Author: Stephen Fenech

It’s Episode 231 of the top-rating Two Blokes Talking Tech podcast, with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long, where we discuss the most important tech news and products of the week. On this week’s program: Microsoft announces pricing for the Surface Book, Surface Pro 4 and details of the Microsoft Sydney store grand opening. Also on the show, Samsung launches the R Series of wireless 360-degree speakers, Optus wins the English Premier League rights and Amaysim adds data and lowers prices in the SIM-only mobile plan wars. We also take a look at how well Bing Predicts…

Wireless multiroom speakers are pretty common nowadays but they tend to be on the expensive side. Laser has broken through the pack with an affordable solution to hear your music anywhere in your home. Laser’s WFQ10 wireless speaker is only about 24cm wide and about 12cm long so it has a fairly small footprint. Available in black and white, the Laser speaker has a simple oval shape and clean design and would look right at home in any room of the house. The speaker connects easily to your home network and it can be configured through the Qualcomm AllPlay app…

Australian pricing has been announced for the new Surface Book laptop, Surface Pro 4 and the Microsoft Band 2 which will all be available on the same day the Sydney Microsoft store opens on November 12. The new Microsoft flagship store in Sydney’s Pitt St Mall, the first to be opened outside of North America, will allow customers to get their hands on these exciting new products. The Surface Book laptop will available at the store or online at www.microsoftstore.com and will start at $2,299. The Surface Pro 4 tablet that could also be used as a laptop is lighter,…

Drones come in all shapes and sizes but for those who don’t want a larger more expensive model, Parrot has a cool range of mini drones that are fun to fly and can be controlled with your mobile device. For our review we took the Parrot Airborne Cargo Drone called Mars for a test flight. The device is small and light – it has a wingspan of about 15cm without the propeller shields and 18cm with the shields with a weight of 54g and 63g respectively. It links wirelessly via Bluetooth to your smartphone or tablet with the FreeFlight 3…

There’s an expectation when you flick the light switch on or plug something into a power point – it just works. Wherever and however the power is generated, it simply makes its way to us. The presumption for most people is that’s how simply the grid has been built and how simply it works today. But scratch just below the surface and you soon realise the grid is far more clever than that. That’s what I discovered when I went along to a CSIRO and Energy Network Association (ENA) workshop on the Electricity Network Transformation Roadmap. This traditional view of…

Get the lowdown on the latest tech news, reviews and opinions with Episode 172 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast, hosted by editor Stephen Fenech who keeps his listeners updated and educated. On a packed show this week we take a look at the SIM only plans that are competing for your business, the headphone brand that has topped the customer satisfaction survey and Channel Nine to start broadcasting its primary channel in high definition. In the Tech Guide Interview, we catch up with champion hurdler, hip swinging YouTube sensation and new Philips ActionFit earphones ambassador Michelle Jenneke. In the…

Samsung has just released the new R Series wireless speaker range that offers 360-degree sound and top shelf audio quality that was developed at the company’s new Los Angeles audio labs. The R Series speakers have a tubular design that incorporates Samsung’s ring radiator technology so the sound is sent out in all directions. And they all have Bluetooth and wi-fi onboard so they can be controlled wirelessly in any room of your home with an app that’s available for iOS and Android devices. The speakers also have a control interface on the circular top panel to navigate your music…

It’s Melbourne Cup time – the race that stops a nation – so Microsoft has put Bing to work to predict the winner by analysing historical statistics, performances and other contributing factors. Bing Predicts has also taken into account the expected track conditions which will be cross referenced with corresponding races the horses have run in similar conditions. Also included in the assessment were web activities and social updates to strengthen the quality of the prediction while capturing other information like injuries, controversies and other changes that may affect the outcome. So with all of that in mind. Bing Predicts…

Amaysim has responded to the competition in the SIM only mobile plan market by adding more data and simplifying its offerings in an effort to reduce worry and confusion for its customers. According to the latest Galaxy Research, 58 per cent of Australian mobile customers say simple cost structure was essential while half of those surveyed said they could probably get a better deal if they shopped around. Amaysim, the fourth largest mobile service provider in Australia, has made unlimited standard talk and text and unlimited international SMS and MMS standard across all of its plans which start at $24.95…

Who hasn’t ever dreamed of being a rock star and showing off their awesome guitar skills in front of a capacity crowd? For those of us who didn’t achieve this for real – we’ve got Guitar Hero Live. The popular music game is back but it has been revamped right down to the guitar itself. And, unlike the first game, players have the choice of playing to a live audience or to the music video of some of the best songs ever recorded. The guitar is not quite full size but still big enough to comfortably play. It comes with…

