Author: Stephen Fenech

Samsung’s new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy Note7, is available to purchase from today and there are already a number of cases and covers available to protect your investment. The Galaxy Note7 has a 5.7-inch Super AMOLED screen and a sleek curved design along with a new iris scanner so the device can be unlocked simply by looking at it. Also included is the S Pen which allows users to write, draw and paint on the screen as well as magnify portions of the display and even translate text. READ TECH GUIDE’S COMPLETE REVIEW OF THE SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 7 The…

The best way to release a product customers want is to get them to help you design it. That’s exactly what Kobo did and the result is the Aura ONE – an e-reader with the largest e-ink screen on the market. Kobo’s Aura ONE was created with the help of its best customers who challenged the company to push the envelope with the hardware and the software. After months of collaboration Kobo came up with a device that has an edge to edge 7.8-inch screen with front-light technology. The display, which has 300ppi (pixels per inch) for print-quality resolution, is…

Panasonic’s new Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm f4-f6.3 is the best of times and the worst of times and if I’m starting a review with Dickens you can be sure there’s a good reason for it. First, the best of times. In ideal conditions, by which I mean strong lighting with scenes with good contrast, and a subject within 100m, you’ve got yourself a terrific lens. The zoom length is very useful for a wide range of telephoto subjects and the optics are very good, performing at their best at less than 300mm, or at least that’s my impression after four…

Navman has released its latest range of MiVUE dashcam products that are designed to provide drivers with clear footage of any on-road assistants that can be used in an insurance claim. There are five MiVUE products in the line-up which offer continual recording to automatically capture any driving event when it detects collisions or hard braking. On the higher end Navman products, there are also a number of new Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) safety features that are found in luxury cars like lane departure alerts and front collision warnings. Video is captured and stored on a microSD card and…

If Samsung was a band and the Galaxy Note7 was a new album – it would include all of the group’s greatest hits plus a few brand new songs and a stunning cover that will get your attention. By that we mean there are all of the high-quality features you’d expect alongside a few new ones and it’s all housed in a well-designed sleek chassis. Samsung is flexing some serious muscle with the Galaxy Note7. The device showcases the company’s strengths – great design, high performance, a suite of useful features and innovation that will appeal just as much to…

To stay updated and educated about the latest consumer tech news and reviews you need to tune in to Episode 212 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast, hosted by editor Stephen Fenech. On this week’s show, Optus falls at the first hurdle with its live streaming of the English Premier League, the wash-up of the Census debacle and Star Wars The Force Awakens in 3D is coming to Blu-ray. In the Tech Guide reviews, we take a look at the Power Jump battery that can charge all of your mobile devices AND jump start your car as well, the Laser…

NBN has just released its latest its financial year results and it has exceeded targets in the number of premises connected, the number of end users, revenue and customer satisfaction. In the 12 months ending on 30 June 2016, NBN – the company building Australia’s broadband network – announced the number of connected homes has more than doubled from 1.2 million to 2.9 million which exceeded the target of 2.6 million. The number of active NBN services has also more than doubled from 486,000 to more than 1.1 million – eclipsing the target of 955,000. And with all of those…

The 3D version of Star Wars The Force Awakens will be released in November for the first time in a special four-disc collector’s edition and will include even more special features and deleted scenes. Moviegoers were able to enjoy The Force Awaken in 3D during the film’s record breaking theatrical run and now they can enjoy it in their homes. It will be the same original theatrical release but in immersive 3D. The collector’s edition will include the 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, Digital HD and DVD along with a host of never-before-seen bonus features and deleted scenes. 3D COLLECTOR’S EDITION BONUS…

Optus is blaming a satellite disruption for the bumpy start to its first live transmission of English Premier League that had fans seeing red and taking to Twitter to express their disappointment. The issues interrupted the Sunday night matches Manchester United v  Bournemouth and Arsenal v Liverpool with viewers on the Optus Sports App reporting the live stream was cutting out, pixelating the screen and suffering delays of up to 60 seconds which can hardly be called “live”. The hashtag #OptusOut was trending on Twitter at one point. Fans were in shock when Optus outbid Foxtel for the rights to…

We’ve all seen those batteries that can recharge your mobile devices but what about a battery that can do all of that and also have enough to juice to jump start your car if you’ve got a flat battery. That’s exactly what you get with the Power Jump 7.5 battery. It weighs just 222g and, at 16mm thick, is about the size of a small portable hard drive. If you’ve got a flat battery you can use the device to jump start a car, motorbike, speedboat, snow mobile – any petrol engine with up to 3.0L capacity with a battery.…

