Author: Stephen Fenech

Bang & Olufsen has released a new pair of luxury wireless headphones – the Beoplay H4 – which offer the company’s typical high standards in style and design, premium materials and excellent audio quality. The Beoplay H4 headphones were designed by Scandinavian Jakob Wagner and are made from lambskin, braided textile and aluminium for maximum comfort. And beneath the minimalist design is the Bang & Olufsen Signature Sound which come through the impressive onboard electro-dynamic 40mm drivers. The headphones connect wirelessly to your mobile device and can be controlled via the three buttons on the right earcup to navigate your…

Foxtel has made a decision about whether to pursue legal action against two individuals who illegally streamed the Anthony Mundine-Danny Green pay-per-view fight on Facebook Live. Both people, Darren Sharpe and Brett Hevers, were contacted by Foxtel while they were streaming the Main Event fight on February 3 to make them aware they were breaching Copyright Law. Because of their actions, more than 150,000 people were able to watch the fight, which was priced at $59.95 on the Main Event channel, for free and potentially cost Foxtel millions of dollars. Foxtel contacted Clarke and Hevers again and asked them to…

Two Blokes Talking Tech, with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long, discuss the biggest stories of the week in Episode 286 of the popular podcast. On this week’s show: Samsung release the Galaxy Series A smartphones, Stan announces new features for the streaming service and Foxtel’s case against Mundine-Green fight Facebook Live streamers. The blokes also talk about the Huawei Mate 9, Mark Skaife’s hot lap in a blacked-out car using phones connected to Vodafone’s network to steer, DoTalk app that can translate in real time and the Netgear Nighthawk X10. You can listen to the show…

It’s still months away from release but Apple’s next iPhone – likely to be called the iPhone 8 – is already stirring up numerous rumours about its features and creating huge anticipation as customers await its release. It is the 10th anniversary of the iPhone in 2017 so naturally people are expecting something special from Apple to mark the occasion. In fact, because it has been 10 years since the original iPhone went on sale in June 2007, this could even change the naming convention of the device and some think it may be called the iPhone X with X…

Telstra is predicting a record-breaking year for live streaming of NRL and AFL matches to mobile devices in 2017 after completing major app updates so footy fans will never miss a moment this season. Netball has also joined the Telstra fold so fans can access live games on the mobile app and on Telstra TV. Telstra mobile customers have free access to these Live Passes which allow them to stream live matches fast and data free on the apps which are available on the iPhone and Android platforms. In September 2016 alone, more than 3.8 million fans watched NRL and…

Two more major Australians banks have joined the growing list of financial institutions that will be offering their customers Apple Pay so they can make payments using their iPhone or Apple Watch. Australians on average use Apple Pay more than any other country in the world with many cases of customers switching banks so they can enjoy the service. Macquarie Bank and ING Direct are the latest Australian banks to offer Apple Pay to their customers. Central Murray Credit Union – part of the Cuscal group of financial institutions – is also offering Apple Pay. There are already 10 million…

Samsung has released the Galaxy A Series – the company’s first new phone model to be introduced since the Note7 was discontinued – which offers impressive features at an affordable price. There are two models in the Galaxy A Series – the A5 which has a 5.2-inch full high definition display and the A7 with a 5.7-inch FHD screen. They will be available from February 16 and will be priced at $649 (Galaxy A5) and $799 (Galaxy A7) with millenials as the main target customers. These devices are sure to put pressure on the other mid-tier and upper mid-tier devices…

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…