Author: Stephen Fenech

Tech Guide Episode 238 comes to you from Barcelona where editor Stephen Fenech is attending Mobile World Congress to keep you updated and educated about the new smartphone releases. On this week’s show, we talk about the devices that have been unveiled including the Huawei P10, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 and Galaxy Book tablets and the comeback story of the show – the return of the BlackBerry brand with the new KEYone device. We also talk about the new LG G6 smartphone, how Nokia is reviving an old classic and some new Android devices and Telstra plans for its…

Sony Mobile has raised the bar for video quality on a mobile device after unveiling the Xperia XZ Premium – the world’s first smartphone with 4K HDR display at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Also announced were the super mid-range Xperia XA1 and XA1 Ultra that build on the success of last year’s models. The Xperia XZ Premium has a dazzling 5.5-inch 4K HDR display to provide the ultimate mobile viewing experience. The display is enhanced with Sony’s Triluminos Display for mobile. Amazon Prime Video will offer 4K HDR content from this year to stream or download on the Sony…

Customers will have movies piped directly to their device that are ready to watch anywhere and anytime using an industry-first content delivery system created in partnership with Telstra, Ericsson and the Fox Innovation Lab at 21st Century Fox. Announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the personalised movie delivery system can position the content for customers to view on their device or offline without affecting their device’s performance or data allowance. A pilot program will begin today with a closed number of Telstra, Fox and Ericsson customers who will receive a device with a trial app so they can get instant access to…

Samsung didn’t have any new smartphones to announce at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona but it was all about tablets – the new Tab S3 and the Galaxy Book – which are designed to provide a powerful mobile computing experience. Both of Samsung’s new tablets have an eye-catching slim look and are designed to offer a premium experience whether it is used for work or play. The Galaxy Tab S3 comes with a 9.7-inch Super AMOLED screen while the Galaxy Book will come in two versions – 10.6-inch TFT LCD and 12-inch Super AMOLED. Samsung’s new tablets also have a…

Nokia has gone back to the future and reimagined the old favourite 3310 phone for the modern user and rolled out an impressive new range of devices running the Android operating system for the first time. Nokia was once a powerhouse in the mobile industry was swamped after the release of the iPhone and taken into the Windows world when it was acquired by Microsoft. But now the company is in the hands of HMD and back in the phone business and hoping to recreate its old successes. NOKIA 3310 That journey starts with the Nokia 3310 – a revamped…

Huawei unveiled an updated smartwatch at Mobile Congress in Barcelona – the Huawei Watch 2 – which ups the ante in terms of features and performance and that’s also the first to include the Android Wear 2.0 operating system. The Huawei Watch 2 features a similar timeless design to its predecessor and is available in two versions – sports and classic. But now it also has its own connectivity with a built-in eSIM card and with room for a nano SIM so it can be used to make and receive calls on its own and without being paired to a…

Huawei has revealed its new P10 smartphone at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in a blaze of colour and with a range of dazzling features that includes an enhanced dual-lens camera co-engineered with Leica. The Chinese company, currently third global smartphone manufacturer behind Samsung and Apple, had a dazzling event to introduce the P10 front and also the latest Huawei Watch 2 which will reach Australia in April. With Samsung not making any major smartphone announcements in Barcelona and Apple not in attendance, Huawei has taken full advantage of the clear air to present its flagship new products which will…

LG has unveiled its new G6 smartphone at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that has managed to fit an even larger screen into a regular size device to meet our screen-centric demands. LG’s G6 has a 5.7-inch FullVision display that’s housed in a 5.3-inch body to offer customers the bigger screen they want without weighing them down with an even larger device. It does this by going virtually edge to edge on the front of the device with a display that has an 18:9 aspect ratio and a Quad HD resolution of 2,880 x 1,440. An average consumer spends up…

BlackBerry has officially launched its comeback device – the BlackBerry KEYone – in Barcelona before Mobile World Congress officially kicks off and Tech Guide was able to get their hands on it. This is great news for the many users who spent years with their fingers flying across BlackBerry’s keyboard. Well, it’s back! And it brought back its famous keyboard with it. But this is 2017 and BlackBerry intelligently decided to give customers the best of both world. It has a 4.5-inch touchscreen with a 2:3 aspect ratio so it’s still a good size but no bigger than a 5.5-inch…

BlackBerry is back! The brand which had all but disappeared has just unveiled a brand-new device called the Blackberry KEYone on the eve of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. TCL Communications, the global smartphone manufacturer of Alcatel, has partnered with Blackberry to create a new device that combines the latest technology with BlackBerry’s iconic software and security along with its unmistakable physical keyboard. The BlackBerry KEYone, which will go on sale globally in April and in Australia in May, has an anodised aluminum frame with a soft-touch textured back panel. The device has a 4.5-inch touchscreen display with a resolution…

