Author: Stephen Fenech

If you’re looking to buy a drone for photography there are lot of choices out there. The GoPro Karma has lots going for it including the fact that it’s a recognised photography brand and it’s also a bloody good drone. If you’re already a GoPro user then the Karma is a great fit even if you’ve never flown a drone in your life. Other brands are little more intimidating and involved when it comes to flying and this can take the focus off the photography aspect of the whole thing. The GoPro Karma has addressed this and right out of…

Google Street view has ventured to the very heart of Australia’s red centre and captured the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park to allow people to take a virtual tour of the sacred site. The UNESCO World Heritage site is one of Australia’s most iconic landmarks and now people from around the world can enjoy it almost as if they are there. And it was done with the blessing of the traditional owners to showcase the size and majesty of Uluru which stands at 348m tall (that’s higher than Sydney’s Centerpoint Tower) and with a total circumference of 9.4 km (that’s as…

Linksys has launched its Velop home wi-fi mesh system to suit the size of your home and provide full speed across the entire network so all of your devices can enjoy a fast connection. Unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, the Linksys Velop can be installed in different mesh configurations with your choice of up to three nodes to suit your home networking needs. Each Velop node is a tri-band AC2200 device that can work either as a router, a range extender, access point and bridge to create the mesh network that will offer high…

Apple has kicked off a reality series on Apple Music called Planet of the Apps which allows budding app developers as they pitch their ideas to a panel of savvy celebrities with the hope of getting it funded. All of the world’s biggest apps started with an idea and this show could possibly uncover the next big thing. The 10-part series can be streamed on the Apple Music service with the first episode of the show available for free on iTunes. Part Shark Tank, part The Voice and just as competitive, Planet of the Apps features Jessica Alba, Gwyneth Paltrow,…

Fruit Ninja, created by Australian developer Halfbrick, has been one of the App Store success stories with more than 1.5 billion downloads. Well, get ready for Fruit Ninja 2. Tech Guide caught up with Halfbrick CEO Shainiel Deo at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose and he revealed some big news – Fruit Ninja 2 is coming to the App Store in early 2018. “The biggest thing I’m focused on is the next Fruit Ninja. It’s not quite going to make 2017 but it will be early 2018,” Deo told Tech Guide. “This is going to be a huge…

The iMac has undergone its biggest update ever. The stylish desktop computer is brighter, faster and better than ever before and packs quite a bit of grunt behind its sleek good looks. Unveiled at Apple’s worldwide developers conference in San Jose, the iMac family has had some dramatic improvements that will make it attractive to both professionals and consumers. On the design front, there’s not much that is different apart from some additional ports on the rear panel. It still has the distinctive all-in-one design and stand that makes it look like it’s defying gravity. Tech Guide had a chance…

Kogan.com has extended its partnership with Vodafone Australia beyond its mobile network and will be offering fixed line NBN services to its many customers from next year. The company will continue to offer competitive mobile plans which use the Vodafone network in 2017 and will on sell NBN services through Vodafone’s planned fixed line network which will be ready in 2018. Kogan Mobile has enjoyed success thanks to plans and pricing that challenged the bigger players and offered customers value. Kogan Mobile actually accounted for 4.2 per cent of Kogan.com’s profit in the six months ending December 2017. This deal…

Two Blokes Talking Tech Episode 302, 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 blokes recorded the show in Apple’s dedicated podcast studios in the McEnery Convention Centre where WWDC was being held. On the show, Stephen and Trevor talk about all the big announcements from the WWDC keynote including the new HomePod smart wireless speaker and iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra updates. Also on the program, the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro, the new range of iMacs, MacBooks and the iMac Pro. You can…

Of the many features announced for Apple’s new iOS 11, perhaps one of the most significant is the new Do Not Disturb While Driving mode that can keep you focused on the road. Driver distraction is still a huge problem on our roads with our smartphones often the reason why our attention is diverted. Roads and Maritime Research has shown that 14 per cent of all accidents are the result of the driver being distracted. One in 10 fatalities have been the direct result of driver distraction. Surveys indicate 98 per cent believe using a phone while driving is extremely…

Foxtel has just unveiled a dramatic revamp and reimagining of its internet-delivered pay TV service which will give subscribers a more affordable way to access their favourite content and sport. Foxtel Now is a streaming service – a reinvention of Foxtel Play – with low priced bundles to give customers even more flexibility. There are no set up costs and, because the service is delivered through your broadband connection, you won’t need a set-top box. You are not locked in to a contract so you can cancel anytime. Foxtel Now will offer high definition streaming on compatible devices like Macs…

