Author: Stephen Fenech

Samsung has released the first 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player – the UBD K8500 – which is available to buy now from leading Australian retailers to provide an unparalleled home entertainment experience. And Tech Guide has already take a look at it. Now customers who have already purchased a 4K Ultra High Definition television can enjoy the full resolution of their TV – which is four times the resolution of Blu-ray – with the new 4K Blu-ray Discs which will hit the market next week. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release hit film The Revenant next week on 4K…

Kogan.com has unveiled lightweight 2-in-1 hybrid Windows 10 device that can be used as either a tablet or a laptop while you’re on the move – and it’s priced well below $300. The flagship Atlas device, which is priced at just $259, weighs just 600g and has a full-sized keyboard with a 10.1-inch high definition touchscreen display that can be detached and used on its own as a tablet. Powered by the latest generation Intel Atom x5 processor, the Atlas 2-in-1 hybrid device has an SD card slot along with a micro USB 2.0 port, a full size USB 3.0…

Samsung has unveiled the latest version of its credit card sized portable SSD (solid state drive) which offers multi-terabyte storage capacity so you can store, carry and transfer your content quickly and easily. The Samsung Portable SSD T3 is small enough to fit in your pocket. It is 7.4cm long, 5.8cm wide and 1.05cm thick. It is a versatile solution for users like photographers, videographers and designers who work with high volumes of data that need to be stored and shared. And it’s also suitable for anyone else who wants to expand the storage capacity of their laptop, tablet or…

A lot of people are enjoying Netflix on the go on their mobile devices but most don’t realise how much data they are using on cellular networks. Now there’s a new feature to help viewers work it out and take control. The Netflix Cellular Data Usage tool lets users take complete control of how much data they are using while streaming movies and TV shows on the move. Users will need to run the latest update on the Netflix app on iOS and Android. The default setting will allow viewers to stream about three hours of TV shows and movies…

Two Blokes Talking Tech Episode 253 with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long is coming to you live from Bali where Huawei has launched its P9 smartphone. The Huawei P9 has twin camera lenses on the back of the device and has partnered with Leica to take smartphone photography to the next level. Also on the show, Vodafone launches MyMix pre-paid plans which can be personalized to suit your needs, Panasonic launches its first 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc player and the fallout of Optus’s rights to the English Premier League. We also take a look at…

Huawei has made a bold move with its latest smartphone – the P9 – and it is taking mobile photography to an all-new level with a two-lens camera and a partnership with iconic camera manufacturer Leica. The P9 has a 5.2-inch full high definition display and a 64-bit octa-core processor and is running Android 6.0 Marshmallow. It is just 6.95mm thick. With photography such a major use for our smartphones, Huawei set out to reinvent the possibilities with the P9. More than a trillion photographs were taken around the world last year, according to Huawei, with about 80 per cent…

Garmin has launched the Approach X40 that’s been designed especially for golfers that will not only help them on the course but also keep track of all of their daily activities as well. The golf band is slim and lightweight, much smaller than other golf watches, and can be worn 24/7. It has a 1-inch monochrome screen that’s easy to read even in bright sunlight. The versatile X40 has data for more than 40,000 international courses onboard with no additional fees or subscriptions and provides precise distances to the front, middle and back of the green along with hazards, layups,…

The Dick Smith brand – purchased by online retailer Kogan.com – has been relaunched with an all-new website that is already open for business for customers a month earlier than expected. Kogan.com have built the new retail site in less than two months after acquiring the Dick Smith online business in March with a launch date planned for June. But Kogan’s team managed to build a fully responsive online platform in less than two months to allow customers to shop on the site from their computer or mobile device. The site has a clean and uncluttered design and leverages the…

The Federal Budget has been handed down and there was plenty of talk about tax – reducing it for small and medium businesses and ensuring companies like Google and Apple don’t avoid it. A new Diverted Profits Tax (DPT) was announced to combat large multinational companies shifting their profits offshore and paying tax overseas instead of here in Australia. The DPT, also nicknamed the “Google Tax”, will come into effect on July 1, 2017 and will apply to companies with global revenue of more than $1 billion like Microsoft, Google and Apple. “This measure will apply a 40 per cent…

Episode 197 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast, hosted by editor Stephen Fenech, is available to stream right now so you can stay updated and educated about the latest tech news, views and reviews. On this week’s show, Vodafone’s new MyMix pre-paid plans which can be customized to suit your needs, ANZ launches Apple Pay in Australia and Panasonic announces Australia’s first 4K Ultra High Definition Blu-ray player. In the Tech Guide Reviews, we take a look at the HTC 10 smartphones, the Logi Base for the iPad Pro and the Nikon app that lets you stream images from your…