Fetch TV has announced new and affordable “Skinny” packs that will bring customers up to 49 additional channels including hit stations like SyFy, TVHits, ESPN, CNN and National Geographic. The Fetch TV set top box and PVR includes a high definition digital tuner and a 1TB hard drive. It is available through Australia’s leading internet service providers including Optus, iiNet, Dodo, iPrimus and Internode or through retailers Harvey Norman and JB HiFi. The Skinny packs will be available from Monday and will be priced at just $6 each per month. The four Skinny packs are Kids, Knowledge, Vibe and Variety.…

There are lot of connected security cameras on the market but there aren’t many that are as easy to set up as D-Link’s Omna 180 Cam HD which is available through Apple online and in stores. D-Link’s new Omna 180 Cam HD is the first camera that works seamlessly with the Apple HomeKit so you can take control and receive notifications through Apple’s Home app. The cylindrical device has a brushed metal housing and a design that means it can fit in anywhere in your home. Omna gets its name from Latin word “omnis” which means all-encompassing. It has a…

HTC has announced the release date and pricing for its new U Ultra and U Play flagship smartphones which offer a range of new features and a system that learns more about the user and their habits. The HTC U Ultra has a 5.7-inch display along with a small secondary screen that relays notifications and reminders without disturbing what you’re doing on the main screen. HTC’s U Play has a smaller 5.2-inch display. Each device has a thin premium look with a light-bending liquid surface design and a user interface that adapts to the user to provide timely reminders and…

The smash hit box office sensation Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will be available to watch at home next month and will include hours of extra features to dive even deeper into the Star Wars universe. The film, which tells the story about Rebels stealing the plans to the fearsome Death Star, will be released on Digital as well as Blu-ray Disc and DVD. It will arrive on Digital on March 24 and on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D and DVD on April 4. The movie will come with never-before-seen interviews and bonus features. These include: A Rogue Idea – Hear how…

Apple’s co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs will be honoured by the company when it opens its incredible new 175-acre campus in the heart of the Santa Clara valley this year. Apple Park, which was envisioned by Jobs as a creative and peaceful workspace, transformed miles of asphalt and created a green space around the campus’s ring-shaped 2.8 million square-foot main building which will include grassy fields and more than 9,000 native and drought-resistant trees. The theatre at Apple Park will be named the Steve Jobs Theatre in honour of the visionary who would have turned 62 on February 24.…

Being able to watch the same source on two TVs takes a fair bit of work to organise but a new wireless product from One For All makes that usually difficult task a whole lot easier. The Wireless HDMI Sender makes it possible to stream the output of one source to another TV in your home. You might want to watch a movie on your bedroom TV or catch the football by the pool. Or you want to locate sources at the back of the room away from the TV but don’t want to run any cables between them. You might…

It’s six years today since the first episode of the popular Two Blokes Talking Tech podcast was recorded with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long. Exactly six years later, the blokes have recorded Episode 288 (there have actually been more than 300 shows when you factor in the multiple shows from the Consumer Electronic Show) at the Optus campus. On this week’s show, the Tesla Powerwall which has slashed one family’s power bills by more than 90 per cent, will Australian telcos offer unlimited plans like US carriers and Roy Morgan research reveals surprising stats about Vodafone.…

5G is just over the horizon for Optus with news the company’s 4.5G network has just been switched on to deliver high speeds and seamless access to content for their customers. The foundations for Optus’s 5G plans is being built with this 4.5G network update which will be capable exceeding the 1Gbps mark. Optus’s 4.5G network has kicked off in Sydney’s Macquarie Park – the same suburb where the company’s campus is located. In the next 12 months, the Optus high-speed 4.5G network will rollout to capital cities and will reach 70 per cent of Optus networks in Sydney, Melbourne,…

If you needed an incentive to go solar and install a Tesla Powerwall here it is. The first owners of the Tesla Powerwall have reduced their total power bills in the first year by more than 90 per cent. The Pfitzner family made headlines after having Australia’s first Tesla Powerwall installed by Natural Solar in their four-bedroom home in Sydney’s Hills District in January 2016. The original Tesla Powerwall contains a 6.4kWh capacity and stores the excess energy captured by the home’s solar panels for use later in the day and evening during peak hours. The Pfitzner family saved $2,110.46 in…

It’s time to tune in to Episode 237 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast, hosted by editor Stephen Fenech, so you can stay updated and educated about the latest tech news and products. On this week’s show, will Australian telcos follow the US carriers and offer unlimited mobile data, will we see the iPhone 8 at Apple Worldwide Developer Conference in June, EHang passenger drones to go into service THIS YEAR and Microsoft Office updated with Touch Bar support for the MacBook Pro. In the Tech Guide reviews, we take a look at the iKlip Grip Pro photography accessory, we…