Author: Stephen Fenech

A new Australian app has been released to help break down the language barrier and provide instant voice-activated translations in up to 90 different languages. DoTalk, which was developed entirely in Australia, is available for iPhone and Android and uses proprietary technology to accurately provide cross-language communications that includes six translation APIs (application programming interface) and speech recognition tools. Users have the choice of sharing a recorded voice file or text message which is then translated to text for the recipient. It is possible to hold a group chat of up to 10 people at a time in multiple languages…

Vaya has done it again and launched the cheapest 9GB mobile phone plan on the market – barely a week after announcing the most competitive data-only plans for use on the go. Powered by the Optus 4G network, Vaya already offers a range of mobile plans to suit all types of users and budgets. Now Vaya has upped the ante on its Unlimited XL plan which includes unlimited calls and texts and now 9GB of data – up from the previous 8GB allowance – but for the same price of $36 a month. This makes it the cheapest 9GB mobile…

Huawei is starting to loom large in the worldwide smartphone market behind giants Samsung and Apple and new products like the new Mate 9 is helping attract new customers to the brand. The Chinese company was the number three brand in the world in 2016 with 9.3 per cent market share behind Samsung (20.8 per cent) and Apple (14.5 per cent). Its impressive growth last year came after the release of products like the P9 and the Mate 8. Huawei’s latest offering, the Mate 9, is available now and continues the tradition of delivering style, features and performance. DESIGN The…

Stay updated and educated about the latest consumer tech news and reviews with Episode 235 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast, hosted by editor Stephen Fenech. On this week’s show: a man who streamed the Mundine-Green pay-per-view bout for free on Facebook Live now facing legal action from Foxtel and Samsung kicks off an ad campaign to win back customer trust and loyalty. Also on the program, GoPro Karma drones back in the skies after a recall and V8 racing champion Mark Skaife races a blacked-out BMW M6 around a track using Vodafone-connected smartphones to steer. In the Tech Guide…

If you want a great wi-fi network at home – you need a great router. It’s as simple as that. One router that can certainly be hailed as great is Netgear’s new Nighthawk X10 which can provide combined wireless speeds of up to 7.2Gbps. The “Netflix effect” has made customers take more notice of their wi-fi networks than ever before so they can stream 4K content without buffering and play online games with less lag. To achieve all this wirelessly you need a beast of a router and the Nighthawk X10 fits the bill. Netgear is calling this the fastest…

Vodafone Australia has released a new video showing V8 racing champion driver Mark Skaife driving a BMW M6 at high speed with the windows blacked out and using three phones connected to the Vodafone network to navigate. And to make things even more interesting, Vodafone Australia CEO Inaki Berroeta went along for the hot lap with Skaife around Calder Park Raceway in Victoria. Three Samsung Galaxy S7 smartphones attached to the car’s windscreen acted as the cameras. And using Vodafone’s network, each phone streamed what it saw to a Samsung tablet inside the car to provide Skaife with a view…

Samsung has begun a massive marketing campaign to re-establish itself as the number one mobile brand in the world following the recall and eventual death of the Galaxy Note7. That all started with a TV ad that aired on Australian prime time on Sunday night explaining Samsung is improving the manufacturing process since the Note7 issues. The ad mentions the new eight-point battery check and shows Samsung’s huge labs and testing equipment. It also declared Samsung has done extensive stress testing on its batteries that exceed industry standards for quality and safety. Viewers were also shown the battery been put…

We normally keep our TVs for eight to 10 years so if you’re in the market for a new TV you’re going to find there’s been a lot of changes since the last time you made that big purchase. While you’ve been out of the market TVs have become bigger, sharper, smarter and more connected than ever before. There are a number of technologies and new features to look out for including the screen type, screen size, 4K Ultra High Definition, HDR (high dynamic range), Dolby Vision, Quantum Dot, QLED, ULED, refresh rates and curved screens. Here’s what you need…

While Anthony Mundine and Danny Green were battling it out in their pay-per-view fight, Foxtel’s Main Event channel had another fight on their hands trying to stop subscribers streaming the event on Facebook Live. Reports suggest more than 200,000 people watched the fight for free thanks to subscribers who paid $59.95 for the fight streaming their TV screen with their smartphone on Facebook Live – and costing Foxtel millions of dollars. Tech Guide was aware of about 10 Facebook Live streams of the fight where users had aimed their phones at the screen to allow others to watch it on…

It’s time to tune in to Two Blokes Talking Tech Episode 285 with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long who give you an inside look at the biggest tech stories of the week. On this week’s show, another Telstra outage and lots of questions to be asked, Netgear launches the Nighthawk M1 mobile router with Telstra that’s up to 10 times faster than the NBN. Also on the show, Vaya and ALDImobile ramps up the data and mobile plan wars and Apple leapfrogs Samsung to become the number one smartphone manufacturer in the world. In the minute…

