Author: Stephen Fenech

Tablets are great for regular usage and regular users but what do you use on a building site, out in the field and in other rugged environments? One solution is the Panasonic Toughpad FZ-A2. It is the world’s lightest rugged Android 10.1-inch tablet. Up to 84 per cent of Australian organisations have staff that regularly working outside the regular office environment and they are using laptops, smartphones and tablets to do their jobs. In fact, seven out of 10 Australian companies now offer a BYOD (bring your own device) option to their employees. But consumer grade devices for these workers…

What better group of people can you ask for to help design your next product than your most passionate customers. That’s exactly what Kobo did when developing its latest e-reader – the Aura ONE. They say your users are your best engineers and Kobo turned to its most avid readers to ask them what they wanted to see in the next product. The result is the Kobo Aura ONE – an e-reader for true booklovers. It has one of the biggest e-ink screens you’ll find on a e-reader at 7.8-inches, has a new display lighting system and is also completely…

Since Apple decided to not include a headphone jack on the iPhone 7, customers have paid even more attention to Bluetooth earphones so the release of Plantronics BackBeat Go 3 wireless earbuds was timed to perfection. While Bluetooth earphones and headphones are nothing new, there are even more customers in the hunt than ever before. Plantronics has a history of audio that goes as far back to when man first landed on the moon. It pours those decades of experience into the BackBeat Go 3 wireless earbuds. The problem in the past with Bluetooth earphones was they were often bulky,…

Apple has unveiled its latest and greatest MacBook Pro – on the 25th anniversary of the release of the company’s first PowerBook–– which has had some remarkable changes inside and out. Unveiled at a special launch event at Apple’s Cupertino headquarters, the MacBook Pro includes some dramatic design changes and stunning new features. The MacBook Pro – still available in 13-inch and 15-inch models – is thinner, lighter and faster than the previous models as well. The 13-inch model is just 14.9mm thick which is 17 per cent thinner and also 23 per cent smaller in volume. It weighs 1.37kg…

Netgear has raised the bar for your wireless home network with the release of the Nighthawk X10 – the world’s fastest router for media streaming and content backup. The Nighthawk X10 AD2700 Smart Wi-Fi Router has a powerful 1.7Ghz quad core processor with a Quad Stream Wave 2 wi-fi architecture as well as the next generation 802.11ad for combined wireless speeds of up to 7.2Gbps. Also onboard is the latest MU-MIMO (multiple user – multi in, multi out) technology which supports simultaneous streaming and doubles the wi-fi speed to mobile devices. The aggressive design is complemented with four external Active…

Microsoft has debuted new sleek Surface products that offer professional grade power and performance and include features that will help you unleash your ideas and creativity. Surface Studio and the second generation Surface Book, unveiled at a Microsoft media event in New York today, are products the company believes will empower a new wave of creativity. MICROSOFT SURFACE STUDIO The star of the Microsoft event was the all-in-one Microsoft Surface Studio which combines a powerful computer and a 28-inch PixelSense display. The Surface Studio’s touch screen can be tilted and lowered to the desktop level and enable the user to…

Bose has just unveiled three new wireless speaker systems – a soundbar and two luxury home entertainment systems – that take your TV and movie viewing experience to the next level. Once again, the respected audio company has created a range of products that follow the tradition of combining superior design and audio technology. There’s the SoundTouch 300 soundbar that defies the limitations of single speaker performance and the Lifestyle 650 and 600 home entertainment systems for true surround sound. BOSE SOUNDTOUCH 300 SOUNDBAR – $999 The Bose Soundbar is less than a metre in length with a thin profile…

Tablets sales in Australia have bounced back thanks to the boom in high-end laptop replacement devices like the iPad Pro, Microsoft Surface Pro and the Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro S. According to a new study by Telsyte, sales of tablet devices grew by four percent in Australia year-on-year with 1.59 million units purchased in the first half of 2016. It is the first time the tablet market has shown signs of growth since 2014. And the devices responsible for the surge are the powerful convertible products which can be used as tablets and also laptop replacements. Products like Apple’s iPad…

It’s time to get updated and educated about the latest consumer tech news and reviews with Episode 222 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast hosted by editor Stephen Fenech. On this week’s show, Samsung’s new augmented reality app that could save your life, the Nespresso machine that releases your inner barista and Kodak gets back in the picture with a new photo sharing app. In the Tech Guide reviews, we take a look at the Google Pixel smartphone, the Ring connected doorbell that means you can answer your door from anywhere and the Samsung curved full high definition monitor. In…

