Author: Stephen Fenech

Is it possible to find a camera that can do it all? Does such a beast exist? If it does, it would need to start with a simple rule: that it has an optical zoom sufficiently versatile to cover every shooting situation you are likely to want to capture. As such, the Lumix FZ300 with its 25-600mm zoom has it pretty much in the bag. Just in the last few weeks – I suppose it’s the Christmas holiday season coming up that’s spawned it – I’ve had a string of requests for recommendations from friends looking for the ideal travel…

Google has revealed some big surprises for true Star Wars fans to celebrate the highly-anticipated release of the blockbuster film Episode VII The Force Awakens next month. There are some nice Easter eggs that Google has created that tap into some iconic elements of the films. If you’re a Star Wars fan – they will definitely put a smile on your face. First up, try this. Type in “a long time ago in a galaxy far far away” into the search box. What you’ll see is the search results returned in the famous scroll style that has kicked off all…

Norton by Symantec has revealed some startling findings following the release of the internet security company’s Cybersecurity Insights Report that outlines the real cost of online crime. According to the study, nine out of 10 Australians worry about being affected by cybercrime. And 66 per of respondents think their credit card information is more likely to be stolen online rather than from their wallet. “Our findings reveal that consumer reservations are grounded in reality. In the past year, more than $1.2 billion was lost to cybercrime and approximately four million Australians were impacted by online crime,” said Mark Gorrie, Director,…

Tune in to Episode 175 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast, hosted by editor Stephen Fenech who keeps his listeners updated and educated about the latest tech news and reviews. On this week’s show, the hottest tech products we can expect to see this Christmas according to eBay, Alcatel OneTouch takes third place in the Australian smartphone market and LockSmart brings the padlock into the 21st century. In the Tech Guide reviews, we take a look at the Nomad Wallet that can charge your iPhone as well, the Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch and Apple’s new wireless accessories. In the Tech…

Our appetite for connectivity and devices is set to dramatically increase within the next five years as more households are connected to faster broadband, according to the latest research by Telsyte. Internet Uninterrupted: Australians Households of the Connected Future was a report commissioned by the NBN and developed by Telsyte. It predicts Australian households will go from using an average of nine connected devices in the home to 29 by the year 2020. The report says households will have 12 simultaneous applications connecting to the internet over multiple devices, up from the current eight. This takes into account the increase…

Keeping our smartphones charged has always been a challenge and Nomad has come up with a new product that combines a wallet with a built in battery to power up your iPhone on the go. Apart from our smartphones, our wallet is one of the only other things we have with us at all time – at least it is for men. Women can carry handbag which gives them enough room for a battery or even their iPhone’s charger. But what can a man do? The Nomad Wallet for iPhone is the answer. It takes a wallet which, at first…

Apple has released a new docking station that can charge the Apple Watch while you sleep and also position the device so it can be viewed in Nightstand mode which turns the product into a mini alarm clock. The Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Dock has a circular base to lay the Apple Watch either flat or on its side. It has a built-in magnetic charging base that so the Apple Watch can be charged flat with the strap open or tilted upwards in its side so you can still read the Apple Watch display while it’s charging. In this Nightstand…

Alcatel OneTouch, the company that offers feature packed smartphones at an affordable price, has claimed the number three spot in the Australian handset market behind Samsung and Apple. According to the latest industry data from IDC for quarter three (July-September) 2015, Alcatel OneTouch was third in smartphone sales by volume and second in feature phone sales by volume. Overall Alcatel OneTouch achieved third position by volume for total handset sales in Australia off the back of the Pixi 3 (4.0) for Optus, the Pixi 3 (4.5) for Telstra and the Alcatel OneTouch Quatro 4G – the first 4G device for…

It’s an international edition for Episode 233 of the top-rating Two Blokes Talking Tech podcast, with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long who discuss the hottest tech topics of the week. With Stephen in London and Trevor in Sydney, the blokes this week discuss the start of Apple Pay in Australia, the SkinVision app that can save your life and the new LockSmart Bluetooth padlock. Also on the show, Garmin’s Index Smart Scale, the SmartBottle that can let you leave your wallet at home, how can the police pull over a self-driving car and the Amaysim marketing…

We’ve already seen its SmartCup but Australian innovation company Frank Green has come up with a new product – the SmartBottle  – that is environmentally-friendly and functional. Like SmartCup, the SmartBottle has a chip embedded in the lid to allow users to pay for their juice or smoothie with a single swipe. The reusable product taps into the CafePay system that allows customers to bill their purchases from participating cafes and restaurants to their credit card. The SmartBottle has a sleek design and can easily fit into a handbag, a backpack, the bottle holder on your bike and the cup…

