Author: Stephen Fenech

In 2019, LG will not only offer stunning OLED TVs for our eyes but also impressive soundbars for our ears as well with a line-up of products created in collaboration with Meridian Audio. The company’s new soundbars have been designed to deliver superior audio quality as well as offering a modern and sleek look to fit in your home. LG has worked once again with Meridian on three of its new soundbars – the SL10YG, SL9YG and SL8YG. And the partnership on this occasion goes well beyond fine tuning with both companies engineering sound delivery for enhanced listening experience. Meridian…

Episode 373 of the Two Blokes Talking Tech podcast, with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long, takes look back at 2018 and what we can expect to see in 2019. Stephen and Trevor discuss the year that was – the hits and misses, the standout products and the new trends we saw in 2018. Then the blokes dust off the crystal ball and talk about the major technologies and products we’ll see next year and beyond. You can listen to the show right here on the Tech Guide site using the audio player below. Click on the…

The latest smartphones now have wireless charging capabilities and, with the release of Cygnett’s new range of wireless chargers, it’s a lot easier and convenient to keep our devices powered up anywhere. Whether we are at home, in the car or on the move, the new Cygnett wireless charges have got you covered. These include the Cygnett Race 10W Wireless Charging Mount for the car, the Cygnett ChargeUp Swift 10K Wireless Power Bank to use on the go, the Cygnett TwoFold 20W Dual Wireless Charger for the home and the Cygnett Prime 10W Wireless Charging Stand for wherever is convenient.…

If you’re looking for a tech bargain, then you’re going to be pleased with the Boxing Day sales which feature numerous products offered at significantly discounted prices. Those who were happy to wait to make that purchase until after Christmas will be rewarded handsomely. Some of the biggest brands and biggest products in tech are now on sale. AMAZON Amazon has kicked things off with some terrific Boxing Day deals including the new Echo Dot which has been reduced from $79 to $59. Or you can buy two second generation Echo Dot speakers for $49. The Amazon Echo has also…

LG will unveil its second generation CineBeam Laser 4K ultra short throw projector at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next month ahead of its release in Australia in 2019. The product, which won the CES 2019 Innovation Award, has a compact design but can project razor-sharp a 4K image up to 90 inches in size on any surface including walls, floors and the ceiling from a distance of just 5cm. When placed about 16 cm away from the surface, that image size jumps up to 120 inches. The LG CineBeam Laser 4K UST projector delivers 2500 ANSI…

It’s school holiday time and parents are now faced with the task of keeping their kids entertained during the break while at the same time managing their screen time. Dr Joanne Orlando, a leading expert when it comes to children and technology, says parents have lots of options over the summer holidays that will keep the kids happy, active and creative. She has come up with some great strategies to keep the kids happy without spending endless hours on devices. Here are Dr Jo’s Top 5 tips for managing screen time over the holidays: 1.Encourage your child to use their…

Episode 372 is the Christmas edition of the popular Two Blokes Talking Tech podcast with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long who look at the biggest stories and products of the week. On this week’s show – new Vodafone deals and Stephen’s NBN connection experience, Huawei’s StorySign app for deaf kids and the LifeGift app that could finally make drivers leave their phones alone while driving. Also on the show, the new cricket bat sensor and should we follow Tom Cruise’s advice and turn off motion smoothing on our TVs. You can listen to the show right…

Now we can watch free to air TV on our browsers thanks to the new world-first Freeview FV platform which has just been released. Freeview has launched FV on the web to stream live TV and on demand content on their Mac or PC. Australians can use any current browser to access the free FV website. The new easy-to-use platform allows viewers to discover new content on more than 20 free to air channels as well as access a comprehensive TV guide. With the addition of the new FV website, more Australians will be able access to free TV content through more…

Hisense will be hitting the ground running in 2019 with an updated smart TV operating system that will be integrated into its line-up of new ULED TVs next year. The company’s smart TVs will get even smarter thanks to the addition of VIDAA U3.0 AI which will offer enhanced connectivity, advanced smart home integration and even faster performance. The latest Hisense TVs with VIDAA U3.0 AI on board will also come with full integration of Amazon Alexa with customers able to take full advantage of the voice control functionality without an Echo device. This enhanced functionality will also be included…

Smartphones have become an alarming distraction in cars but a new app called LifeGift uses a powerful and emotional reminder to encourage drivers to keep their hands off their device in the car. That reminder is a personalised alert which includes a photo of your loved ones and a message urging you to drive safely and come home to them at the end of the day. Too often we hear reports of people texting while driving even at high speeds on the expressway. No amount of fines or lost demerit points seems to be having an impact. Most recently, the…

