Author: Stephen Fenech

LG has kicked off the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show with a commitment to provide an additional layer of intelligence to its products across the home to truly live up to its motto of “innovation for a better life”. The rubber will hit the road in 2018 with that corporate philosophy as the products across the company portfolio including appliances, TVs, speakers and air conditioners incorporate the LG ThinQ AI. LG ThinQ AI will not only allow all of these devices to talk to each other but to also learn from the users in the home. These products can evolve over…

Ecovacs Robotics, the company whose technology vacuumed your carpet and mopped your floor, has just unveiled its latest innovation – the cordless WINBOT X –  which can now clean your windows. The product was unveiled at the International Consumer Electronics Show and was an Innovation Award Honouree winner. The cordless WINBOT X is a first of its kind device and can move freely along windows  inside and out regardless of its proximity to a power source. It has a four-step cleaning process which allows the WINBOT X to adapt itself to the window and move around safely while cleaning. “The…

Garmin has just revealed its new daily activity tracker – the vivofit 4 –  which has a sunlight readable always-on colour display and an onboard battery that will last for more than a year. The device is slim with a comfortable band and designed to be worn 24/7. It is also water resistant so it can handle a swim and can be worn while you’re taking a shower. The vivofit 4 is ready to go out of the box and can be paired with your smartphone to enable a number of features and provide notifications. Garmin designed the vivofit 4…

No matter where you want to charge your mobile devices, Belkin has got you covered with wireless solutions whether you’re at home, driving in your car or for commercial use. Belkin will unveil its new universal wireless charging solutions for the first time at the International Consumer Electronics Show which kicks off in Las Vegas next week. These new Boost Up wireless charging products will be compatible with the latest iPhones, Samsung smartphones and other Qi-enabled devices. Australian pricing and availability is yet to be announced. “This year we are taking our extensive knowledge of consumer trends, expected changes in…

We’re already big fans of the Tesla electric cars and our latest time behind the wheel of the Model S P100D allowed us to explore two amazing autonomous features for driving and parking. This vehicle is capable of driving itself thanks to its advanced range of sensors, cameras and radar which gives it 360 degrees of visibility with a range of 250m. Tesla Vision adds powerful processing tools built on a deep neural network to take the input from the sensors and cameras to create a driving capability well beyond a human’s abilities. With Enhanced Autopilot, the Tesla will adjust…

The Two Blokes Talking Tech, Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long, are back for 2018 with Episode 328 and look at what we can expect to see at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. On this week’s show, the blokes explain how CES works and how the major companies time their releases for the event. The Consumer Electronics Show is not only where new products are revealed, it is also where deals are done with the major retailers deciding what products they will stock in their stores in 2018. We also take a look at…

LG will be making its smart TVs even smarter and taking the picture quality to another level when it unveils its exciting 2018 range of OLED and Super UHD TVs at the International Consumer Electronics Show which kicks off in Las Vegas next week. The company will introduce ThinQ artificial intelligence which will allow the implementation of voice control and voice requests on its open smart platform alongside third-party AI services. This means users can talk directly into the TVs remote control to access content and enjoy the products features. Under the hood the new smart TV line-up will be…

The Tech Guide podcast is back for 2018! You can get updated and educated about the latest consumer technology with Episode 280 of the top rating podcast, hosted by Stephen Fenech. On this week’s show, how an angry Telstra customer’s NBN problems were solved by the police called to arrest him, Apple issues an apology for slowing down old iPhones and why Apple may be also buying Netflix. In the Tech Guide reviews, we take a look at Huawei Mate 10 Pro smartphone, the Netgear Arlo Go security camera that can be used anywhere and the JBL Link smart voice…

If you’re after an all-in-one printer that can print photos and documents as well as scan and copy and not have to worry about ink for two years then you need to take a look at the Epson ET-4750. It’s even a fax machine, if you’re one of the few remaining people who still likes to fax documents. Naturally, the printer has wi-fi connectivity so we can it be used by any computer or mobile device on your network without cables. It’s a surprisingly compact unit (37.5 cm wide, 34.7 cm long and 23.1 cm high) despite it being packed…

How far would you be willing to go to sort out your Internet issues? One man staged a sit in at a Sydney Telstra store until police were called. But they didn’t arrest him – they actually solve his problem. The Sydney Morning Herald reports Matt Dooley, after months of battling with Telstra to get his NBN connection installed, refused to leave the store at the Marrickville Metro until his issues were resolved. Instead of working for a positive outcome for the customer, Telstra called the police and when they arrived they actually took the customer’s side and helped him…