Australian tech company Dog & Bone has reinvented the humble key and combination padlock and brought it into the 21st century with an all-new patented Bluetooth device called LockSmart. LockSmart is a tough, all-weather padlock that uses your smartphone as the key via Bluetooth. Users can now have keyless access to one or multiple LockSmart padlocks through one convenient app. Instead of carrying keys or trying to remember combinations, the LockSmart padlock from Dog & Bone can secure your gate, shed, locker, bike and more. And because LockSmart is controlled through the iOS or Android, it means you can track…

Star Wars fans are counting the days until the new film A Force Awakens hits theatres a month from today but for those who want to catch up with the earlier iconic movies, 20th Century Fox has released limited editions of all six episodes. The special individual steelbook editions include a Blu-ray copy of the films and are only available for a limited time. Each highly collectable steelbook has a different character on the cover. On The Phantom Menace (Episode I) you’ll find Darth Maul; Attack of the Clones (Episode II) has Yoda on the cover while Revenge of the Sith…

Apple’s new iMac accessories – the Magic Mouse 2, Magic Trackpad 2 and the Magic Keyboard – are a huge improvement over the models that were unchanged for years. These older models were all powered by AA batteries and looked a lot bulkier than these new products. The Magic Mouse 2, the Magic Trackpad 2 and the Magic Keyboard all have internal rechargeable batteries that are charged using a Lightning cable through a discreet port either on the back or the base. Connecting the devices to the iMac with a Lightning cable also instantly pairs the accessories as well. MAGIC…

Episode 174 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast, hosted by editor Stephen Fenech, is ready to stream or download now for the latest tech news and hottest product reviews. On this week’s show, the SkinVision app which has the potential to save your life, Microsoft’s Sydney flagship store opens and we talk to Microsoft’s Travis Walter about why Sydney was chosen and the fallout after Apple’s embarrassing ejection of six African-born students from its store is caught on video. In the Tech Guide reviews, we check out the humongous but excellent iPad Pro, the Sonos Play:5 speaker with Trueplay technology…

Samsung’s re-designed Gear S2 smartwatch was released a few weeks ago and it is the company’s latest attempt to hit the sweet spot in a category that’s really gaining momentum. Samsung was one of the first to release a smartwatch and a few devices later it has run between Android Wear and its own proprietary system that would only work with Samsung smartphones. Meanwhile in the blue corner, the reigning heavyweight champion appears to be the Apple Watch with its dedicated operating system and developers lining up to create apps for the device. What we’ve seen with Android Wear smartwatches…

There aren’t many apps that have the potential to save your life but the SkinVision app that can help users check themselves for melanoma and skin cancer symptoms, can certainly make that claim. SkinVision, available for iPhone and Samsung Android smartphones, was developed in Europe and has been certified for use in Australia. It allows users to take photos of their moles and track any changes over time. SkinVision uses a unique scientifically proven algorithm to analyse the lesions you’ve photographed using fractal geometry. https://vimeo.com/145718309 This is the first app in the world to offer online assessment with the app…

When it comes to smart home automation one of the most import aspects for most customers is security and SwannOne has released easy-to-install kits that are designed to give you peace of mind. The reason the SwannOne packages are called smart security is because home owners can see live video feeds from inside their house and also receive alerts when doors and windows are opened, if motion is detected and even if it hears glass breaking or an alarm going off. And being a connected system, it can be viewed and controlled anywhere using your smartphone, tablet or computer. The…

TV legend David Hasselhoff has caused a stir on social media after announcing that he changed his name to David Hoff before it was revealed it was part of an Amaysim marketing campaign. The Hoff tweeted that is was “Big news for me and a massive relief for me” and also said in an accompanying video “I hope everyone understands …. it feels great”. At the same time the star of Knight Rider and Baywatch changed his online account names from David Hasselhoff to David Hoff. Amaysim, the Australian telco that offers SIM only plans, claimed responsibility for the stunt…

Just when you thought a speaker couldn’t get any better, Sonos releases not only an exceptional new Play:5 model but an app that can make your existing Sonos speakers sound better than ever before. The Sonos app that allows users to control their music and direct it to various Sonos speakers in the home now has a new featured called Trueplay. It can optimise your speaker’s sound quality by assessing the speaker’s position in the room and the furniture and other items. It does this through your iPhone’s microphone which, while the Sonos plays a test tone, you wave up…

Garmin, a brand we associate with connected fitness and sporting watches and wearables, has unveiled the Index Smart Scale – a connected device that can help users reach their health and fitness goals. The Index Smart Scale can not only tell you your weight but it can also measure Body Mass Index (BMI), water percentage, muscle mass and bone mass. It’s not designed to be used by just one person. A family, company or sports teams can use it with support for up to 16 different users. And just as measurements and information from Garmin’s wearables and other devices can…