Tune in to our last show of the year – Episode 329 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, should we follow Tom Cruise’s advice and turn off motion smoothing on our televisions, our interesting experience with our NBN connection and Commonwealth Bank will finally be offering Apple Pay. In the Tech Guide reviews, we talk about the FZ One Family Zone smartphone with parental controls, the Huawei app that allows deaf children to enjoy story time…

After hearing about other people’s NBN stories for years, we’ve finally been connected ourselves to the NBN – and it was an interesting experience all round. We’ve been successfully connected and I have to say, I’m very pleased with the result so far. At our place in the south east Sydney, our NBN service is delivered with Fibre to the Curb which means there is fibre running up and down my street and it is brought in to my home via the copper line from the pit outside my house. I discovered the NBN was available when I received a…

When we watch Tom Cruise he is normally performing his own death-defying stunts but his most recent appearance was telling us how we should be watching movies on our televisions at home. The Mission Impossible star posted a short video to Twitter standing beside director Christopher McQuarrie talking about video interpolation – in other words, motion smoothing. He and McQuarrie went back and forth basically saying your high definition television’s motion smoothing, which is on by default, was making movies look like they were shot on high-speed video rather than film. Cruise suggested googling how to switch off this feature,…

Huawei has launched an AI powered app called StorySign which can enrich storytelling for deaf and hard of hearing children and their parents. There are more than 32 million deaf children globally and between 250 and 400 deaf children born in Australia each year. With the help of StorySign and the power of Huawei AI, the app can translate the featured book through the smartphone’s camera into sign language page by page and still deliver a rewarding and enjoyable experience. It will be available in Australia from February 2019 and will include the popular children’s book Where’s Spot at launch.…

Anyone who owns an iPhone or iPad knows the importance of a good charge and Belkin has developed a power bank that can be charged using your phone’s Lightning cable. This means users only need one cable to charge their iPhone and iPad and charge the Belkin Boost Charge Power Bank itself. It has MFI-certification (Apple’s licensing program) so the device can be recharged quickly via the Lightning connector with 2.4A input. The power bank itself, available in 5000mAh and 10,000mAh capacities, are small, thin and lightweight which means they’re easy to carry with you. The Belkin Boost Charge Power…

Tune it to Two Blokes Talking Tech Episode 371, with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long, as they cover the week’s biggest news and product announcements. On this week’s show, Apple Pay finally coming to the Commonwealth Bank, the top Google searches for 2018 and Oppo tops the smartphone Canstar satisfaction ratings. Also on the program, the PowerDolphin underwater drone and the blokes talk about the best tech Christmas gift ideas. In the reviews, we check out the HP Spectre Folio and Rodecaster podcast studio which we actually used to record the show. You can listen to…

Christmas is just over a week away and there’s still time to find the right present for your friends and family with Tech Guide’s 12 Days of Christmas Gift Ideas. It’s the 12thand final day and today we’re taking a look at computers and related products. Here are Tech Guide’s 12 Days of Christmas Gift Ideas: Day 1: Cameras Day 2: Smartphones Day 3: Wearables/smartwatches Day 4: Headphones/speakers DAY 5: Gaming DAY 6: Tablets/e-readers DAY 7: Drones/Gadgets DAY 8: Smart/IoT devices DAY 9: In-car gadgets DAY 10: TVs/Blu-Ray/4K DAY 11: Appliances DAY 12: Computers DAY 12: Computers MacBook Air – from $1,849 When Apple introduced the MacBook Air in 2008 it set…

Smartphone manufacturer Alcatel has two big reasons to celebrate this Christmas – it increased its revenue in Australia by 188 per cent in 2018 and was just announced as the new major sponsorship partner of the South Sydney Rabbitohs. The announcement, which will see Alcatel as the main sponsor of the team’s away jersey, was made at a special event attended by South Sydney players, officials and media. Alcatel has been a loyal sponsorship partner of the South Sydney rugby league team for eight years and has signed a new agreement that will see the popular brand displayed on the…

One of the most interesting snapshots of 2018 comes via Google which has just released its top searches for the year with sport, celebrities and news events dominating our online explorations. This year we continued to look for information, tried to find answers to our most curious questions and jumped on a few worldwide bandwagons throughout 2018. Overall, it was sport that dominated with the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games taking out the top two spots followed by new princess Meghan Markle coming in third. Sadly it was celebrities who passed away during the year that also figured prominently…

Commonwealth Bank customers who use an iPhone – your Christmas wish has been granted. Australia’s largest bank will finally be offering Apple Pay to its customers – from January 2019. CommBank will become only the second of the big four banks, after the ANZ, to include Apple Pay as a payment option with the CommBank credit and debit cards using their iPhone at the tap and go terminal. Payment is then confirmed with a fingerprint or Face ID on the customer’s iPhone. Angus Sullivan, Group Executive of Retail Banking Services, said: “We recently wrote to our customers asking them what…