Author: Stephen Fenech

A legal battle is brewing between OPPO and Polaroid following the release of Polaroid’s Selfie smartphone at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The Polaroid product bears a striking resemblance to OPPO’s N1 device smartphone that was released last year and reviewed right here on Tech Guide. The area of contention is the smartphone’s swivel camera design which allows the lens and flash to be aimed forward and also back towards the user. But it wasn’t long after Polaroid revealed the Selfie smartphone that OPPO noticed the obvious similarity and released a statement to the media. “During CES…

Virtual Reality (VR) was a popular part of the International Consumer Electronics Show with large goggles immersing users in an all-new environment. But Virtuix Omni takes things even further with the world’s first omni-directional treadmill that enables 360-degree movement inside the virtual world. Players stand on the concave omni-direction treadmill and are supported by a strap and held in place with a large ring around their waist. The proprietary low-friction surface is the result of three years research. Players wear the specially designed Omni shoes to allow their feet to slide easily across the surface to simulate movement in the…

Cricket Australia has just joined major league baseball (MLB), American football (NFL), ice hockey (NHL), basketball (NBA), professional wrestling (WWE) and Ultimate Fighting (UFC) as the latest sport that can be viewed on Apple TV. From today Cricket Australia content can now be viewed on any television that’s connected to your network with Apple TV. Fans can access the Cricket Australia content for free including latest news and features, extended highlights along with rare footage form the archives. There will also be unique feature videos to get fans closer to the legends of the game like Shane Warne and Adam…

Hisense is best known for its range of televisions but at the International Consumer Electronics Show it was a different product that was getting a lot of the attention from attendees in Las Vegas. Chill is a vending machine for the home or office that offers a whole new way to keep your favourite drinks chilled and always on hand when you want a drink. It can hold up to 72 cans or 36 bottles in the top compartment in four different sections and these are accessible simply by pressing one of the four buttons on the front that corresponds…

Tech Guide Episode 130, hosted by Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech, wraps up the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show. On this week’s show, we take a look at the major announcements at the world’s largest tech trade show which cover all areas of the home, office and our tech lives inside and out. First up it’s TV wars. CES has always been focused on televisions and this year was no different with brands offering different technologies to offer the best picture quality. The “Internet of Things” was also a major part of CES and we take a look at the…

It was the year of the drone at the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. There were quad copters of all shapes and sizes including products from drone giant DJI – creators of the Phantom 2 Vision +. But there was one drone that stood out – the Hexo + – because it can fly itself. With drones being used to capture video and high-res photography, the Hexo + can make Hollywood-style shooting without anyone touching a remote control. Now tracking shots and complex angles are possible with the Hexo + autonomous drone so you can be…

Casio has redesigned the camera with the new FR10 that has a detachable lens to offer a new dimension to your photography. Revealed for the first time at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Casio’s FR10 is a 14-megapixel camera that can be used in a number of ways. Right out of the box you’ll see the device doesn’t look like a regular camera. The lens sits above a 2-inch monitor screen but the lens can also twist back around to make it look like a normal camera. But what really provides unlimited possibilities and freedom for the…

Netgear has unveiled Arlo – its new wirefree smart home security camera – at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. And it’s called wirefree instead of wireless is because there isn’t a single cable anywhere near the camera – not even a power cable. Connected security cameras are a growing segment in the tech market but the pain point for consumers has been the difficulty of set-up. Even rival wireless versions still need to run power cable to the cameras which often doesn’t suit the areas you’d like to position the camera. There’s no such problem with Arlo.…

The Two Blokes Talking Tech, Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long, have completed Day Three at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and uncovered even more interesting devices. On today’s show the blokes talk about Netgear’s new Arlo wirefree high definition security camera system, Star Wars headphones from SMS Audio, the latest Henge Dock for your MacBook Pro, Omni virtual reality solution and the phone charger that can also jump start your car. Also on Episode 190.5, Apple sets a record for app downloads, the hub that adds more USB ports to your Mac, Audio…

There is no shortage of new and interesting gadgets at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas where companies hope to hit the jackpot with their products. These devices were scattered on various booths in the massive halls of the Las Vegas Convention Centre and really caught our eye. The two-level South Hall is usually the place where you find these smaller booths which are home to these intriguing new technologies. It is the first chance these gadgets have been seen by media, distributors and buyers from retail stores and chains around the world so making a big impression…

