Author: Stephen Fenech

Sony knows a thing or two about making a good camera and they’ve taken that expertise and packed it onto the 4K Action Cam that can capture what ever you’re doing anywhere. The Sony FDR-X1000V can capture true 4K video with a resolution of 3840 x 2160 and with a bit rate of up to 100Mbps. It can also, of course, capture full high definition with a number of different shooting modes including motion recorded at either 240p in high definition or 120p slow motion in full high definition. This point-of-view camera will draw a number of comparisons to the…

Woolworths might be the fresh food people but now it is also a mobile phone operator and will be providing two plans that offer value and discounts for loyal customers. Available from June 15, the Woolworths Connect plans are designed to offer generous data allowances and call value on the trusted and reliable Telstra 3G network. There are two pre-paid plans priced at $30 and $45. Everyday Rewards members will receive a 10 per cent discount on the plans – bringing them down to $27 and $40.50. Each pre-paid plan has unlimited standard SMS and unlimited calls between Woolworths Connect…

Episode 212 of the top-rating Two Blokes Talking Tech podcast, with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long, share their thoughts on the Apple announcements from the Worldwide Developers Conference. The blokes discuss iOS 9 for the iPhone and iMac, OS X El Capitan for the Mac, watchOS 2 for Apple Watch and the new Apple Music streaming service. Also on the show, Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab S tablets, the Casio Red Bull Edifice watch and the Telstra home phone that can protect you from scammers. In the minute reviews, we take a look at the Sony 4K…

Streaming music service Spotify has announced its paying subscriber base has doubled in a year just days after the introduction of Apple Music which many saw as a major threat for the company. But Spotify has shown it has gone from strength to strength in the past 12 months which saw the paying customer base grow from 10 million to an impressive 20 million users. And the number of active users has also grown from 40 million to 75 million in the same period. With more listeners flocking to the streaming music service, it also means Spotify has increased the…

With the number of telephones scams on the rise, Telstra has released a new Call Guardian home phone to protect its customers after receiving more than 4000 reports of scams this year. NSW customers (1734) made the most reports about these deceptions followed by Victoria (758), Queensland (737), Western Australia (371), South Australia (217), Tasmania (48), the Northern Territory (27) and the ACT (21). These scams include people impersonating Telstra representatives, asking for access to a customer’s home computer to fix a non-existent problem or fake virus and telling people their home line will be disconnected if they don’t pay…

From the moment the Apple Music streaming service was announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference, there have been a lot of people writing obituaries for existing music services like Spotify, Rdio and Deezer among others. Ever since Apple purchased Beats in 2014 this announcement has been like tracking a comet on its way to earth – we knew months ago it was coming. But, to quote Mark Twain who’d heard his obituary had been published in the New York Journal, reports of Spotify’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Whenever Apple enters a new market it’s like the earthquake that triggers…

Episode 151 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast, hosted by editor Stephen Fenech, wraps up all of the announcements from Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. On this week’s show, we take a look at the new Apple Music service, the latest iOS 9 for iPhone and iPad, OS X El Capitan for the Mac and the new watch OS 2 for Apple Watch. Also on the program, Apple issues a safety recall for the Beats Pill XL speaker and Samsung releases new range of Galaxy Tab A tablets. In the Tech Guide reviews, we run our eye over…

The Apple Watch has been on the market for less than two months but Apple is already talking about watchOS 2 and revealed some of the new features at the Worldwide Developers Conference. Held in San Francisco, WWDC is a chance for developers to find out about the latest Apple operating systems for the iPhone, iPad and Mac computers. And now the Apple Watch is the latest device developers will be supporting. The original Apple Watch operating was a great starting point but the new watchOS 2 will unleash a new wave of features and capabilities. This new software will…

Apple’s new OS X El Capitan operating system, introduced at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, will make the Mac faster and even easier to use thanks to a range of new features. The focus on the follow-up to OS X Yosemite is to provide an enhanced user experience with new abilities as well as improved performance. Users will see more fluid graphics along with faster opening of documents, PDFs, emails and images. OS X El Capitan continues the recent tradition of Apple naming its OS X versions after Californian landmarks including surf break Mavericks and Yosemite National Park.…

Apple’s has provided the first glimpse at the upcoming iOS 9 for iPhone and iPad at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco which offers all new enhancements and improved performance. iOS 9 will provide new ways to access your content, be more organised, work more efficiently, see what’s going on around you and even extend your battery life. The new iOS 9 update will be released round September and it will work on iPhone 4S and later, iPad Mini, iPad 2 and later and the iPod Touch fifth generation. Here’s a look at the new features of iOS 9…

