Author: Stephen Fenech

It might come as no surprise that not everyone is happy with the NBN. Research has revealed that as many as a third of NBN customers wish they could switch back to their old service. Finder conducted a survey among 958 Australians on the NBN resulting in 34 per cent saying they would go back to their pre-NBN service if they have the option. There are numerous reasons for this with the most popular being reliability and speed. Victorians lead the way in wanting to switch back to a non-NBN connection (40 per cent) followed by NSW (38 per cent)…

The latest version of the BlackBerry smartphone has just been unveiled at an event in New York. The BlackBerry KEY2 has a sleek design and features the iconic physical keyboard and trademark security. The device was launched by TCL Communication, BlackBerry’s brand licensing partner, and will be available globally in late June, early July. The BlackBerry KEY2 is an elegant follow-up in the KEY series with an aluminium frame for added durability and offering a clean and uncluttered look. It also has a soft touch rear panel with a diamond pattern that just adds to the premium design while providing…

Can you believe it’s already been six years since Spotify launched in Australia? And to celebrate Spotify has just released a comprehensive Six Year in Review which reveals the music we love the most and the events that inspired our music choices. The review tracks which artists Australians have streamed the most, our favourite albums, the most popular tracks and the key moments in global culture and how they impacted what we listened to. The standout Australian artists in six years have been Flume – he was the most streamed Aussie artist followed by Sia whose song “Cheap Thrills” was…

Tesla has certainly give the motoring industry a serious shake-up with its high-tech electric cars. Tech Guide got a chance to step inside the company’s mega-factory located in Fremont on the outskirts of Silicon Valley. The factory tour is reserved for Tesla employees and Tesla owners (Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech now drives a Tesla Model S) and is covered by an NDA so while we can talk in general about our experience, we couldn’t take any photos inside. The Tesla factory in Fremont is located on the east side of the San Francisco Bay Area and is a short…

Sonos has unveiled a brand new soundbar that’s both wireless and smart. It’s called Beam and it can play your music, TV shows and movies and can be completely controlled with your voice. Sonos Beam will be available on July 17 for $599 and pre-orders are now open. The soundbar has a compact design and is ideal for small to medium size rooms and can be positioned on an entertainment unit in front of your TV or mounted on the wall below it. And naturally, Sonos Beam, can be integrated into your existing Sonos multiroom system and controlled just as…

Episode 346 of the popular Two Blokes Talking Tech podcast, with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long, is coming to you from Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose. The show was recorded in Apple’s Podcast Studio in the McEnery Convention Centre. On this week’s program we go through all the Apple announcements from the Worldwide Convention Centre keynote. We talk about iOS 12 for the iPhone and iPad, macOS Mojave for the Mac, watchOS 5 for the Apple Watch and tvOS 12 for the Apple TV. And we talk about the new hardware that was NOT…

Everywhere you look here in San Jose you will see plenty of electric scooters parked on the sidewalk. They are available to anyone who wants to ride them to their next meeting or just for fun instead of catching a taxi or calling an Uber But, unlike the shared bicycles littering Australian streets, these electric scooters – from companies Lime and Bird – are collected every night and recharged before being deployed to the San Jose streets bright and early at 6am for the commuter crowd. We’ve seen the scooters in use during Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, with attendees using…

Beats by Dr Dre has released yet another collection – this time it’s the Pop Collection which offers a colourful new look to two of the favourite wireless headphones in the range. Released just days after dropping the cool Decade Collection, the Beats by Dr Dre Pop Collection provides a vibrant new version of the Solo3 Wireless and the Powerbeats3 Wireless. Inspired by the bold pop art movement, both headphones come in four colour themes – POP Violet, POP Indigo, POP Magenta and POP Blue. Beats has also teamed up with British singer/producer MNEK and Spanish artist Okuda San Miguel…

ASUS has unveiled the latest addition to the Zenbook range at Computex in Taiwan including the Zenbook Pro which introduces ScreenPad that combines the trackpad with a full-colour touchscreen. The Zenbook Pro UX580 has a 15.6-inch display with 4K UHD resolution and can be powered by up to the eight generation Intel Core i9 processors with 16GB DDR4 RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050Ti and up to 1TB SSD storage. It is housed in a sleek all-metal unibody with the iconic spun metal finish available in either Deep Dive Blue or Rose Gold detailing. But it’s that ScreenPad that’s getting people’s…

If you want to stay updated and educated about the latest consumer tech news and reviews then you need to get Episode 302 of the top rating Tech Guide podcast, hosted by Stephen Fenech, in your ears. On this week’s show, Amazon’s US site now off limits to Australians, Virgin Mobile is closing down so what can existing customers do and how Family Zone parental controls are leading the way at home and in schools. In the Tech Guide reviews, we check out the new Apple HomePod capabilities, the Beats by Dr Dre Decade Collection and the Honda device that…

