Technology

Occupying the conceptual space between a tablet and a laptop has always been Microsoft’s goal with the Surface Book series. And it’s been a success thus far, striking a swift balance that pulls some of the best parts from each world and welds it together with a premium build. The experience switching between the two…

The Razer Blade has returned to the wonderful world of gaming laptops, providing some of the most impressive and top shelf goods you can find in a machine like this; that is, if you’re willing to pay the price. Having reviewed last year’s efforts myself, I was pleased to check out Razer’s latest offerings. Compared…

I can see consumers turning the box for the EPOS GSX 300 over and wondering why they might need such a device. Sound cards are not, strictly speaking, the kind of hardware one thinks about when building a gaming PC. Most motherboards these days come with on-board sound that works just fine, negating any need…

While Sonos is prolific in the audio space, the brand doesn’t have a product cycle as speedy and frequent as some competitors. It often feels like a long time between drinks when it comes to Sonos, but usually when that drink finally comes around, it’s a velvety classic – a meticulously built Old Fashioned or…

A delicate balancing act is evidently difficult to achieve for the hybrid smartwatch. The category is always moving forward, especially with quality offerings from Fitbit, Garmin, Apple, Samsung, Huawei and Withings, but it seems 2-in-1 wearables which aim to be a fitness track and a smartwatch fall too heavily on just one side. We saw…

It seems the folk behind Click Frenzy couldn’t wait to open the flood gates on another ridiculous online flash sale. “Julove” is the website’s new online shopping event, following on from Click Frenzy Mayhem, which only happened in May of this year. The headliner here is that some products will be up to 99% off…

Samsung has officially brought its intriguing AirDresser to Australia. It’s a fancy (and expensive) clothing-care device which arrives with considerable acclaim behind it, having clocked the Gold Award for Product Design at the International Forum Design Awards, and is basically a small and slim wardrobe that keeps your clothes in top shape between washes. Stylish…

It wasn’t that long ago I was declaring the Fujifilm X-A7 the best value entry-level mirrorless camera… but I need to correct that. In my defence, I wrote that before the Fujifilm X-T200 was released and usurped the X-A7 from its top spot on my list. I hereby officially declare the new great all-rounder of…

For a budget smartphone, Realme’s C3 sure looks tempting. It’s Blazing Red colourway is a reliable head-turner with its richly textured ribbed finish and ability to shrug of fingerprints like a pro. It’s also large enough to at least pretend to be a top-tier phone. But for all it’s good looks, book-cover applies here, and…

Given the recent strengthening of JBL’s Bar Series of soundbars with Bar 2.0, 2.1 and 5.1, the reliable brand is now bringing its top-line JBL Bar 9.1 to Australia. Notably, this is the first JBL soundbar compatible with Dolby Atmos, adding a substantial punch to the series complemented by streaming support for Google Chromecast and…

Smartphones are nothing without convenience. That has been the biggest point working against Huawei’s feature-rich P40 series thus far. The absence of Google Mobile Services has become a big talking point for the new flagship series, but the Chinese tech giant has been doing admirable work in working around the fact that you can’t get…

Oppo has been showing force this year. First, they reiterated their high-value approach to the budget and mid-market sectors with the likes of wallet-friendly A52. Now they’ve bought that sense of value to the highest tier of smartphones, with the hugely anticipated 5G-ready Find X2 Series, the top of which is the Find X2 Pro,…

Building upon their all-in-one MHC series of party-minded, lighting-enhanced speakers, Sony has introduced three new models focusing on all-new “Omnidirectional Party Sound” and “Omnidirectional Party Light” features. Geared towards creating big high-powered sound stages in the home environment, as well as nodding heavily to self-styled karaoke sessions, the MHC-V73D, MHC-V43D and MHC-V13 represent a wider…

With a serious price point and an eye-watering spec sheet, the Motorola razr has surely gone down as one of the biggest smartphone releases so far this year. Launched back in February, razr instantly turned heads with it vintage flip design meshed with foldable screen technology, becoming quite the modish device. Now the world’s first…

OLED panels get all the glory in discussions about home cinema nowadays; that often includes a substantially more demanding price tag. Owning one brings a certain level of prestige, though the advantages of say a 4K OLED over a 4K LED do not necessarily justify the eye-watering price differences. Yes, deep inky blacks are ridiculously…

The Surface Go 2 understands there’s always room in the PC market for something more portable. Business customers are always looking for something lighter. Something that can travel more easily, but doesn’t sacrifice the overall power and nimbleness of a full-blooded ultrabook. That’s the niche into which the Surface Go 2 has neatly folded itself….