One of the standout predictions by business analysts for 2018 is that tech giant Apple is likely to buy the world’s number one subscription video on demand service Netflix. According to Citi analysts, there is a 40 per cent chance Apple will acquire Netflix. And it could be all thanks to US President Donald Trump and his new tax laws. Under these new tax rules, Apple would be able to repatriate about $US220 billion in cash to the United States. In the past, Apple has avoided bringing tax back into the US to avoid high tax rates but these new…

It’s been a big year in technology and as 2017 draws to a close, Tech Guide has decided to hand out its awards for the best products we’ve seen throughout the year across all categories. We have seen a few trends emerge including the rise of smart Internet of Things devices, smarter speakers, smart appliances and smartphones fitting larger screens into smaller devices. Tech Guide has gone through the many categories of products and awarded what we believe to be the best product in that class. We have also included other products that might not have been the best but…

Australians are set to test the cellular networks to their limits with record usage predicted for the New Year’s Eve As we use our data, make mobile calls and send  each other text messages. Telstra is predicting Australians will use 1500TB of data on its mobile network as we see in the New Year. That’s the same amount of data one person would use watching Netflix high-definition content 24-hours a day for 57 years. Telstra says Australians will: – Download 1500TB of data (an increase of 47 per cent on 2016) – Make 47 million calls from mobiles (a 15…

Apple has apologised for letting down customers after it was revealed the company was throttling the performance of older iPhones to maintain performance with an ageing battery. In response to the feedback, Apple today issued a message to its customers about how it communicated this process and to clarify the misunderstandings about the issue. “We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down. We apologise,” Apple’s message read. The tech giant also announced plans to address customer concerns and regain the trust of anyone who doubted the company’s intentions by reducing the price of iPhone battery replacements…

Episode 327 is the last Two Blokes Talking Tech podcast for 2017 and Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long take a look back at the year that was in consumer tech. On this week’s show, we’ll pick our favourite products of the year in a number of categories and the devices that defined the year for us. The blokes take a look at the best smartphones of 2017 along with wearables, smartwatches and smart home devices. Stephen and Trevor also cast their eye over their favourite headphones, earphones and speakers along with the tech toys that caught…

Anything with the Star Wars brand on it will grab people’s attention. That is certainly the case with the new Philips Star Wars shavers which combines great grooming products with Star Wars flair and characters that will make them stand out from the crowd. There are eight Philips Star Wars shavers in the range – the SW9700 ($499), the SW7700 ($399), the SW6700 ($269), the SW5750 ($219), the SW5710 ($189), The SW5700 ($189), the SW3700 ($129) and the SW170 ($119). Each has a distinct Star Wars design and colour palette as well as symbols from the films with a price…

This post was sponsored by Samsung Samsung has reimagined the television and turned it into a work of art. The Frame is a TV one minute and a work of art the next and blends seamlessly into your home is decor like never before. Now customers can mount a Samsung 4K UHD TV on the wall and enjoy stunning picture quality and colour. And when they’re finished watching TV, they can turn it into a beautiful artwork with a range of paintings, prints and photos to suit your taste and style. The Frame, available in 55-inch and 65-inch sizes, includes…

You just bought your child a smartphone or tablet for Christmas but your duty of care doesn’t end there because you need to monitor what they’re doing at online. That’s where Family Zone comes in. Family Zone allows parents to filter content on any connected device at home and on the move and is an ideal safety platform to ensure their kids are not exposed to inappropriate content. Smartphones were a popular gift for children this Christmas but a parent’s responsibility includes keeping their kids safe online. Only a parent can decide the appropriate age to buy their child a…

This post was sponsored by Samsung Summer is here and we’re hitting the beach and swimming in the pool but we want to take our devices with us. In fact, research by Samsung shows our smartphone usage increases by 42 per cent during summer so it’s important your technology can stay by your side. Samsung’s range of products are “made for summer” and include its Galaxy smartphones and Gear smartwatches and fitness bands and the Gear 360 camera. Australians are pretty tech savvy and also love the great outdoors so having a product that keeps up with our lifestyle was…

If you’ve got an older iPhone and you think it’s slowing down – it’s not your imagination. Apple admitted it had throttled back older iPhones because they put too much strain on their ageing batteries. A Reddit post revealed benchmark tests of iPhones over time revealed processor performance decreased with battery degradation. A popular conspiracy theory is that this is a move by Apple to force customers to buy a new device, but the tech giant denied this and released a statement. “Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life…