Author: Stephen Fenech

We all like to save money on fuel when we can and 7-Eleven has made that a little easier with a world-first app that lets you search local stores to find best price in your area. The new 7-Eleven Fuel app, available on iOS and Android, gives drivers the ability to check out the 7-Eleven stores near them to find the lowest price. Customers can then lock in that price and then fill up their car within seven days – at that price – at any 7-Eleven store in Australia. The app, which uses a unique algorithm and geo-location technology,…

DJI has unveiled the latest Phantom 4 drone which is packed with new features that make it easier to fly, easier to shoot stunning video and with the intelligence to avoid obstacles and track subjects. The DJI Phantom 4 has had its biggest redesign and now has a sleek look with a shiny exterior and graphite undercarriage. Its new shape makes it even more aerodynamic and it can now handle strong winds and gusts from any direction to maintain its flight path. Also onboard is a new three-axis gimbal to keep the camera stabilised for even smoother shooting. It also…

Episode 188 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast, hosted by editor Stephen Fenech, is now available so you can stay updated and educated about the latest tech news, reviews and opinions. On this week’s show, the smart, connected and self-driving car of the future, Qantas to roll out free high-speed wi-fi to passengers and Samsung S7 and S7 Edge plans announced. Also on the program, Facebook unveils Reactions and Oppo reveals a battery that can charge your smartphone in just 15 minutes. In the Tech Guide Reviews, we check out the Noke smart Bluetooth lock and take a look at…

If you’re a Telstra customer, you can now take up a generous offer of free additional cloud storage on Microsoft’s OneDrive so you can safely store all of your important files online. Existing Telstra customers with pre-paid and post-paid smartphone plans along with mobile broadband and home broadband accounts will be eligible for 200GB of OneDrive storage – at no extra cost. This additional cloud storage now means users can free up their device’s memory and store their photos, videos and music on OneDrive. And they can be shared with other people and accessed from any device. OneDrive also allows…

The rumours are getting stronger about Apple unveiling a new entry-level iPhone this month to attract a wider range of customers who can’t afford the current iPhone models. The device – reportedly called the iPhone 5SE – is said to have a four-inch screen with an updated metal design that includes the Touch ID fingerprint reader. Apple is said to be planning a launch event for the iPhone 5SE for March 21. According to reports, the iPhone 5SE will have an 8-megapixel camera and will have support for Live Photos but will not have the 3D Touch Display that was…

Noke is a smart Bluetooth padlock that lets you use your smartphone to open it so you don’t have the hassle of carrying keys and remembering combinations to get through your gate, get to your bike or get into your shed. Noke is pronounced “no key” and that’s exactly how it works – there is no key. The Noke padlock has a boron-hardened shackle and is sturdy enough to secure your property and your belongings. And it’s also built to go anywhere and be used in any weather conditions thanks to watertight O-rings that will keep water and mud out…

1986 was a big year in technology and featured a number of new devices, applications and events that paved the way to the products and software we are today 30 years later in 2016. It was a time when companies like Microsoft and Apple were gaining strength and growing its customer base. The personal computer was the hottest new item with the product in the process of moving from the office into the home. In 1986, we saw the Space Shuttle Challenger explode 73 seconds after launch, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, we were keeping an eye out for Halley’s Comet…

Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is all about networks, smartphones and connectivity but another area highlighted this year was the connected car and what that vehicle of the future might look like. Harman was one company showcasing the possibilities of the ultimate car of the future that will not only keep you just as connected as your smartphone but would also drive itself. On the stand at MWC in Barcelona was a self-driving connected concept car that had a large touchscreen and a steering wheel that can alternate between the left side of the car and the right side of…

The Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge smartphones are now available to pre-order with Telstra, Optus, Vodafone and Virgin Mobile releasing their pricing plans for the devices which go on sale on March 11. And anyone who pre-orders either device will receive a bonus Gear VR headset. Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona with an updated design, Super AMOLED displays (S7 – 5.1-inch screen, S7 Edge – 5.5-inch screen), a processor that’s 30 per cent faster than last year and an improved 12-megapixel camera. The devices are also both…

Tech Guide took a look at Alcatel’s new Idol 4 and Idol 4S smartphones at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona which are set to give expensive big brand smartphones a serious run for their money. And customers who buy the device will be holding a virtual reality headset without even knowing it – the packaging the Idol 4 and Idol 4S comes in is actually the VR headset. With a new name – the brand is now just Alcatel, not Alcatel OneTouch – it’s an exciting new dawn for the company which has made a habit or providing value for…