JBL is tipping towards touring musicians with the JBL CLUB Series, the latest line of headphones from the stalwart audio brand. Having recently launched to the Australian market, this collection of three distinct and differently priced headphones aim to amplify the personal audio experience and serve as the ideal creative companion on the road, focusing…

Straddling the thin line between upper mid-tier and lower high-end, the X3 SuperZoom is the latest smartphone from Oppo spin-off brand realme. And if the spec sheet is anything to go by, this will be one to watch for photography enthusiasts who are looking for something a bit more powerful than the typical mid-market phone….

Wires suck. That seems to be the consensus when it comes to smart home devices nowadays, and whenever a wireless option drops it is instantly more attractive than the opposite. Requiring wires was one of the few issues I had with the recently launched Arlo Video Doorbell, which is otherwise an exceptional part of the…

Thanks to the deluge of connected home devices on the market, it’s highly probable that most households are going to need to reconsider how they handle their Wi-Fi. That’s particularly true for larger households which may have patches where the signal is a bit weaker than those closer to the single – likely ISP-supplied –…

Few personal audio devices have seen such a massive leap on quality in recent years than true wireless earbuds. The careful juggling act between sound quality, battery life, connectivity and comfort has been nearing perfection with recent releases from Sony and Sennheiser. Although those two focus on just being lifestyle buds, with little consideration for…

Harman Kardon has now bought its palm-sized Bluetooth-enabled Neo speaker to the Australian market, perfectly timed as people across the country start to plan some post-iso adventures. The design-forward speaker plays in the premium portable space, with a sturdy strap, durable metal body, and reliable IPX7 waterproof rating. Harman Kardon is promising 10 hours of…

It hasn’t even been a year since Sonos released its first portable speaker, the Sonos Move, but the ever-reliable brand has already given the portable device a software upgrade and a new colour. The well-reviewed battery-powered smart speaker is now available in a stylish Lunar White colourway, bringing a different aesthetic to the company’s most…

Although it was released three years ago, the Sonos One is still a remarkable mid-size smart speaker. Released on 2017, it quickly became the must-have audio device for smart homes, with scarily accurate far-field microphones providing a seamless and revelatory experience with any of the big three voice assistants. Did it sound good? This is…

After a barrage of quality mid-tier and budget smartphones, Oppo has unleashed its long awaited Find X2 5G series in Australia. The new 5G smartphones, which hit retailers last week, focus Oppo’s considerable track record into three expressions priced from A$749 (Find X2 Lite) to a whopping A$1599 (the high-end and spec-powerhouse Find X2 Pro)….

People have been looking towards their own backyard when it comes to travel this year. That isn’t just a metaphor for the increase in demand for domestic travel, but a literal look at how we can turn sections of our own house into slices of escapism. Even the very act of moving the ol’ BBQ…

The day has finally arrived: Sony is ready to talk about the PlayStation 5. The show-and-tell has been a long time coming. Between bowing out of E3 and the outbreak of a global pandemic, an event that must have wrought havoc on their production pipeline, Sony have been biding their time. Missives were light on…

Although the launch was delayed more than once, our first run at Google’s new Android 11 beta is finally here, giving a glimpse at some new features expected to roll out across compatible smartphones throughout the year. And first thing’s first; while it’s available to download now, the current build is only available for Google…

Less expensive smartphones are getting better. That’s been the sentiment for the past few years now, with more of the big brands realising that mass market phones should be focusing on offering as much value as they can. We’ve seen it recently with Oppo’s recent string of A series phones, and we should be seeing…

Much has been said about the professional-grade Theragun product line and its use for percussive massage therapy. Increasingly, we’re starting to see more professionals take advantage of the easy-to-use devices, particularly now that the 4th generation has been released. But given that these products are publicly available, should the at-home user pay attention as well?…