Author: Stephen Fenech

Subscription video on demand (SVOD) services have experienced explosive growth in Australia in the last 12 months according to new research by technology analyst firm Telsyte. Today SVOD subscriptions like Netflix, Stan and Presto are running hot with a total of 2.7 million active subscriptions in Australia expected by the end of June 2016. That’s a growth of a remarkable 46 per cent from the same period in 2015. Telsyte’s study showed that 43 per cent of all Australians now subscribe to either pay TV or SVOD services – a four per cent increase over the previous 12 months. But…

In a popular Crowded House song there’s a lyric that says: “everywhere you go, always take the weather with you”. That’s exactly what you can do with the Netatmo Weather Station. In the same way a fitness wearable can track your activities and general wellbeing, the Netatmo Weather Station, priced at $299.99, lets you monitor and collect information about the environment inside and outside your home. And you also have the same options to use that information to improve your surroundings and make yourself more comfortable. Inside the box are the cylindrical indoor and outdoor stations made of durable aluminium.…

In the market for an affordable mid-tier smartphone? You’re in luck, there are plenty of options especially from Chinese manufacturers like Oppo who offer quality devices at affordable prices. The Oppo R9 is the company’s latest smartphone that looks impressive and feels like it has a solid build quality when you get it in your hands. Priced at $599, the device has a 5.5-inch AMOLED display which almost goes edge to edge. There a tiny 1.6mm bezel on either side of the screen which means you get a larger display but it’s housed in a chassis for a 5-inch screen.…

LG’s flagship 2016 4K OLED TVs – the ultrathin G6T Signature and E6T – have just landed in Australia and will be available to customers from selected retailers starting next week. LG has enjoyed plenty of success with its OLED range with more than 25,000 Australian households already investing in the technology. Today LG is the only major manufacturer to offer the OLED TV format. OLED – short for organic light emitting diode – is a self-illuminating material with two main benefits. The first is the ability to create incredibly thin televisions because OLED doesn’t require a backlight. Secondly, without…

Bose has released its best set of headphones with the QuietComfort 35 which have been re-engineered to deliver amazing audio quality – but this time it’s doing it without cables. The QC35 headphones have Bluetooth onboard so there’s no need to use a cable to hear music from your smartphone, tablet or computer. Now getting rid of the cable was one thing but one thing Bose certainly has not compromised is audio quality. It is not the first pair of Bose headphones with Bluetooth – but it is its first to have Bluetooth AND noise cancellation To our ears, the…

What better way to promote the 360Fly 4K – a camera that can capture 360-degree video – than with a parody ad with a Donald Trump that’s already been banned in the United States. The humorous ad was the brainchild of Australian-born 360Fly CEO Peter Adderton and pokes fun at the controversial presidential candidate. But the ad – which was due to air on American TV today – has been banned by key networks including the ABC, NBC and CBS. In the ad, the Donald Trump-impersonator is standing at a podium fronting a press conference in front of a gigantic…

Huawei has announced the pricing and release date of its new flagship P9 smartphone which was developed in collaboration with Leica with a reinvented twin-lens camera. Huawei’s P9 features a 5.2-inch full high definition display, a dual lens 12-megapixel camera and is powered by the company’s own Kirin 955 chipset which makes it twice as fast as the P8. The device will be available Titanium Grey and with 32GB of internal memory. Users can expand the memory capacity through the hybrid SIM card/memory card slot. The P9 will go on sale on a plan or for outright purchase from July…

Two Blokes Talking Tech Episode 260, with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long, look at the biggest tech stories of the week and present them in a fun and informative way. On this week’s program, Vodafone’s 30-day money back network guarantee, Telstra’s new Smart Home platform, Huawei announces P9 smartphone pricing and how to track the election on Google. The blokes also talk about Dashlane to remember your passwords, the concept Rolls Royce and the release date of the PlayStation VR. In the minute reviews, we check out the Bose QC35 noise cancelling Bluetooth headphones and TimePorter…

Amazon has unveiled its new entry level Kindle e-reader that is actually thinner and lighter and with twice as much memory as the previous model but at the same affordable price. The new Kindle, available for pre-order in black at www.amazon.com.au/kindle, will go on sale in black and white at Officeworks in the coming weeks. It is priced at $109. The new device has a sleeker and more rounded design and lightweight making it easy to hold in one hand to lose yourself in a book for hours at a time. It has 4GB of internal memory which is enough…

Telstra is going in to the smart home business after unveiling a new platform that will allow customers to control their home security, automation and energy usage from one simple app. The Telstra Smart Home Platform will launch later this year and allow users to interact with their homes like they have never done before. The smart home, Internet of Things market is predicted to be worth more than $1 billion annually in Australia within the next five years. Telstra’s Smart Home Platform is designed to integrate devices from different manufacturers as well as support a range of new products…