The GoPro Karma drone is back in the air after being withdrawn from the market in the US (and before it went on sale in Australia) because of a “performance issue” that made them fall out of the sky. In November 2016, GoPro made the tough decision to recall the Karma drone after learning some users were experiencing power loss mid-flight. After a thorough investigation, GoPro revealed the latch holding the battery in place was to blame. The company has now redesigned the battery latch and the Karma is back on sale and coming to Australia in the coming weeks…

3D TV is dead. Sony and LG will no longer support 3D on its 2017 TVs and follow Samsung, the world’s leading TV manufacturer, and Panasonic who have already abandoned the feature. Other TV manufacturers like Sharp, Hisense and TCL also appear to have kissed it goodbye. This moves comes seven years after 3D TVs were first introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to huge fanfare. At the time, it was hailed as the next big thing in televisions and the marketing of these TVs were aggressively steered towards the 3D TV functionality. It was also at…

Telstra customers have been inconvenienced once again after an exchange fire in Sydney affected customers across the country and forcing them to express their outrage on social media. At 1.40pm, Telstra tweeted that “a fire at one of our exchanges is impacting some mobile and fixed services. We’re working to resolve ASAP.” Customers were soon complaining that they couldn’t make or receive calls and text messages. But the effects of the outage were far more wide ranging with businesses and even Jetstar flights being delayed because the airline could not check customers in through their computers. Telstra later revealed in…

Apple overtook Samsung as the world’s biggest smartphone seller in the fourth quarter of 2016 with iPhone shipments reaching 78.3 million units for 18 per cent of global sales. The release of the iPhone 7 in September coincided with the beginning of Samsung’s woes with the Note7 and this had a definite effect on the Q4 2016 sales, according to independent research firm Strategic Analytics. For Apple that was a five percent year-on-year increase. Samsung’s Q4 sales were only slightly behind Apple at 77.5 million units and 17.7 per cent of the worldwide market. Yet Samsung still sold more smartphones…

Belkin has released two new devices to charge your mobile devices and keep up with your busy lifestyles so you’re never short of power when you really need it. The Boost Up Wireless Charging Pad offers cable free charging while the MIXIT Power RockStar 10,000 can go with you with enough power to recharge your phone four times. BOOST UP WIRELESS CHARGING PAD – $109.95 The Boost Up Wireless Charging Pad allows users to charge their phone simply by placing it on the Belkin device. It is a Qi certified charger and will work with compatible devices like the Samsung…

Our hunger for data to use on the move is growing rapidly and today Vaya has responded with some amazing 4G data-only deals that will put the pressure on rival telcos to match them. The new plans from Vaya.com.au are powered by the Optus 4G network and start from as little as $15 a month with no lock in contracts to use with tablets and mobile hotspots. Australian customers will have four plans to choose from including:  – $15 for 5GB of data – $35 for 15GB, – $55 for 50GB – $65 for 70GB These plans are data only…

Telstra and Netgear have joined forces to launch the Nighthawk M1 mobile router – the world’s first LTE device which can achieve download speeds of 1Gbps to give you the fastest connection on the move. The Nighthawk M1 mobile router can securely connect up to 20 wi-fi devices at the same time so you can share the high-speed Telstra 4G LTE network connection with family members or work colleagues. Netgear’s device has a circular display to see your connection, the number of devices connected and a data usage tracker. Users can achieve download speeds of up to 1Gbps (that’s 10…

Tune in to Episode 234 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast, hosted by editor Stephen Fenech, so you can stay updated and educated about the latest consumer tech news and reviews. On this week’s show, Samsung set to unveil  a new tablet to take on the iPad which happened to be introduced by Steve Jobs seven years ago this week and Optus introduce a new native service that will allow customers to make mobile calls over wi-fi. In the Tech Guide reviews, we take a listen to the Sony MDR-1000X noise cancelling headphones, the Oppo R9s smartphone and the Element…

Oppo is making inroads in the Australian smartphone market and the company has just released a new affordable mid-tier device – the R9s – which will suit users who love snapping selfies and photos. The Oppo R9s is the follow-up to last year’s R9 – a breakthrough product that made Oppo’s devices stand out from the Android crowd. And that way it did that was by looking like an iPhone. The Oppo R9s is virtually identical to the R9 and thereby still looks a lot like an iPhone. And the resemblance doesn’t end there. Oppo’s new user interface ColorOS3.0 (which…

It’s been seven years since Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the original iPad – the device that kick started the tablet market and gave customers a laptop alternative and a new way to use apps. Apple, still riding high on the success of the iPhone three years earlier, introduced the iPad at a special event on January 28, 2010 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. And I was there. Not as the Tech Guide editor but in my previous position as News Limited’s technology writer. There were plenty of rumours flying around before the event…