Author: Stephen Fenech

Virgin Mobile is closing down after Optus made the decision to phase out the brand over the next two years. So what are your options if you are a current Virgin Mobile customer? If you are a Virgin Mobile customer, there is no need to panic. The service will continue for up to two years with June 15, 2018 the cut-off for upgrading and selling new services with the mobile brand. Virgin Mobile enjoyed 18 years in the Australian market as part of the Optus stable. Even though the decision has been made to phase out the brand, current customers…

It’s time to listen to Episode 345 of the popular Two Blokes Talking Tech podcast, with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long as they discuss the week’s biggest tech stories and products. In this week’s show, what we can expect to see at Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference, the iOS 11.4 update that allows for HomePod stereo pairing and multiroom audio with AirPlay 2 and Virgin Mobile to close down. Also on the program the new eBay Plus membership option, Tinder’s new features, our thoughts on the Solo Star Wars movie and Tesla’s plans to expand its Supercharger…

If you don’t think parental controls are important you better take a look at the latest stats which show up to 30 per cent of pre-teens are viewing porn online and 13 per cent are visiting gambling sites. This alarming data compiled by Family Zone Cyber Safety Ltd, also revealed almost half of 13 to 15-year-olds (45 per cent) are visiting porn sites while a quarter (24 per cent) are looking at online betting. And while parents’ concerns about their children’s online activities grow, many have no idea how to control or limit their kids’ devices. “The majority of parental…

Apple has just issued the iOS 11.4 software update for iPhone and iPad they will give Apple’s HomePod speakers new abilities including playing as a stereo pair and multiroom audio set-up. Included with this update is AirPlay 2 which will enable wireless multiroom audio not only with Apple’s HomePod speakers but with other AirPlay 2 compatible speakers as well including speakers from brands like Sonos, Bose, Denon, Bowers & Wilkins, Libratone, Marshall, Pioneer and Bang & Olufsen. You can control your music from any iOS device, HomePod, Apple TV or just by asking Siri. Users can play music on individual…

Ladies and Gentleman, lend me your ears for Episode 301 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 inbox is filled with emails about privacy policy updates, HTC unveils its new flagship U12+ smartphone and Tesla unveils plans to expand its Supercharger network across Australia. In the Tech Guide reviews, we check out the Audio Technica ANC700BT noise cancelling headphones, the ASUS Zenbook Flip 14 2-in-1 laptop and the Ultimate Ears Blast and Megablast wireless speakers that now…

eBay has launched a new shopping membership program called eBay Plus which will give members free delivery on more than 15 million products available at the online marketplace. Due to kick off in mid-June, eBay Plus will allow shoppers even more freedom to purchase from sellers on ebay.com.au without the added expense of delivery costs. Research has shown more than a third (36 per cent) of Australia’s 13.6 million online shoppers on average spent $71 in delivery fees annually. And almost one in 10 (8 per cent) spent more than $200. eBay Plus membership will usually cost $49 per year…

Just how big a Star Wars fan are you? And how much would you be willing to pay for a screen-used piece of the Death Star in the original 1977 film. You can find out for yourself – it’s on eBay right now. The prop, which was created 41 years ago, was one of several sectional pieces created to form the surface of the Death Star and was seen in the climactic final battle of the film. At the time of writing, the bidding on the piece had reached $US10,600 on eBay with six days remaining in the auction. The…

Tesla has unveiled plans to expand its Supercharger network across the country to enable long distance travel for the rapidly growing number of its electric vehicles being sold in Australia. The company intends to create another 18 Supercharger stations which will be rolled out over the next 18 months and include popular tourist areas like the Gold Coast, Canberra and the Great Ocean Road. The first 20 Supercharger sites have already connected cities from Adelaide all the way through to Brisbane along the major highways. Tesla’s new sites will be located along popular holiday routes and also provide additional metropolitan…

Belkin has filled a gap in the audio cable market with the release of the 3.5mm Audio Cable with Lightning Connector so users can connect their latest iPhones to their cars and speakers with a single cable. Before this product was released, iPhone 7, iPhone 8 and iPhone X (which don’t have headphone jacks) required the Lightning to 3.5mm adaptor to connect to the AUX IN port of car or speakers. This cable allows wired connection for those who can’t or don’t want to connect wirelessly via Bluetooth. Belkin has a 30-year legacy in creating high quality audio cables for…

The great thing about noise cancelling headphones is being able to block out the outside world and the new Audio-Technica ANC700BT QuietPoint headphones deliver on all fronts. The headphones can not only cancel the ambient noise around you, it can also provide excellent audio quality and connect to your mobile devices wirelessly. The Audio-Technica ANC700BT headphones are nicely designed, lightweight and comfortable to wear for hours at a time. Each of the ear cups have memory foam padding and have a large circumference so they cover your entire ear. They also feature new noise isolation technology that operates in a…