Tech Guide has gone ears on with Apple’s new HomePod wireless smart speaker which was unveiled today at the end of the Worldwide Developers Conference keynote in San Jose. The speaker, which is almost 18 cm tall, connects to Apple Music and offers not only wireless convenience but also amazing sound quality. We had a chance to listen to the speaker and were blown away by how good it sounded. The built-in tweeters and upward firing woofers work together with HomePod’s spatial awareness so it can optimise the way it sounds based on where it is positioned in the room.…

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference wasn’t just about software – the company introduced a 10.5 inch iPad Pro, significant updates to its iMac range and unveiled a powerful new iMac Pro. Apple’s new 10.5-inch iPad Pro will sit beside the updated version of the 12.9-inch model with both featuring improved performance and an even better and brighter Retina display. These new models include ProMotion, a new technology that offers refresh rates as high as 120Hz for smoother and crisper motion. ProMotion can also automatically adapt to the content being displayed and adjust the refresh rate to match and greatly reduce power…

Apple has announced some major updates to the operating systems for the iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch at its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose. These enhancements will make Apple’s products faster, smarter, easier and even safer to use. Developers were also given new opportunities to create virtual reality and augmented reality content across all of Apple platforms. Apple announced the new features of iOS 11, macOS High Sierra and watchOS4 Here are the updates to Apple’s operating systems. iOS 11 The new operating system for iPhone and iPad has had a lot of improvement not only from a…

Apple has unveiled a brand new smart speaker called HomePod that can not only play your music and help you discover new artists but also control your smart devices and organise your life as well. Available in December in space grey and white, HomePod stands just under 18cm tall and is covered with a mesh material with a display on top showing the Siri waveform to let you know it is waiting for your command. HomePod enters a crowded market of multi-room speakers that offer decent audio quality but without smart capabilities. Apple’s new product will also take on other…

Episode 252 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast was recorded in London where we attended the launch of Intel’s new cricket technology for the ICC Champions Trophy. Intel introduced a drone for pitch inspection as well as a bat sensor that can collect and display data from every shot in real time. We also had a chat with former England cricket captain now commentator Nasser Hussain about his thoughts on the use of tech in the traditional game of cricket. Also on the show, the Late, Late Show sketch that is now a series on Apple Music and BlackBerry KEYone…

Carpool Karaoke began as a viral sketch on The Late, Late Show with host James Corden driving and singing with the biggest music stars and now Apple has turned it into a series that kicks off in August. Carpool Karaoke: The Series will be available to Apple Music subscribers from August 8 with James Corden, Ben Winston and Eric Pankowski as executive producers. The new series will feature some of the biggest pairings in entertainment, pop culture and sports where they take a drive and sing their favourite songs on their road trip. These will include Will Smith and James…

Cricket superstar David Warner has become the first Australian batsman to use the new BatSense technology introduced by Intel for the ICC Champions Trophy. BatSense is a small device developed by Intel that fits on top of the handle of a regular cricket bat so it can measure data including maximum bat speed, bat speed impact, back lift angle, time to impact, impact angle and follow through angle. Warner opened the batting for Australia in its first 2017 ICC Champions Trophy match against New Zealand in Edgbaston in Birmingham. The data from his bat sensor was used during the live…

Tech Guide has just arrived in San Jose where Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference is about to kick off and with no shortage of speculation about what will be revealed at the event. The opening keynote will begin at 10am June 5 (3am June 6 Sydney time) when Tim Cook takes the stage at the McEnery Convention Centre. Naturally, being a conference for developers, software will be the focus of the keynote like updates for iOS, MacOS, Apple TV and Apple Watch. But there are strong rumours there will also be some hardware unveiled during the keynote as well. So…

When it comes to creating quality smartphones at affordable prices, Alcatel has no peer and the company has reinforced that with the release of the A3 XL – a feature-packed 6-inch smartphone that’s less than $200. The “phablet” has a slick design and a large 6-inch high definition display which is sure to suit the many customers who love to stream content on the go. But a large immersive screen isn’t all you get. On the rear panel is an 8-megapixel camera and a fingerprint reader – making it the cheapest phone on the market to include this added security…

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference doesn’t start till next week but the company has already revealed the incredible amount of developer earnings and the expansion of the Swift Playgrounds programming language. The 28th WWDC kicks off in San Jose next week where Apple will announce the latest software updates for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Watch. It’s the biggest gathering of developers who attend the conference to learn about the latest software features and development opportunities. And it’s also where Apple has unveiled some of its latest hardware. Past conferences have seen iPhones and MacBooks announced with rumours…