Two Blokes Talking Tech, Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long, are in Las Vegas and have completed Day Two of the International Consumer Electronics Show. The blokes have looked at a lot of cool new products and talk about their discoveries in Episode 190.4 including Belkin’s new WeMo range of smart home devices, the Hexo + drone that flies itself and the AEE drone that will go on sale in retails stores. Also on the show, the Alert Band that can detect driver fatigue, Garmin’s new Fenix 3 sport and smart watch, our tour of the Samsung…

There are plenty of wearables on display here at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas – but not many have the ability to save your life. That’s exactly what the Alert Band can do. It is an anti-fatigue brainwave detector. It is designed to be used by drivers and can accurately detect the person’s fatigue level. The forehead sensor can detect fatigue up to five minutes before a driver will fall asleep with a 90 per cent accuracy. And if a dangerous level of fatigue is detected, the Alert Band sends an alert to the user’s iPhone or…

Belkin has expanded its range of WeMo devices at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas with a range of new sensors that will make your home even smarter. It was at CES three years ago when we were introduced to the original line up of WeMo products. Since then the home automation space has flourished and the phrase “Internet of Things” was coined to describe how devices could be connected and working together to produce an outcome. Belkin has been at the forefront of this development with its WeMo ecosystem and this now includes a personal keychain sensor,…

Netflix will launch in Australia on March 31 with a three-tier pricing system that will start at $9.99 a month. This date and pricing was confirmed by a Tech Guide source during the International Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas. Netflix, which is also present at CES, were tight-lipped about any details about the Australian service. We attended a briefing with Netflix yesterday and they refused to answer any specific questions about the Australian service including the launch date and pricing structure. Our information was confirmed by another source. Netflix were busy defusing what turned out to be a false story…

The Two Blokes Talking Tech, Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long, have walked the floor on Day One of the International Consumer Electronics Show and talk about the products that caught their eye. In today’s Episode 190.3, Stephen and Trevor did their own explorations of the Las Vegas Convention Centre and saw a number of new and interesting products. These include the world record largest curved TV, the a fleet of new drones, a vending machine for your house, a Casio camera with a difference and Sharp’s frameless screens that can be used in our homes and…

LG unveiled its second curved smartphone – the G Flex 2 – at the International Consumer Electronics Show and Tech Guide has taken a hands-on look at the device. There are some people who might be wondering why you’d need a curved smartphone. One answer is that our phones used to be curved. Look at the phones we used at home and they were shaped so the handset would comfortably reach our ear and our mouth. With the evolution of smartphones and the large glass screens the curve was taken out but with the introduction of flexible OLED displays LG…

The International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas isn’t just for the big companies – it also plays host to first time attendees with quirky new gadgets, inventions and technologies. For some companies, revealing their products at CES with more than 150,000 attendees that include the cream of the world’s technology press could really put them on the map. Here’s a look at five of the coolest and quirkiest new gadgets we found at the world’s biggest consumer technology show. HEARNOTES We’ve heard of wireless earphones but Hearnotes is a wirefree pair of earphones. Even wireless headphones have a cable…

Two Blokes Talking Tech, Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long, are in Las Vegas for the International Consumer Electronics Show and give their verdicts on Press Day. Press Day takes place the day before CES starts and is when all of the companies present their latest products and technologies to the thousands of media in attendance. Stephen and Trevor run through LG’s announcements including the company’s strong OLED line-up along with the new twin washing machine and G Flex 2 curved smartphones. The Blokes then turn their attention to Samsung – arguably the most anticipated press conference…

We’ve heard of smart TVs, smartwatches and smartphones but now there’s a smart ring – a device that can control other products with gesture. Unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the product is simply called Ring. It looks like an oversized wedding ring that links to a central infrared hub via Bluetooth which in turn is connected to your home’s wi-fi network. Once connected, Ring can make things happen with a single gesture. It can be used to control devices at home like a TV or a lamp, take control of the camera and music player on…

There is no other place outside the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas where you get to see the TV wars up close. It’s not just the brands going head to head but also the TV formats that are fighting to gain customer support. Over the years we’ve seen plasma, LCD and, more recently, LED emerge as the dominant format. But in a town like Vegas where fortunes are made and lost with a bold gamble, LG has this year put its chips down on OLED (organic light emitting diode) as the way forward for television. The bulk of…