Author: Stephen Fenech

For the last few years we really embraced astronomy – and in particular astrophotography where we capture images of deep sky objects like nebulae and galaxies. Of course – one of the most important components of this process is the telescope and Tech Guide has looked at the Svbony SV503 ED 80mm F7 Doublet Refractor. The 80mm refers to the aperture size of the opening where the light comes into the scope. The wider the aperture the more light that can come into the telescope. For anyone new to astrophotography 80mm size is a good starting point – it’s more…

Do the right thing and listen to Episode 655 of the Two Blokes Talking Tech podcast with Tech Guide Editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long as they go through the week’s biggest tech stories and product reviews. On this week’s show, we talk about Tesla’s bold plans for the robotaxi and the Optimus robots, Samsung’s Galaxy Ring is now available – we share our thoughts, Apple releases an updated iPad Mini and Adobe unveils remarkable new AI features. You can listen or the watch show right here on Tech Guide site using the audio player below or by pressing…

Amazon has released its new range of Kindle e-reader devices to offer an improved reading experience with Australians set to devour more than three billion pages on the Kindles this summer. Amazon is releasing four new and updated models including a new Kindle Paperwhite, a new entry-level Kindle, a reimagined Kindle Scribe and the first ever colour Kindle. Reading has become a much more popular pastime since authors have embraced social media platforms like TikTok to promote their books. Amazon says Australians are expected to read more than three billion pages on their Kindles including many BookTok recommendations like Iron…

Sonos has introduced its new flagship soundbar – the Sonos Arc Ultra – which has been redesigned inside and out to deliver improved sound across the board to take your home entertainment experience to a whole new level. Sonos is also debuting its Sonos Sub 4 which has a refreshed design and an internal redesign to provide a level of bass you can feel as well as hear. Sonos Ultra Arc has been designed to pair with larger TVs and introduces a new transducer technology called Sound Motion which the company is calling one of the biggest breakthroughs in audio…

Apple has released the latest version of its popular iPad mini which boasts the powerful A17 Pro chip and support for Apple Intelligence and Apple Pencil Pro. Priced from $799, the new iPad mini will go on sale on October 23. The iPad mini has an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display and comes in four colours – blue, purple, starlight and space grey. The A17 Pro chip offers impressive performance with a faster CPU and GPU and a Neural Engine 2x faster than the previous model. The iPad mini’s small and easily portable size along with its solid processing power makes…

DJI has launched its latest advanced dual camera drone – the DJI Air 3S – which takes your photography to brand new heights. Tech Guide was fortunate enough to take a pre-release hands-on look at the drone which features a 1-inch CMOS primary camera and a 70mm medium tele camera – each with up to 14 stops of dynamic range. This adds to the flexibility of the drone which can be used to capture landscapes, architecture and other scenarios in impressive detail. The DJI Air 3S plays a strong game in both still photography and video capture which makes it…

Samsung’s latest and smallest wearable ever – the new Galaxy Ring – is now on sale in Australia for $699 exclusively through samsung.com.au and Samsung’s Experience stores. Samsung has packed its most powerful sensor technology in its smallest product which is designed to be worn around the clock to monitor your workouts, health and wellness. Thanks to its small size and design, the Galaxy Ring can be worn for up to seven days between battery charges. The ring also brings the power of AI to the table to unlock insights into your collected metrics. These can include advanced sleep insights…

Get updated and educated with Episode 616 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast hosted by editor Stephen Fenech to hear about the latest consumer tech news and product reviews. On this week’s show: An update on our movie ripping project – and our efforts not to break the law, is your car spying on you – we reveal the car brands that are and Arlo has launched the new Essential XL with four times more battery. In the Tech Guide reviews – we check out the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE smartphone, we put the Google TV Streamer through its paces…

The Adobe MAX event – one of the world’s largest gatherings for creators – has kicked off in Miami with the introduction of more than 100 new Creative Cloud and Adobe Express features powered by the remarkable Adobe Firefly. The Adobe Firefly Video model was also announced alongside breakthroughs in Firefly Image and Vector and Design models to bring generative AI to a whole new level. “We’re giving the creative community a powerful new brush to paint the world by putting unprecedented power, precision and creative control in their hands,” said David Wadhwani, president, digital media at Adobe. “With the…

Get your motor running and listen to the latest episode of the popular show Two Blokes Talking Electric Cars – The EV Podcast – with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long. This week we talk about the new Ampol EV chargers – that are not in an Ampol station – Stephen got a chance to use them. We’re also exploring the free charge solar owners could be enjoying and more of your calls including the man who coined the Toad nickname for the Model Y and his BYD six months after taking ownership. We also talk to…

