Author: Stephen Fenech

Samsung has announced a partnership with Westpac, one of Australia’s major banks, to offer Samsung Pay to its credit card and debit cards customers to make payments on their smartphones on the move. Samsung Pay can be used with compatible products including the upcoming Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ as well as with the Gear S3 smartwatch. This partnership with Westpac is in addition to Samsung’s existing partnership with Citibank for Mastercard. “We know Australians use their smartphones every day to enjoy content, stay connected and organise their lives,” said Richard Fink, Vice President, Mobile Division at Samsung Australia. “Partnering…

Episode 294 of the Two Blokes Talking Tech podcast, with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long, is right here with a fun and informative look at the biggest tech stories of the week. On this week’s show, NBN speeds under scrutiny, Netflix changes its rating system and Apple in a battle with the ACCC. Also on the show, retail v online shopping study with surprising results, Netgear’s new Arlo Pro security cameras, Kogan releases cheapest 65-inch 4K curved TV and you can watch Rogue One with Sphero’s BB8. In the minute reviews, we take a look at…

While external hard drives are essential products for our everyday computing and back-ups they’re not always the most colourful products in the world – until now. The new WD My Passport is available in a range of bright, vibrant colours. The My Passport portable hard drives come in six colours – black, blue, red, white, orange, yellow and white – and can match your style and your other devices. Of course, they can hold all your treasured content and essential back-ups and are small enough for you to carry anywhere with you. The My Passport drives are just 11cm long,…

Bixby was supposed to take on Siri, Google Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa but Samsung’s new intelligent assistant for the upcoming Galaxy S8 won’t be ready for the smartphone’s release on April 28. Samsung has confirmed there has been some difficulty in adapting Bixby to understand our broad Australian accent. The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ will be released in the US and South Korea on April 21 on the same day as Australian pre-order customers receive their devices. The retail launch in Australia will be April 28. But the Australian flavour of Bixby is unlikely to meet that deadline. Bixby…

Canon has unveiled the latest camera in the PowerShot range – the SX730 HS – the travel superzoom that offers high quality images and videos in a compact form-factor that you can take anywhere. The Canon PowerShot SX730 HS has a 20.3-megapixel CMOS sensor with DIGIC 6 processing power that can shoot continuously at 5.9 frames per second (fps). It has an ultrawide angle 40X optical zoom lens with 80X ZoomPlus along with Zoom Framing Assist so you can still keep you subject in focus while telephoto shooting. The camera has built-in stabilisation that will make your videos smoother and…

There are so many choices when it comes to Bluetooth earphones and the BeatsX are designed for all-day wear with extended battery performance and impressive audio quality. If you want to listen to your music and take calls from time to time, the BeatsX are a good fit. They have a thicker Flex-Form neck band that tapers into a thinner cable for the earbuds to make it easy to take them in and out of your ears all day. When they’re out of your ears, the earbuds can click together magnetically so they don’t swing wildly around when you’re not…

USB-C is now the connection of choice on the latest smartphones, tablets and laptops and Belkin has just included a USB-C version in the MIXIT DuraTek cable range that are built extra tough. Belkin’s MIXIT DureTek cables are reinforced with Kevlar fibre giving them added strength and durability. They are also covered in double braided nylon so they can handle bending and stresses that would damage a regular cable. Lightning and microUSB cables have been a hit in the MIXIT DureTek range and USB-C is now the latest addition. Belkin CEO and founder Chet Pipkin started making cables on his…

When choosing the next show to binge on Netflix we often rely on the show’s star rating but a simpler and more intuitive method has been introduced – the thumbs up, thumbs down system. Netflix knows not everyone’s taste is the same and even though you gave Stranger Things five stars someone else might have only rated it one star. So now rather than relying on the opinions of people who might not share your tastes, the new thumbs system puts you in charge of finding the shows that will interest you. When you give a show a thumbs up,…

Netgear’s Arlo wire-free security camera was a game-changer when they were introduced last year and the latest version of the product has just been released and it is even better. The Arlo Pro wire-free high definition security camera now has a removable rechargeable battery, two-way audio and improved motion detection. And it is still weather proof so it can be placed anywhere – inside or outside your home – and used day or night. The camera has a slightly different design to the previous version and now have a microUSB port on the back so you can charge the battery…

Rogue One: A Star Wars story is available on Blu-ray Disc this week and if you own Sphero’s BB8 you can watch the movie together and see the lovable droid react to all the action, drama and thrills. The BB8 app’s Watch with Me feature has been updated so BB8 will enjoy watching Rogue One as much as you do. The Sphero team has always promised there would be ongoing updates for BB8 to improve the experience with the droid and this is the latest example. When BB8 is on the charger, you simply open the BB8 companion app and…