Apple TV will now support Dolby Atmos sound with the upcoming tvOS 12 update which was showcased at Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose. The release of Apple TV 4K last year was a hit and it now gives viewers access to 4K movie and TV content. And now, with the tvOS 12 update, it will get even better thanks to Dolby Atmos support. In fact, Apple TV 4K will be the only streaming device that can support Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision so your movies will look and sound better than ever before. iTunes will now also be home…

Apple Watch might be a small device but it’s going to get a huge update with watchOS 5 including the ability to turn it into a walkie talkie on your wrist to instantly talk to your friends and family. Apple Watch will become an even more capable to not only stay in touch but to also track your workouts even easier with the software update unveiled at the Worldwide Developers Conference. “We’re thrilled with the positive impact Apple Watch is having on people’s lives,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. “Apple Watch is helping our customers stay connected, enhance their…

Apple has revealed the name of its new macOS – it’s Mojave – and with it numerous new features to improve your workflow, organise and access your documents and surf the internet hassle free. Unveiled at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, macOS Mojave will be available in Spring as a free download. Apple also introduced iOS 12, tvOS 12 and watchOS 5. The focus on this update is to help the user find their content faster and get things done and that’s made possible with numerous improvements to the desktop and Finder. “macOS Mojave is a major update…

Apple has unveiled its suite of software upgrades for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV at the 2018 Worldwide Developers Conference that will enable a range of handy new features and capabilities. More than 6,000 developers were in attendance at the keynote at the McEnery Convention Centre in San Jose to see first-hand all of the new upgrades which they will be able to incorporate in their latest apps. This will be the App Store’s 10thbirthday and in that time, Apple has paid more than $100 billion to developers. Apple’s approach to these software upgrades is being…

Amaysim has launched a limited offer that will allow customers to receive two free 15GB mobile plans with unlimited talk and text for a saving of more than $1000 per year. So how can you get it? To get these free mobile plans, customers have to switch their energy to one of Amaysim’s eligible electricity, gas or solar plans. And for that you get two 15GB mobile plans with unlimited talk and text valued at $40 for 28 days. Amaysim’s research shows that 57 per cent of Australian households are worried they are spending too much on household services like…

Elgato has expanded its family of Eve smart home products that work seamlessly with Apple’s HomeKit – the Eve Aqua and the Eve Flare – which can communicate with existing Eve products. Eve Aqua attaches to your outdoor faucet and turns it into an intelligent outlet so you can monitor and automate your irrigation systems. You can create schedules in the Eve app or with HomeKit as well as track your water consumption as well. Eve Aqua also makes it possible to activate and stop your sprinklers via your iPhone is using your voice with Siri. The unit is UV…

Global sales of smartphones returned to growth in the first quarter of 2018 with a 1.3 per cent increase in sales from the same period in 2017 with Apple’s market share increasing as Samsung’s share shrunk. There were 384 million smartphones sold in the Q1 2018 – which represents 84 per cent of all phones sold globally. “Demand for premium and high-end smartphones continued to suffer due to marginal incremental benefits during upgrade,” said Anshul Gupta, research director at Gartner. “Demand for entry-level smartphones (sub-$100) and low mid-tier smartphones (sub-$150) improved due to better-quality models.” Samsung’s mid-tier devices were up against…

Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off early next week in San Jose and there has been plenty of speculation about what will be announced. Tech Guide has rounded up all the rumours to give you the lowdown of what we can expect to see. WWDC 2018 will be held at the McEnery Convention Centre with the keynote kicking off at 10am on June 4 –  which is 3am June 5, Sydney time. This event obviously focuses on software and is attended by the world’s best developers who get to hear first-hand what Apple’s new operating systems will offer. Whenever…

Beats by Dr Dre is celebrating its 10 year anniversary with the launch of the new Decade Collection which highlights the company’s latest products which are specially styled in its signature red accents. The Decade Collection is made up of the Beats Studio3 wireless over-ear headphones, Beats Solo3 wireless on-ear headphones, BeatsX wireless earphones, Powerbeat3 wireless earphones and the urBeats earphones. The original Beats Studio headphones in 2008 was the product that sent the company soaring and eventually dominated the premium headphone category. The product gained a huge following and introduced a whole new generation to quality audio. In a…

When we think of Honda, the first thing that comes to mind are cars but the company has come up with Walking Assist – an all-new and innovative device that can support people with weakened leg muscles to walk properly again. Walking Assist has been in development for 16 years and has just been given approval as a medical device with the EU. The product is placed on the patient’s lower back while hinges on either side link to straps that are fixed just above the knee. The device that supports efficient walking of people who are receiving training or…