If you have an Amazon Alexa speaker and love listening to the massive selection of audiobooks from Audible you can now hear those books just by asking anywhere in your home. So whether you’re relaxing, cooking or cleaning you can easily pick up where you left off in your audiobook using simple commands. To play a book in your library you simply say: “Alexa, read (the name of the book in your library). If you want to pause or resume your audiobook you can say “Alexa, pause” or “Alexa, resume my book”. And it’s also just as easy to skip…

The Vivid Sydney festival kicks off tonight and for the first time Samsung is an official partner and will offer experiences using the company’s popular Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ smartphones. Part of the partnership will allow festival goers to literally change the face of the iconic Luna Park amusement park. Using the personalised AR emoji on the Galaxy S9, you will be able to turn your selfie into an animation that will be projected onto the face of the fun park’s entrance. In its 83 year history, the face of the Luna Park has only changed its appearance nine…

It might say “A Star Wars story” after the Solo title but this exciting, intriguing and clever tale could have been set in any universe and still been an exceptional movie. * THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW – SO READ ON!! * The fact that it’s set in the Star Wars universe automatically makes it appealing to a legion of fans. And also because the central character happens to be one of the most popular to be found in a galaxy far, far away. Deftly directed by Ron Howard and with a solid, surprising and emotional script…

Tune in to Two Blokes Talking Tech Episode 344, with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long, as we cover the biggest tech stories and products of the week. On this week’s show, the Telstra outage and what this means for the telco, Optus and its cable broadband issues and HTC unveils its new U12+ smartphone. Also on the program, the new Lyf telco for millenials and how to check if you’re spending too much money on your mobile plan. In the minute reviews we take a look at the Ultimate Ears Blast and Megablast speakers which now…

ASUS knows a thing or two about computers and laptops and taken that knowledge to the next level to come up with the ZenBook Flip 14 – a 2-in-1 laptop that offers both power and elegance. The ASUS ZenBook Flip 14, which runs Windows 10, is actually the world’s thinnest 2-in-1 to use discrete graphics so don’t think for a minute that having such a wafer thin product compromises the power at your fingertips. You have the choice of using it as a laptop or flipping the 360-degree touchscreen display and using it as a tablet or a sketchpad. And…

HTC has unveiled its latest flagship smartphone – the U12+ – which includes a number of convenient features that will help make it stand out from the crowd of other Android devices in the market. Due for release in mid-June, the HTC U12+ has a 6-inch 18:9 screen as well as Edge Sense 2 which offers the convenience of one-handed operation. A double tap on either edge brings your screen within your thumb’s reach. The phone can even detect that you are holding it – especially when you’re lying down – so the screen won’t annoyingly rotate while you’re trying…

It’s our big 300thEpisode of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast, hosted by editor Stephen Fenech, that has always been updating and educating listeners about the latest consumer tech news and reviews. On this week’s show, how Optus broadband congestion issues are impacting users, Telstra suffers yet another national outage and are you paying too much for your mobile bill? In the Tech Guide reviews, we take a deep dive into the Huawei P20 Pro smartphone, we run our eye over the Tello mini drone and talk about the Teleportivity platform that is being called the Uber of customer service. In…

Ultimate Ears is back with brand-new wireless portable speakers that offer impressive 360-degree sound and this time out they also have Amazon Alexa built right in. The Ultimate Ears Megablast and Blast have taken things up a notch from the previous generation of Megaboom and Boom products. They have been reengineered with custom drivers and pack in more powerful mid-range output and even deeper bass. Also included for the first time is wi-fi connectivity and far-field voice recognition microphones to power Amazon Alexa. And it’s all packed into a smaller and thinner shape but offering the same signature sound quality.…

Telstra’s 3G and 4G services are back to normal after yet another national outage that crippled the network and affected customers across Australia. But the company says it still doesn’t know the cause of the problem. Speaking the ABC, Telstra’s group managing director of networks Mike Wright said today’s issues had nothing to do with the previous outages on May 1 and May 4. The trouble started at 10am with connectivity issues with the 4G portion of the Telstra network which resulted in a shift of traffic to the 3G layer which could not cope with the massive influx of…

Australians love to stay in touch but we are paying big money to stay connected with our mobiles and our broadband at home – about $9 billion a year to be precise. So how do you know if you’re paying too much? Comparison site Finder.com.au surveyed more than 2000 Australians to check their spending habits for their mobile and home Internet accounts. The study revealed that Australian adults pay an average of $44 per month for their mobile phone plan which is down from $48 in 2017. This means we spend $770 million a month on mobile plan payments which…