Sony Mobile has announced the availability of its new Xperia X series of smartphones – the Xperia XA, the Xperia X and the Xperia X Performance – which are all about to go on sale. The new X Series range, which Tech Guide saw for the first time at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February, includes refined designs and new camera features. Sony’s engineers have delivered new textures and curves that extended seamlessly from the glass display to the chassis which makes it feel even more comfortable in your hand. One impressive innovation of the Xperia X range…

Episode 204 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast, hosted by editor Stephen Fenech, is here to keep you updated and educated about the latest consumer tech news and reviews. On this week’s show, Samsung Pay has launched in Australia, Etihad Stadium unveils its new smart seats and we find out how developers are reacting to the Apple software updates. In the Tech Guide reviews, we check out the Samsung Gear Fit 2 activity tracker, the free application that can create and remember strong passwords and the SanDisk USB-C flash drive. In the Tech Guide Help Desk, we take a look…

Vodafone is putting its money where its mouth is and offering its new post-paid consumers and business users a 30-day money-back network satisfaction guarantee. An industry first, Vodafone’s guarantee will apply for the first 30 days and allow customers to cancel their contract and refund any monthly access fees and monthly handset instalments if they are not happy with Vodafone’s network. This 30-day Vodafone guarantee is also available to business customers with up to nine connections. On top of the network guarantee, Vodafone is also offering one month of unlimited data for use within Australia for new customers signing up…

If you want to travel with your Apple Watch, then TimePorter makes it easy to carry your essential accessories while it can also be used as a stand when you reach your destination. TimePorter, from TwelveSouth, looks like a glasses case and has room to neatly wind your extra-long charging cable and also store the USB charging adaptor. The outside of the case has an opening for the magnetic Apple Watch charging disc at the end of the cable so users can position the device on top of the case for a recharge. This is handy to have when travelling…

Your concept of a USB connection is changing with more devices adopting USB-C including laptops, tablets and smartphones and SanDisk has responded with a new USB-C Flash Drive. This comes at a time when the number of USB-C supported devices released in 2016 will increase dramatically. And just as customers will be purchasing products with this new, more advanced USB standard, SanDisk is offering these new flash drives to complete ecosystem of compatible products. The SanDisk Ultra USB-C Flash Drive will offer the same capabilities they’ve come to expect from traditional ports, but with the added benefit of better performance.…

Samsung’s latest fitness tracker – the Gear Fit 2 – is easily the best the company has produced thanks to an impressive combination of design, quality, features and value. There are a lot of activity wearables on the market but Samsung’s latest effort delivers the features customers are looking for to help them track their fitness and reach their health goals. The Gear Fit 2 is also part smartwatch so you can receive notifications for incoming calls, messages, calendar reminders, alarms, social media notifications and emails. Priced at an affordable $289, Samsung’s Gear Fit 2 easily holds its own again…

All the experts tell us to have long and strong passwords for each of our different accounts and to change them every month or so, but trying to remember all of them is near impossible. As a result, many people use the same passwords across multiple accounts. Hackers and cyber criminals know this is a common habit so if they can crack one of your accounts then they’ve got access to most of your accounts. So what do we do? There is a free and easy solution with Dashlane that works on your Mac, PC and also on iPhones and…

Rolls Royce is a brand that’s already synonymous with luxury but now the car company is looking to the future and has presented its vision on the fusion of technology and motoring. The Rolls Royce Vision Next 100 is a project led by the Rolls Royce director of design Giles Taylor and takes a bold look forward and asks how the prestigious car brand can redefine luxury for the next hundred years. As a result of these questions they came up with four key tenets that underpin that vision: The Personal Vision, The Effortless Journey, The Grand Sanctuary and The…

Monday is World Wi-Fi Day and Telstra, the only Australian partner for the event, is offering free wireless connectivity at more than 400,000 hotspots around the country. From Friday June 17 until Monday June 20, Telstra is allowing anyone with a smartphone, tablet or other device to connect for free. Telstra customers are already enjoying this free connection which, for them, runs until September 30 on Telstra Air – the nation’s largest national wi-fi network. World Wi-Fi Day was created by the Wireless Broadband Alliance and is aimed at accelerating the rollout of affordable wireless connectivity around the world. Free…

Developers are already praising the updates Apple announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference for iOS 10, macOS Sierra, tvOS and watchOS 3. Tech Guide caught up with some of them in San Francisco. During a session at WWDC at the Moscone Centre, we had a chance to talk to the people behind some of the most popular apps and how the changes across all four of Apple’s platforms will enhance their platforms. JIBJAB JibJab is an app that allows users to create and share personalised e-cards with friends and family. With the changes to iOS 10 and the ability to…