Now you can do a lot more than like things on Facebook with the release of Reactions which allows users to choose a more appropriate response for what they’re friends are doing and sharing. Now if you hover your mouse over the like button on your browser or press and hold like on your smartphone, you’ll get some other choices including Love, Haha, Wow, Sad and Angry. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement with a post and video (on Facebook naturally!) and explained the thinking behind Reactions. “Not every moment you want to share is happy. Sometimes…

Imagine being able to charge your mobile device in just 15 minutes? That’s what smartphone company Oppo has unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Battery power – or lack of it for most users – is the number one complaint with smartphone users no matter what device they are using. But Oppo’s Super VOOC Flash Charge technology can fill an average smartphone’s battery (2500mAh) in just 15 minutes. This breakthrough is an improvement on Oppo’s original VOOC Flash Charge which was introduced in 2014 and could provide an additional two hours of talk time to your device after…

Data is one of the most precious parts of our smartphone plans but app-usage research has found that on average 30 per cent of all data is used by apps running in the background of our devices. Background data is used when you’re not actually using an app like fetching emails, updating feeds and pre-fetching news stories and ads that we might not even see. The worst culprits according to the Opera Max Android app users are Facebook Messenger and Gmail closely followed by Google Drive and WhatsApp. “Most apps are made to give a great user experience, not to…

The Two Blokes Talking Tech, Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long, are celebrating their fifth anniversary and are in Barcelona for the Mobile World Congress. This week’s Episode 244 marks five years since the blokes began bringing you the hottest tech news in a fun yet informative way each week. On the agenda for this program are the new releases by Samsung with the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, LG’s G5 and Alcatel’s Idol 4 and Idol 4S. Also on the show, Sony’s new Xperia X range of smartphones, Huawei’s MateBook, Telstra’s upcoming gateway that can reach…

Garmin has released two more fitness devices – the vivoactive HR GPS smartwatch and the vivofit 3 activity tracker that build on the company’s already impressive portfolio of products. For customers who want to gain an insight into their activity levels or have set their sights on reaching a fitness goal, these new Garmin devices can help you stay on course. Anyone who wants to improve their health, a great place to start is to know your current level of fitness and work from there. And it’s products like the vivoactive HR and vivofit 3 that can help. VIVOACTVE HR…

HP has thrown its hat back in the smartphone ring with the HP Elite x3 – a powerful Windows 10 mobile device that’s a lot more than just a phone – it puts your PC in your pocket. Unveiled at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the HP Elite x3 is aimed at high-end and business users and is a device that is a phablet, a laptop and desktop productivity tool in one. It has a huge 5.96-inch WQHD display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 which is large and sharp enough to use on the move to stay productive with…

Telstra CEO Andy Penn says sharing 360-degree videos will become the latest challenge for networks as customers embrace the growing number of 360-degress cameras to create and share their content. Speaking at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Mr Penn says the 4G network will be able to handle the anticipated extra load of 360 videos that have the potential to become the next big video format. “There’s a lot of technology and investment that we’re putting in improving video both in terms of radio access network and the fixed network,” he said. “The data increases on the mobile network in…

Episode 187 of the top rating Tech Guide podcast, hosted by editor Stephen Fenech, is coming to you live from the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona where the latest smartphones have been released. In this week’s show, we take a look at the devices released by Samsung, LG, Alcatel and Telstra. We also chat with Samsung Australia vice president for IT and mobile Prasad Gokhale about the new Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge devices. In the Tech Guide Reviews, we check out the SkyHawk 9600 ultra high powered binoculars and the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 3 Pro. And we also discuss…

Samsung’s new Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge devices won’t be available to customers until March 11 but Tech Guide has already had a thorough hands-in look at the two devices at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Right from the moment you lay eyes on the smartphones you can immediately see the quality and craftsmanship that combines both glass and metal into the sleek lines of the devices. The design language has had a slight tweak from last year with more curves on the rear panels to make them rest more comfortably in your palm as if they are meant…

Huawei has entered the Windows tablet space with MateBook – a 2-in-1 device that combines performance and productivity with design and functionality to be used on the move. The device, which can be used as a tablet or docked to the keyboard and used as a laptop, is made with a metal unibody and is just 6.9mm thick and weighs 640g. It has a 12-inch IPS (in-plane switching) quad HD display with 160-degree viewing angle. And it’s all powered by sixth generation Intel Core processors along with 4GB or 8GB RAM with SSD (solid-state drive) storage options ranging from 128GB…