Leading smart home security company Arlo has just launched its new Essential 2K XL wireless camera which offers four times longer battery life than the current model. Priced at $199, the Arlo Essential 2K (2nd Gen) XL camera is just $40 more than the original Essential camera. The Arlo Essential 2K (2nd Gen) XL is slightly larger than the regular Essential and can offer four times more battery life – that’s extra months between charges for longer continuous home monitoring. The Arlo Essential 2K (2nd Gen) XL connects wirelessly to your home’s wi-fi network in minutes and can be inside…

The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is a capable smartphone that offers most of the features of its flagship big brothers, but it can hold its own and offers great value. Samsung says FE stands for Fan Edition, but another suggestion is Flagship Experience. It offers a sprinkling of the top-line features – including Galaxy AI – and delivers it from $1,099. And it also looks just like the Galaxy S24 models with a sharp design. It is powered by an Exynos 2400 series 4nm chipset which has enough power to run Galaxy AI features (although some need to be processed…

Wild thing! You make my heart sing! This week on The Best Movies You’ve Never Seen we’re watching Major League starring Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen and Corbin Bernson. Major League tells the story of the Cleveland Indians whose owner has just died and his wife wanting the team to run last so they can move to Miami. To achieve this she recruits the worst possible team she can find made up of misfits and has-beens. Stephen watched Major League in the cinema and has lost count of the number of times he’s rewatched while Trevor – an avid baseball fan…

The new Google TV streamer is basically a Chromecast on steroids with a smart home hub thrown in. It’s a lot bigger than the Chromecast with Google TV and you can’t hide it out of sight like you could before. Under the hood is a more powerful processor that’s 22 per cent faster than the previous Chromecast and packing twice the RAM. We could easily notice that as we navigated the menus and opened and switched between apps. Another great addition is the Ethernet port. The old Chromecast could only be connected to wi-fi, but the Google TV Streamer lets…

Uphold the law by listening to Episode 654 of Two Blokes Talking Tech with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long as they go through the biggest tech stories of the week and latest product reviews. On this week’s show: Are you in breach of Australian Copyright laws? Stephen nearly was, but we think we might all be – tune in to find out why. Plus scams, scams, scams, how TPG is cutting them, Telstra is offering help, as is Trend Micro and how Trev wastes his time. Plus the Skylight Calendar and YouTube Shorts is going long.…

Is your car tracking and spy on you? That’s the question Choice has asked in a special investigation into Australia’s 10 most popular car brands – and Kia, Hyundai and Tesla were found to be the worst offenders. In Choice’s investigation they analysed the privacy policies of these car companies to work out the data collected from drivers, what they did with it and whether the customers had a choice to opt in or out of this data collection. Today’s cars have truly embraced digital connectivity and the fact their vehicle can collect your data would be surprising to many…

Telstra has upgraded its My Telstra app with new features to help customers stay safe online and avoid becoming a victim. Device Security Essentials is free for all Telstra consumer and small business customers and is powered by McAfee. Telstra research conducted in conjunction with YouGov found 86 per cent of Australians who own a smartphone have concerns about their personal information being compromised. As a result, one in five (18 per cent) of Australians in the past 12 months have spent less time browsing the internet on their phones while almost a third of users are now using their…

Panasonic has transformed and miniaturised the grooming experience with a new 5-blade shaver that’s small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. Over the years Panasonic has produced an impressive lineup of shavers, and it has now taken that technology and shoehorned it into a surprisingly small package. The ES-PV6 and ES-PV3 have a luxurious finish and a unique minimal Japanese design. And, despite its small size, it can still offer a fast and close shave. Panasonic has managed to create a premium yet small product by placing the linear motor in the shaver head. This takes away…

Do the right thing and press play on Episode 615 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast hosted by editor Stephen Fenech so you can stay updated and educated about the latest consumer tech news and reviews. On this week’s show: We’re getting rid of all our movie discs – what we’re doing with our movie collection, Netgear has expanded its range of Wi-Fi 7 mesh and standalone routers and Jura unveils its latest automatic coffee machine. In the Tech Guide reviews – we give you our verdict on the Apple Watch Series 10, we take a look at the PlayStation…

Samsung has just unveiled the Galaxy Fit3 fitness tracker which utilises Samsung’s advanced health monitoring technology so you could achieve your health and wellness goals. The device contract your daily workouts and your sleep and keep track of all your data. “At Samsung, we’re committed to providing Australians with advanced health monitoring tools and accessible resources to help them along their wellness journey,” says Kylie Mason, Head of Wearables, Mobile eXperience at Samsung Australia. “We’ve seen Australians’ growing interest in gaining a comprehensive understanding of their health and wellbeing, and with our newest dedicated fitness tracker, the Galaxy Fit3, we…