There are not many 40-year-old films that have lasted the test of time and still have a huge fan-base all these years later. The original Rocky film – the winner of the 1976 Oscar for Best Picture – is one of those films. This is a tale of a down-on-his-luck boxer whose million to one shot at the title made him prove to himself that he was one in a million. The story behind how the film was written and made reflects the onscreen character’s struggle. Sylvester Stallone was down to his last dollar and wrote the original Rocky script…

There’s one thing about our favourite older speakers – we grow quite attached to them but a new device from Laser can now bring them up to date with the latest wireless technology. The Laser Wireless Wi-Fi Adaptor can transform regular speakers into wi-fi-enabled speakers that can also become part of a multi-room audio set-up. Weighting just 105g, the Laser Wireless Wi-Fi Adaptor is small enough not to be noticed but connects via an auxiliary port and includes a Qualcomm AllPlay chip. With dual-band wi-fi and the AllPlay smart media platform, the Laser device is capable of connecting to 10…

Here I am in New York City and, after watching and reading the many US reports about our Census debacle, I’m feeling a deep embarrassment about what Americans must think of us. To the rest of the world, Australia is considered a tech-savvy nation of early adopters with a clear roadmap of our future. At least we were. Today we’re looking like a bunch of hillbillies with NBC, the New York Times, USA Today and even the Toronto Star (just to name a few) reporting about our Census fail and using words like “chaos” and “plagued”. Many Americans still think…

The Vinyl revival is continuing thanks to the release of high quality products like the Rega Planar 2 turntable which brings with it an iconic design and impressive sound quality that’s the result of two years development. Now available in Australia through Synergy, the distributor of high-end audio products, the Rega Planar 2 turntable has a trademark central bearing 10mm glass platter with a gloss acrylic plinth and an all-new RB220 tonearm. It also has redesigned feet so there’s reduced vibration. Other new features include custom bearings and an automatic bias adjustment so it is really easy to set up.…

Value mobile service provider Vaya can now lay claim to having Australia’s cheapest unlimited mobile plan with a new offering that costs just $16 a month. And with the option of selecting a 12-month plan, that cost can come down to $174 upfront for the year which works out to be $14.50 a month. The Unlimited S Plan has unlimited calls and texts and 1GB of data. The new $16 plan from Vaya, which uses the Optus 4G network, is similar to the plans offered by Telstra, Optus and Vodafone that cost more than $30 a month. Vaya will also…

The drama around Australia’s failed online Census has deepened with government claiming the interruption was the result of a cyber attack which most likely came from hackers overseas. Australian Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim has opened an investigation to make sure no personal information had been compromised. But Small Business Minister Michael McCormack contradicted the Australian Privacy Commissioner’s press release and tweets and said in a press conference that the interruption “was not an attack, nor was it a hack”. McCormack, the minister responsible for the Census, has put a totally different spin on it. “It was an attempt to frustrate…

It’s time to get updated and educated about the latest consumer tech news and reviews with Episode 211 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast, hosted by editor Stephen Fenech. On this week’s show recorded in New York, Instagram Stories – is it a rip off of Snapchat, a vulnerability puts 900 million Android devices worldwide at risk and we take a hands-on look at the Samsung Galaxy Note7 and chat with Samsung Australia vice president Phil Newton about it. In the Tech Guide reviews, we run our eye over the D-Link Wide-Eye 180-degree security camera and the Epson range of…

The latest 9.7-inch iPad Pro is already a pretty handy device but if you add the new Logitech CREATE Backlit Keyboard case you can get even more out of Apple’s sleek tablet for work or play. Not only is it a protective case but is also incorporates a full size backlit keyboard as well as an integrated holder for the Apple Pencil. It is made from tightly woven premium fabric and can resist bumps and spills. The Logitech CREATE Backlit Keyboard is designed to be powered through the Apple Smart Connector located on the side edge of the iPad. It…

Alarming vulnerabilities in Qualcomm’s chipset for Android devices have been discovered putting 900 million users worldwide at risk – including more than 10 million Australians. There are four vulnerabilities which would allow hackers to take control of Android devices and also access personal data as well. Dubbed QuadRooter, the threat was revealed at the Def Con security conference in Las Vegas and can potentially affect Android smartphones manufactured by some of the biggest companies including Samsung, HTC, LG, Sony and Motorola. Some of the latest Android devices running the Qualcomm chipsets in question include: * Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7…

Snapchat had better watch out. Instagram has just launched a new feature called Stories – which many see as a direct rip-off of Snapchat’s feature where you can post pictures and videos in a timeline. Ironically, Facebook (which owns Instagram) made a bid for Snapchat a couple of years ago with an offer of more than $US3 billion. Snapchat politely declined and then took off like a rocket on a launch pad with a current valuation of more than $US18 billion and more than 150 million daily active users. Instagram has more than 300 million daily active users and 500…