There are bike locks and then there’s the SkunkLock – a lock that strikes back when a thief tries to tamper with or saw through it with noxious fumes that will induce vomiting and irritation. Regular bike U-locks are not going to stop a determined thief which is what led founders Daniel Idzkowski and Yves Perrenoud to create the SkunkLock. They’ve both lost bikes to criminals and then had no way to get around. In the US alone, more than 1.5 million bikes are stolen each year. A regular bike lock can be cut with an angle grinder in seconds…

It’s 15 years since Apple CEO Steve Jobs stood up on stage at the town hall of the company’s Cupertino campus to introduce the original iPod – the first of Apple’s mobile devices that would change the consumer tech world. At the time, when digital music was in its infancy and MP3 had entered the vocabulary, there was no dominant music player to take advantage of this convenience. So on October 23, 2001 – at a time when the world was still reeling from the events of September 11 – Jobs fronted a low-key event to unveil a product that…

With summer almost here, we’ll be heading to the beach but there are many dangers we can’t see – until now. Samsung has released a new app called Pocket Patrol that could save your life. Pocket Patrol, available from the Google Play Store, uses augmented reality to make it possible for swimmers to see exactly where the rip currents are located. When looking through the Android device’s camera and panning it along the beach, Pocket Patrol places symbols above the trouble spots like rips, submerged rocks, shallow sandbanks and stingers. So you can see what a trained surf lifesaver can…

You’ve just bought an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus but you also want to protect your investment. To do that you’ll need a case that not only adds a bit of colour but also keeps it safe. One of the worst things you’ll hear is the sound of your iPhone hitting the ground and that crunch is even worse if you don’t have a case on it. Not only will you have scratches but there’s also a chance you’ll have a cracked screen. Here is the biggest round up of iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus cases. There are…

Nespresso has released a new machine that makes it even easier to create a barista-style coffee right down to the size, strength, temperature and milk texture to suit your taste. Creatista from Nespresso, made in partnership with Breville, comes in two models and offers coffee lovers even more control but without requiring the skills of an experienced barista to achieve a café-standard brew. Nespresso’s Creatista uses the well-known pod coffee system but also adds an automatic steam wand to heat up and texture the milk. And it’s all contained in an appliance that has a remarkably small footprint – much…

It’s Episode 274 of the Two Blokes Talking Tech podcast, with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long, that takes a look at the most important tech products and issues. On this week’s show, the blokes share their thoughts on the new Google Pixel smartphone, the Sony Xperia XZ and the state of the premium phone market. Also on the show, Vodafone to enter the fixed broadband market, PlayStation VR, Kogan Mobile’s enticing new offer and the Kodak Moments app. In the minute reviews we take a look at the Samsung CF591 27-inch curved monitor and the iPocket…

We take a lot of photos but we don’t print many of them but Kodak has stepped in with a new app that helps users take, store, share and order prints of your favourite images. Within the Kodak Moments App is a community of users who can share their photographs within the ecosystem which is like a mini version of Instagram. And those images can be uploaded in their full resolution and stored at that quality in the cloud. Users can add text and quotes and also choose a layout to tell their story before sharing. You can invite family…

Apple has confirmed it will be holding a special launch event at its Cupertino headquarters next week to launch what is expected to be updates to the company’s Mac computers. The event will be held On October 27 at 10am (US time) which will be 4am Thursday October 28 (Australian Eastern Summer Time). Apple will stream the event live through its website and on Apple TV. The invitation read simply “hello again” below an obscured Apple logo. The launch will reportedly be centered on a refresh of the MacBook Pro – the first upgrade and redesign since 2012. The new…

The humble doorbell is now smarter than ever before with Ring – the new device that can tell you who’s at your door no matter where you are – whether it’s upstairs or interstate. Ring is a connected doorbell and camera that connect to your home’s wireless network. When someone rings the doorbell, you get a notification on your smartphone through the Ring companion app. From here you can talk to the person at your door whether you’re sitting comfortably inside or even when you’re out. Now you don’t have to wait at home for that delivery. With Ring you…

Sony’s latest smartphone – the Xperia XZ – offers a quality experience for users with a refreshed water resistant design, an advanced camera and a smart battery that can adapt to your charging habits. Available from Telstra on a plans or outright from Sony for $999, the Xperia XZ is the company’s latest flagship device and continues the tradition of the company pouring its best technology into one product. The result is a refined smartphone that Sony hopes will compete in the top grade against the likes of Google, Apple and Samsung. DESIGN Sony has stuck with the monolith design…

Kogan Mobile is celebrating the first anniversary of its partnership with the Vodafone network with an offer to entice new customers to the 4G pre-paid SIM only mobile service. This offer is for new customers only and the discounted price will apply for the first 30 days before reverting to the regular price for as long as the user decides to stay with the service. That introductory price for the 12GB plan, which includes unlimited calls and texts, is just $4.90 for 30 days. The next 30 days and subsequent pre-paid billing periods will be at regular price of $49.90.…