The next stunning installment of the immensely popular Call of Duty franchise has just been revealed. It’s called Infinite Warfare and, for the first time, the action will extend beyond Earth. Due for worldwide release on November 4, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare has been developed by Infinity Ward – the same studio that created the iconic Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. The focus of the game, as always, is a rich and immersive story line that is epic in scale and involving everything from fighting a gritty ground battle to piloting a spacecraft. The specifics of the story have…

Amazon’s latest e-reader – the Kindle Oasis – is a slick new device that’s thinner and lighter than anything that’s come before it and provides a luxurious reading experience anywhere you go. Tech Guide got its hands on the Kindle Oasis and we were surprised at how small it is. It’s just 3.4mm at its thinnest point and is lighter than a smartphone at just 131g. But that wasn’t the surprising part. The Kindle Oasis is the same size as a CD case (14.3cm wide and 12.2cm long) and it was actually small enough to fit in the back pocket…

Vodafone today unveiled MyMix – a new pre-paid mobile plan which can be personalised to suit your needs. You can choose the level of inclusions so you get exactly what you want. Customers who purchase a Vodafone SIM can access an innovative interface within the MyVodafone application which presents a range of variable options to choose from like data, local and international calls and the expiry period. And as changes are made to the set-up, the price of the plan at the bottom of the screen changes. In the MyMix set-up page, customers can choose the amount of data they…

HTC is like a rock band that enjoyed a few early hits but hasn’t been able to crack the charts recently. It’s best hope for years to regain some glory is the impressive HTC 10 smartphone. And with Apple and Samsung producing hits like U2 and the Rolling Stones, HTC has got its work cut out for it. The HTC 10 is the first step back in that comeback. DESIGN In the past HTC’s flagship devices have had an eye catching design but not much changed style-wise with the most recent models. Not so with the HTC 10. This Android…

If you prefer to use your dedicated digital camera to capture your moments but still want to easily share those images – Nikon has a solution called SnapBridge that syncs images to your mobile device as you shoot. Nikon has created SnapBridge to keep their compatible wi-fi cameras constantly connected to the user’s smartphone or tablet. This way any image you’ve captured on your Nikon camera can be immediately accessed on your mobile device to share with friends or on social media. When transferred to your mobile device, the images are resized to 1920 x 1080 resolution for easier sharing.…

Episode 252 of the Two Blokes Talking Tech podcast, with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long, is coming to you live from Melbourne at the launch of the Oppo R9 smartphone. The blokes were in Melbourne for the event which saw not only the announcement of the handsome new Oppo R9 smartphone but also the partnership with electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi. Also on the show, the record-breaking first episode of Game of Thrones Season Six, Acer’s latest devices unveiled in New York and we try work out the best smartphone camera. Stephen and Trevor also run their…

Kogan Mobile’s pre-paid 3G SIM only plans in partnership with Vodafone, which include generous data allowances and unlimited calls and text, will be switched to the 4G network in the coming months at no extra cost. Existing and future customers on all of Kogan Mobile’s pre-paid options – 1XL, 3XL and 5XL – will be cut over to 4G by June. And the best news is it won’t cost them a cent to enjoy faster 4G speeds on Vodafone’s network in all major metropolitan areas and selected regional areas across Australia. “Kogan Mobile has become so popular because of its…

Panasonic has officially unveiled Australia’s first 4K Ultra High Definition Blu-ray player which can play native razor sharp 4K content for the highest quality home viewing experience on offer. The Panasonic DMP-UB900GNK has a sleek design with a glass cut finish and mirrored front panel and will deliver 4K movies in the same quality they were presented in cinemas and just as the filmmakers intended for them to be seen. The new DMP-UB900GNK, which won’t go on sale in Australian until September, comes with the Ultra HD Premium certification and will also unlock the next generation of 4K Ultra HD…

ANZ customers will be able to use Apple Pay from today to make contactless payments with their iPhones and Apple Watches with a linked ANZ Visa debit or credit card or ANZ America Express card. ANZ is the first major Australian bank to offer Apple Pay. ANZ customers can find out how to set up Apple Pay on their devices here and here. “The introduction of Apple Pay is a significant milestone in our strategy to use digital technology to provide our customers with a superior experience and will be a watershed moment in the adoption of mobile payments in Australia,” said…

Dyson products have perfected the act of moving around large volumes of air with its vacuums and fans and now it has applied that technology to create the Supersonic hair dryer. Unveiled in Tokyo, the Dyson Supersonic has reinvented the humble hair dryer after four years of development and an investment of more than $90 million. The new Dyson product is unlike typically bulky hair dryers and is powered by the patented V9 digital motor. It’s the smallest motor the company has ever produced but it’s also one of its most advanced. The Dyson digital motor is actually small enough…