Kogan is once again competing hard against the major television brands with the release of Australia’s most affordable 65-inch 4K curved TV – the largest curved television the company has ever produced. The flagship Kogan 65-inch curved 4K TV is available now for pre-order. The television actually uses a Samsung screen to provide an immersive viewing experience, a wider field of view and a real sense of depth. In fact, Kogan’s televisions were recently awarded five stars by Canstar for value for money – The 4K display has a 3840 x 2160 resolution which means you can enjoy all the…

ANZ will become the first Australian bank that allows customers to use their voice to improve security when making larger transactions on the move on their mobile devices. Later this year ANZ will introduce voice biometrics so customers transferring more than $1000 through the ANZ mobile app can just speak to approve it. Previously a customer was required to use internet banking or visit a branch to authorise transactions of more than $1000. “One of the key challenges today for banking as the world becomes more digital is making it easier for customers to do what they want to do…

Episode 243 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast is coming to you from New York where editor Stephen Fenech was in town for the launch of Samsung’s new Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. In this week’s show, we take a look at the design and many features of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. We also talk about our hands-on review with the devices, the prices and plans and chat with Samsung Australia’s Richard Fink about the latest Samsung products and how they will be received in the Australian market. Also on the program, Microsoft’s Surface Studio desktop PC arrives…

Android has overtaken Windows as the world’s most popular operating system for the first time when it comes to internet usage across desktop, laptop, tablet and mobile combined. Researchers StatCounter, an independent web analytics company, found Android has topped the worldwide OS internet usage market share with 37.93 per cent which moved it ahead of Windows on 37.91 per cent for the first time. “This is a milestone in technology history and the end of an era,” said Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter. “It marks the end of Microsoft’s leadership worldwide of the OS market which it has held since the…

CommBank has introduced new mobile functionality in response to the surprising research results that show more than a third of Australians spend more than they earn each month. The updated app will have four new features which are designed to meet the needs of the customer to help them keep track of the money that’s coming in and the money that’s going out. These will provide improved account security, real time spending reminders and helping customers pay their bills on time. Some of the key take outs of the data revealed almost half of all Australians are uncomfortable with their…

Garmin has introduced the Forerunner 935 – a new GPS running and triathlon watch that offers athletes new performance monitoring and wrist-based heart rate technology. Forerunner 935 offers new training features that allows users to fine tune their exercise program and their recovery. “With similar features to the fēnix 5 – our popular multisport GPS watch built for fitness, adventure and style – the Forerunner 935 is catered more towards triathletes looking for a slimline performance watch” said Adam Howarth, General Manager Garmin Australasia. “As a top-of-the-line GPS smartwatch, the Forerunner 935 not only provides users with insight into how…

Amaysim and Woolworths have joined the companies offering Samsung’s impressive new smartphones – the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ – on competitive deals for their customers. Amaysim, Australia’s fourth largest telco, is giving customer the chance to pre-order an unlocked Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+ without being locked into a 24-month contract. And whoever takes up the offer will not only receive the same bonus – a free Gear VR headset and $50 Oculus in-store credit – but three free renewals of Amaysim’s Unlimited plan. The deal is available to new and existing customers. The Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy…

It happens every year on this day for some reason. Major companies patiently wait until April 1 to roll around before announcing some of their most unusual tech developments. And April Fool’s Day in 2017 is no exception. There are some amusing announcements from Ford, Travelodge, Virgin Mobile and Deliveroo. FORD: ACTIVE THANKS ASSIST As part of Ford’s future technologies, a new feature has been uncovered – Active Thanks Assist. Australian Ford engineers have come up with a way to improve the relationship between all road users with an automatic thank you wave. It’s common courtesy on the road to…

Ultimate Ears has just unveiled its latest fun portable Bluetooth speaker – the Wonderboom – which is small and waterproof but capable of producing a surprisingly large sound. The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom can produce 360-degree sound with a nice dose of bass. It is IPX7 rated so it can be immersed to depth of one metre for up to 30 minutes so there’s no risk having the device at the beach, by the pool or in the shower. The speaker is only 10cm tall and the onboard battery can run for up to 10 hours so you can take it…

Microsoft’s new Surface Studio – the computer with a monitor that can fold down flat on to your desktop and be used like a huge tablet – is about to go on sale in Australia. The computer that’s aimed at creative users, artists and designers has redefined the desktop computer. Surface Studio is available to pre-order now from the Microsoft Store, JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman before it goes on sale from April 27. It has a 28-inch PixelSense Display which provides a huge working area that can be used in the upright position to sketch and edit photos and…