Author: Stephen Fenech

It’s time to get into the groove with Episode 692 of the Two Blokes Talking Tech podcast with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long as they go through the week’s biggest stories and product announcements. Stephen and Trevor unpack their thoughts on Smart Homes in 2025 – what’s happened? Has the market stagnated? Why is Google not selling Smart Speakers in retail anymore? The Apple Watch  Sleep Apnoea feature is now available and coming soon to Samsung’s Galaxy Watch. And Australia’s first closure of an Apple Store plus our first thoughts on Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold7 and…

There are two sides to the Nothing Headphones (1) – one is the unique look and design and the other side is the sound quality – and it’s impressive on both fronts. Nothing, the UK tech company, is known for its unique design and style for its products and naturally it has brought that over to its first over-ear headphones. Each ear cup is backed with rectangular aluminium panel which is topped with a transparent oval-shaped cap – a style that’s unique to the brand. The design of the Nothing Headphones (1) is both its strength and its weakness. For…

Apple Watch can now help identify signs of moderate to severe sleep apnoea after it received a medical device licence from the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration. The feature, part of the latest watchOS update, uses the onboard accelerometer to track small movements at the wrist that are associated with interruptions in normal breathing patterns. This is measured by new Apple Watch metric called Breathing Disturbances. From this data the device can understand the level of restfulness of sleep over several nights which may be consistent with sleep apnoea. Sleep apnoea is a condition where breathing stops repeatedly throughout the night.…

Lend me your ears for Episode 653 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast hosted by editor Stephen Fenech as he keeps you updated and educated about the latest consumer tech news and product reviews. On this week’s show: We’ve just returned from New York where we attended Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked – we’ll give you our hands-on first reviews of the products and we’ll also speak to Eric Chou – head of mobile at Samsung Australia. And we’ll tell you about the next level foldable device Samsung will release before the end of the year. In the Tech Guide reviews we’ll…

Optus has partnered with a consortium of companies including the Department of Defence to build, launch and operate a sovereign Australian Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite as a step towards advancing Australia’s capabilities in space. The consortium is made up of the iLAuNCH Trailblazer, HEO,  Inovor Technologies and the Australian Department of Defence’s Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG). A launch date has been tentatively set for early 2028 and will include two pieces of equipment developed under the Australian Government’s iLAuNCH Trailblazer Universities Program, sponsored by the Federal Department of Education. “Connectivity continues to play a critical role in the Australian economy, whether that…

Rode has expanded the Wireless Micro ecosystem with the release a Wireless Micro Camera Receiver which now offers users the ability to maintain high audio quality when switching between smartphones and cameras to produce their content. And the good news is, customers who have already purchased the Rode Wireless Micro can claim a bonus Wireless Micro Camera Receiver absolutely free. All they need to do is register their product at account.rode.com and pay a small shipping fee. New customers purchasing the Wireless Micro from rode.com in Australia, the UK and Europe can add the camera receiver to their order at…

The JBL Tour One M3 headphones deliver amazing sound, excellent noise cancellation along with a new feature that allows users stay wireless even when viewing an in-flight entertainment system. Tech Guide tested this feature on our recent trips to Tokyo and New York. Usually we download the content we want to watch on our long flights from our streaming services onto an iPad and connect the JBL Tour One M3 headphones wirelessly via Bluetooth. But what happens when you want to watch a movie or TV show on the in-flight system? You either need to use the supplied headphones –…

Get in the fast lane and take a listen to the latest episode of the popular show Two Blokes Talking Electric Cars – The EV Podcast – with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long. This week Trevor and Stephen talk to Corey about his family’s Mini upgrade and why dealer satisfaction is critical. Rob explains his Nissan X-Trail and their e-Power style of Hybrid giving him the electric feeling. And Steve calls in from California via Italy and talks about his EV journey that led him to a shiny new BMW iX. If you’ve got a question…

Hisense has unveiled its luxury line up of ultra large screen TVs which includes a 116-inch monster that’s worth $39,999. The Hisense ultra-lux UX TV collection includes the 100-inch and 116-inch RGB MiniLED TVs. These new Hisense UX TVs offer a whole new level of luxury viewing which combines those larger screen sizes with the company’s proprietary MiniLED backlight technology. Unlike regular MiniLEDs which offer a single white source with colour filters, the groundbreaking Hisense technology incorporates red, green and blue MiniLEDs for a more pure and accurate output. The new more refined light control can reach up to 95…

I’m taking command of your prison! This week on The Best Movies You’ve Never Seen podcast we’re watching The Last Castle starring Robert Redford and James Gandolfini. The Last Castle tells the story of General Irwin who is admitted to a military prison after being court martialled but he soon finds himself locking horns with the Colonel who runs the prison and the fight for control begins. Stephen saw The Last Castle in the cinema and has rewatched what he considers a Hidden Gem many times while Trevor is coming to prison yard for the first time. We go through…