Two Blokes Talking Tech Episode 230, with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long, is here to deliver a comprehensive wrap of the latest news and product reviews. On this week’s show, PlayStation VR –when it’s coming and what can we expect, Apple TV pricing and Apple Pay finally coming to Australia before the end of the year. Also on the agenda, Garmin GPS alert device for cyclists, Channel 9 to broadcast in HD, ad funded mobile credit with Lebara Mobile and Woolies are on Minecraft. In the minute reviews, Stephen takes a look at the Moto X…

Headphones and earphones are one of the most popular tech products with customers and Canstar Blue has just released a customer satisfaction survey that reveals Australia’s favourite brand. The survey was split into two categories – one for headphones and one for earphones – and conducted among 1,255 adults who purchased new headphones or earphones in the last two years. The respondents were asked to rate the products in a number of categories – value for money, comfort, sound quality, design, weight, audio enhancements and overall satisfaction. After the results were tallied, Bose emerged as the clear winner in both…

The new Apple TV – called the future of TV by Apple CEO Tim Cook when it was unveiled in September – is now available to buy. And it’s bigger, better and smarter than the previous model. Apple TV can enhance a user’s experience with the best and biggest screen in the house. And it does that by introducing apps to the TV via an all-new tvOS – an operating system that will allow developers to create apps optimised for the big screen. iTunes, Netflix, Tenplay, Stan are apps we’ve already used with Apple TV but the 2015 model takes…

Garmin, a leader in GPS and wireless sports devices, has unveiled an all-new vivosmart HR activity tracker that can monitor your heart rate and your daily activities and deliver notifications from your smartphone. The Garmin vivosmart HR is a comprehensive update of the previous model and has a larger always-on display that can be read even in the brightest sunlight. It has also added the Elevate wrist heart rate technology sensor to track your heart rate 24/7 whether you’re working out, at rest or asleep. The device also measures steps, distance travelled and calories and can even tell how many…

In a world where there are so many Android smartphones, the challenge for manufacturers is to stand out from the crowd and that’s exactly what Motorola has set out to do with the Moto X Style. Our smartphones are with us all the time and for many they have become a stylish accessory. The Moto X Style thinks outside the box when it comes to the look of the device. Nearly every phone on the market is made out of glass, plastic and steel. Looking at the device’s screen, the Moto X Style looks similar to other phones on the…

Channel 9 will broadcast high definition on its primary channel and launch a new lifestyle channel and a digital streaming service as part of a major plan to revamp the way it delivers its programs. “The New Nine” was unveiled at an upfront event today where the Nine Entertainment Co outlined its ambitious plans. NINEHD It’s been a long time coming but Nine has responded to viewer requests to offer more mainstream programming in high definition. As of November 26, the main Nine channel will now be simulcast in HD on Channel 90 with Gem moving to Channel 92with Go…

Apple Pay is coming to Australia before the end of the year with American Express the first company to offer its members the ability to pay on the go with an iPhone, Apple Watch or the iPad. American Express card holders will be able to add their eligible consumer, small business and corporate cards to Apple Pay. Customers can then pay with their iPhone and Apple Watch in stores where contactless payments and American Express cards are accepted. It will also be possible for card holders to pay within participating merchant apps. “Our customers love their experience with Apple Pay…

Get the lowdown on the latest tech news, reviews and opinions with Episode 171 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast hosted by editor Stephen Fenech who keeps listeners updated and educated about the latest consumer technology. On this week’s show Google reveals pricing and availability of the Nexus 5X and the Nexus 6P, are we getting the message about mobile recycling and Sonos releases new speaker tuning software and an all-new top-of-the-line speaker. In the Tech Guide Reviews, we check out the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2, the new UE Boom 2 speaker and the ALLDOCK charging station. In the Tech…

Google has announced the pricing and availability of its latest Nexus smartphones – the 5X and the 6P – which are the first devices to run the new Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system. The 5X – created by LG – has a 5.2-inch full high definition screen while the 6P, manufactured by Huawei, boasts a 5.7-inch WQHD AMOLED display. Both devices will available to purchase outright or on a plan on November 3. They are the first devices to be running Google’s latest Android 6.0 operating system Marshmallow. Each device has a 12.3-magapixel camera capable of shooting 4K video along…

The UE Boom Bluetooth speaker literally made a big noise when it was introduced two years ago and now the follow-up – the UE Boom 2 – is taking it to the next level. The tubular UE Boom 2 speaker from Logitech looks almost identical to the original and it can stream your music from your mobile device via Bluetooth over a range of about 30m. It is 18cm tall with a 6.7cm diameter and weighs in at 548g. It is made from durable plastic with a tightly woven stainproof fabric cover over the speakers that can repel dirt and…