-in-one aluminium and glass enclosure. For the first time, the new Apple iMac will come with up to 8-core Intel 9th generation processors and powerful Vega graphics options which will suit consumers and professionals alike. Also on board is the bright Retina display (4K on the 21.5-inch and 5K on the 27-inch) which has up to 14.7 million pixels that’s capable of displaying a billion colours with 500 nits of brightness and the P3 wide colour gamut.…

Hisense has introduced a new refrigerator – the Black Steel 453L Bottom Mount – which has earned Australia’s  highest Energy Star rating. The only other Australian refrigerator with  a 5.5 Energy Star rating is the Liebherr CNef 4315 which was launched in July 2018. Priced at $1,699, the Hisense Black Steel 453L Bottom Mount Refrigerator includes an inverter compressor motor and a proprietary vacuum insulation panel which provides its amazing efficiency. “We are all increasingly concerned by rising household energy bills and the impact this has on our electricity use and on the environment,” says Andre Iannuzzi, head of marketing Hisense…

Join in and listen to Episode 340 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast hosted by editor Stephen Fenech so you can stay updated and educated about the latest consumer tech news and reviews. On this week’s show, LG and Samsung reveal pricing and availability of its 2019 range of TVs, Apple has confirmed a late March launch event and has named the date for its Worldwide Developers Conference and Tesla unveils its new Model Y electric SUV. In the Tech Guide reviews, we take a hands-on look at the new Panasonic Lumix S Series cameras, BenQ has released affordable true…