Apple has introduced Apple Music at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco which is a streaming service, a live radio station and an all-new way to connect with your favourite artists. The service will be available from June 30 in more than 100 countries – including Australia – with music fans able to enjoy a free three-month trial before signing up. Pricing in the US will be $US9.99 a month and $US14.99 for a family account for up to six users. In Australia pricing will be announced closer to launch but we’re expecting Apple Music to cost $11.99 and…

A Tech Guide reader has discovered the hard way exactly how much it costs to repair a broken Apple Watch after accidentally breaking his screen while playing tennis. The Sydney man accidently clipped his 42mm Apple Watch Sport with his racquet while playing tennis. The screen shattered but the Apple Watch was still working perfectly well but it was just hard to read the display through the broken screen. Ironically the man was playing sport with his Apple Watch Sport when it was broken. But on top of the disappointment of having a broken Apple Watch, the man was alarmed…

Bose has released the next generation of its popular go-anywhere SoundLink Mini Bluetooth Speaker with a number of enhancements to sit alongside the excellent audio quality. The SoundLink Mini Bluetooth Speaker II has the same compact shape and design as the original and is available in two colours – Carbon and Pearl. It is just 18cm wide, 5.1cm high and 5.9cm deep with a weight of 700g. But despite its small size it can still produce a great sound with surprisingly solid bass and impressive clarity. The new Bose SoundLink Mini Bluetooth Speaker II now has a built-in speakerphone option…

Samsung has released a new range of lightweight and portable tablets that are designed for everyday users whether you’re a student, a mobile power user or a business owner. The Galaxy Tab A is available in two sizes – 8-inch and 9.7-inch – and also offers the option of including the S Pen to write directly on the screen. Running Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system, the Galaxy Tab A is available in black or white and is just 7.5mm thick and weighs 314g (8-inch) and 450g (9.7-inch). It is powered by a 1.2Ghz quad-core processor with 16GB of internal storage…

Apple has announced it will begin selling Apple Watch through its retail stores as the company makes progress to clear its order backlog since the product launched six weeks ago. Customers who are looking buy the new Apple Watch and their choice of watch bands will be able to make that purchase from Apple Stores in two weeks. Until now, the only way customers could order the Apple Watch was through Apple’s online store and with a shipping time of about 4 weeks. On June 26, Apple Watch will go on sale in even more countries – Italy, Mexico, Singapore,…

The Two Blokes Talking Tech, Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long, are back in Australia to bring you Episode 211 that’s packed with the latest tech news and reviews. On this week’s show, Microsoft has revealed the release date for Windows 10, the right time to recycle your devices and the tech personality types that aren’t and Samsung has added new colours to the S6 and S6 edge smartphone range. Also on the program, we take a look at two Apple Watch charging stands, how you can win a $5,000 65-inch LG 4K UHD smart TV by…

Apple has issued a voluntary recall of Beats Pill XL speakers and will offer a complete refund for customers after a fault was discovered that may pose a safety risk. Apple, which acquired Beats in 2014, says the battery in the Beats Pill XL may overheat and start a fire in rare cases. The Beats Pill XL was released in November 2013 and can be identified by the Beats “b” logo on the speaker’s grille and the words “beats pill XL” on the handle. The speakers come in five colours – black, white, pink, metallic sky and titanium. Any customers…

The list of apps that have the biggest impact on your smartphone’s battery life, storage and data allowance have been identified by online security company AVG. AVG’s report on the use of Android apps in the US, UK and Australian during the first quarter of 2015 has just been released. It details the trends in app usage and the titles that are the biggest drain on Android smartphones. The top 10 apps that have the biggest overall drain on Android devices in terms of battery, storage and data use have been divided into two categories – those that are run…

It was only a matter of time before we saw accessories appearing for the Apple Watch and Griffin was one of the first out of the gate with its WatchStand. Since the Apple Watch was released more than a month ago there are a lot of new people who have entered the smartwatch market and now own yet another product that needs to be charged. And of course being a watch the best time for it be charged is when you’re not using it – like when your asleep or at home. Griffin’s WatchStand is an ideal solution whether it’s…

Most of the new smart TVs released in 2015 will have 4K Ultra High Definition resolution and manufacturers will need to have something special under the hood to stand out. LG has managed to deliver that unique ingredient to its 65-inch UF950T television and it’s called ColourPrime. ColourPrime is a new technology that can increase the colour range of the TV by using different LED phosphor colours and create a more lifelike depth and quality. It is just one of the many features aboard this new LG smart TV that Tech Guide has reviewed. The company has certainly found its…