Samsung is pushing the limits of foldable smartphone technology and has confirmed it is working on a tri-fold device which could be brought to market before the end of 2025. After just launching the impressive Galaxy Z Fold7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 devices, Samsung is not resting on its laurels and its research and development team is hard at work looking at new foldable form factors. In fact, Samsung teased the concept of a tri-fold device – known as the Flex S – at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona earlier this year. This was in response…

Two Blokes Talking Tech Episode 691 with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long is coming to you live from the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event in Brooklyn. Stephen and Trevor go through all the announcements – the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7, the Galaxy Z Flip7 and the Galaxy Watch8 and Galaxy Watch8 Classic. We also give you the latest on the Qantas data breach. You can listen to the show right here on the Tech Guide site using the audio player below. It is also possible to subscribe to the popular weekly tech podcast on Apple Podcasts.

Samsung finally did it. After seven generations of the Galaxy Z Fold, Samsung has nailed the design and the front screen size which we think will turn this from a niche product into a popular mainstream device. Tech Guide took a hands-on look at the new Galaxy Z Fold7 and from the second we had it in our hands, we liked what we saw. https://youtu.be/oowymWHHFnU?si=1YbXMfT3pF9smpzr The first thing that strikes you is the larger 6.5-inch front display which is close to the same size as a regular smartphone. We sat it beside the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and the Galaxy…

Samsung has unveiled its latest foldable smartphones – the Galaxy Z Fold7 and Galaxy Z Flip7 – which have taken a huge leap forward in terms of design, features and performance. The new flagship devices were launched at the Galaxy Unpacked event in Brooklyn along with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 series. https://youtu.be/oowymWHHFnU?si=ZobN8iBGEjlNWKvm Pre-orders begin today will all new products going on sale on August 1. Until now, foldable smartphones have been niche products enjoyed by high end users and fans of the form factor. But Samsung’s seventh generation of foldables, especially the Galaxy Z Fold7, are pushing the boundaries…

Qantas has confirmed 5.7 million customers data was compromised in last week’s data breach but the airline says there is no evidence any of that data has been released by the hackers. But cyber security experts are still actively monitoring the web. It has been confirmed no credit card details, personal financial information or passport details were stored in the compromised system and were therefore out of reach of the hackers. “Our absolute focus since the incident has been to understand what data has been compromised for each of the 5.7 million impacted customers and to share this with them…

LG has released three new portable audio products they were developed in partnership with eight-time Grammy Award winning artist and LG experimental architect for xboom, will.I.am. The three new models are the LG xboom Stage 301, the LG xboom Bounce and the LG xboom Grab. They all offer powerful and immersive sound along with portability, AI features and a rugged design so they can go anywhere. These products are the result of a creative collaboration with artist will.i.am who has provided valuable input across the product’s design, development and marketing. Each product carries William’s influence in both style and sound…

Get a head start by listening to Episode 652 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast hosted by editor Stephen Fenech so he can keep you updated and educated about the latest consumer tech news and reviews. On this week’s show, we’ve just returned from Japan where we saw Amazon’s latest innovations and we speak to the head of robotics -and we’ll share the latest news about the Qantas data breach. In the Tech Guide reviews, we check out Samsung’s new 3D gaming monitor, Nothing has unveiled its latest flagship smartphone and first ever over-ear headphones and Logitech’s new Flip Folio…

Award-winning Australian telco SpinTel is offering serious long-term value on its popular NBN plans with two high speed plans being offered with a lifetime discount. The lifetime discount – which means there will be no lock-in contract, no setup fees and no expiry date on the discount. The offer is available for SpinTel’s NBN 250 and NBN 1000 plans – a rarity in the extremely competitive telco space and offers long-term value for Australian households. Customers who take up the Home Superfast Plan will play $960 per year and Home Turbofast customers will pay $1080 a year. Customers can bring…

Take the short cut and listen to the latest episode of the popular show Two Blokes Talking Electric Cars – The EV Podcast – with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long. Stephen and Trev talk about the big numbers for electric car sales in Australia thanks to a surge from Tesla and BYD. We’re also taking your calls and Roddy’s now a two BYD family with the wife getting a BYD Shark to replace the Prado while Eliza loves her MG after being encouraged to go electric by her Dad. If you’ve got a question about EVs…

In the not-so-distant past, it was the standard for Aussies to exchange foreign currency at money exchange stations or banks. However, a new norm has emerged as more and more Aussies are switching to digital forex platforms to conduct their currency exchange needs. This industry benefits Australians as much as it benefits the world, as Forex allows economies across nations to trade and connect their currencies, enabling cross-border transactions to occur on a grander scale, from tourism to investing activities. This begs the question: If the former means of changing foreign currency was so established, why are Aussies making the…