EFTM https://eftm.com/ Tech + Cars + Lifestyle Tue, 19 Mar 2024 03:33:56 +0000 en-AU hourly 1 https://cdn.eftm.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/cropped-eftm-logo-square-32x32.png EFTM https://eftm.com/ 32 32 EXCLUSIVE: Samsung’s 2024 TV Lineup and prices exposed online ahead of official launch https://eftm.com/2024/03/exclusive-samsungs-2024-tv-lineup-and-prices-exposed-online-ahead-of-official-launch-243439 Tue, 19 Mar 2024 03:29:12 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=243439 LG came to the party quick and ready this year, launching their lineup of QNED and OLED TVs last week with price drops and big-TVs at the centre of the news, but with that news out there, and Samsung yet to set a date for their launch, though it’s expected in April – the full […]

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LG came to the party quick and ready this year, launching their lineup of QNED and OLED TVs last week with price drops and big-TVs at the centre of the news, but with that news out there, and Samsung yet to set a date for their launch, though it’s expected in April – the full Samsung TV lineup for 2024 has been revealed online by JB HiFi and Samsung’s own online stores.

EFTM came across the “Pre Order” options for 2024 Samsung TVs while talking to a caller on this week’s episode of the EFTM podcast. Turns out it wasn’t just one or two models, it appears to be the whole range.

36 TV’s in total, across 9 different models, ranging in size from 43 inches up to 98 inches, and in price from $799 to $12,999.

It appears to us, if these prices are correct, that prices on Samsung TVs are dropping in the same way, if not more than what LG’s have in the last 12 months.

JB HiFi’s prices are $4 cheaper than Samsung’s own, and the prices we outline below come from the JB HiFi website, but take as read these will be the prices when Samsung launches in the weeks ahead.

Here’s the full lineup, and I’ve looked at the announcement prices for the equivalent model one year ago in the 2023 (C) range, and shown in brackets against some of these models the price reduction we’re seeing in 2024.

900D Neo QLED 8K

Samsung 85″ QN900D Neo QLED 8K Smart TV [2024] – $11995 ($704 lower)

Samsung 75″ QN900D Neo QLED 8K Smart TV [2024] – $8995      

Samsung 65″ QN900D Neo QLED 8K Smart TV [2024] – $6495  ($1054 lower)

800D Neo QLED 8K

Samsung 85″ QN800D Neo QLED 8K Smart TV [2024] – $8995 

Samsung 75″ QN800D Neo QLED 8K Smart TV [2024] – $6495 

Samsung 65″ QN800D Neo QLED 4K Smart TV [2024] – $4795 

90D Neo QLED 4K

Samsung 98″ QN90D Neo QLED 4K Smart TV [2024] – $12995 

Samsung 85″ QN90D Neo QLED 4K Smart TV [2024] – $6495 ($1374 lower)

Samsung 75″ QN90D Neo QLED 4K Smart TV [2024] – $4995 

Samsung 50″ QN90D Neo QLED 4K Smart TV [2024] – $2395 

Samsung 43″ QN90D Neo QLED 4K Smart TV [2024] – $1995  ($324 lower)

85D Neo QLED 4K

Samsung 85″ QN85D Neo QLED 4K Smart TV [2024] – $5495  ($1504 lower)

Samsung 75″ QN85D Neo QLED 4K Smart TV [2024] – $3995 

Samsung 65″ QN85D Neo QLED 4K Smart TV [2024] – $2995 

Samsung 55″ QN85D Neo QLED 4K Smart TV [2024] – $2495 ($645 lower)

95D Neo QLED 4K

Samsung 77″ S95D OLED 4K Smart TV [2024] – $7995 

Samsung 65″ S95D OLED 4K Smart TV [2024] – $4995 

Samsung 55″ S95D OLED 4K Smart TV [2024] – $3995 

90D OLED

Samsung 65″ S90D OLED 4K Smart TV [2024] – $4295

Samsung 55″ S90D OLED 4K Smart TV [2024] – $3295 

The Frame

Samsung 85″ The Frame QLED 4K Smart TV [2024] – $4995 

Samsung 75″ The Frame QLED 4K Smart TV [2024] – $3495 

Samsung 65″ The Frame QLED 4K Smart TV [2024] – $2495 

Samsung 55″ The Frame QLED 4K Smart TV [2024] – $1995 

Samsung 50″ The Frame QLED 4K Smart TV [2024] – $1795 

Samsung 43″ The Frame QLED 4K Smart TV [2024] – $1495

60D QLED 4K

Samsung 85″ Q60D QLED 4K Smart TV [2024] – $3795 ($824 lower)

Samsung 75″ Q60D QLED 4K Smart TV [2024] – $2495 

Samsung 65″ Q60D QLED 4K Smart TV [2024] – $1895 

Samsung 55″ Q60D QLED 4K Smart TV [2024] – $1495 ($234 lower)

DU7700 Chrystal LED UHD

Samsung 85″ DU7700 Crystal LED UHD 4K Smart TV [2024] – $2795 

Samsung 75″ DU7700 Crystal LED UHD 4K Smart TV [2024] – $1795 

Samsung 65″ DU7700 Crystal LED UHD 4K Smart TV [2024] – $1295 

Samsung 55″ DU7700 Crystal LED UHD 4K Smart TV [2024] – $995 

Samsung 50″ DU7700 Crystal LED UHD 4K Smart TV [2024] – $895 

Samsung 43″ DU7700 Crystal LED UHD 4K Smart TV [2024] – $795 

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Samsung Galaxy S24 & S24+ Review: Getting Better and Smarter https://eftm.com/2024/03/samsung-galaxy-s24-s24-review-getting-better-and-smarter-243364 Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:30:00 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=243364 The Galaxy S24 launch this year saw a focus on AI with a range of smart new features announced across the range of devices. Trevor checked out the Galaxy S24 Ultra, and Scott has followed up with a long term review – giving me a shot at the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ review. The […]

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The Galaxy S24 launch this year saw a focus on AI with a range of smart new features announced across the range of devices. Trevor checked out the Galaxy S24 Ultra, and Scott has followed up with a long term review – giving me a shot at the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ review.

The Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ offer a more wallet friendly option to the S24 Ultra, with the Galaxy S24 available from $1,399.00, while the Galaxy S24+ clocks in at $1,699 – undercutting the $2,199 price tag of the Ultra. 

Between the two, they both run an Exynos 2400 processor and include the same camera setup so we can take a look at the two fairly well together, though there are some differences which we’ll look at along the way.

Galaxy S24+Galaxy S24
Display6.7-inch QHD+*Dynamic AMOLED 2X DisplaySuper Smooth 120Hz refresh rate (1~120Hz)Vision booster6.2-inch FHD+*Dynamic AMOLED 2X DisplaySuper Smooth 120Hz refresh rate (1~120Hz)Vision booster
Dimensions & Weight75.9 x 158.5 x 7.7mm, 197g (mmWave) / 196g (Sub6)70.6 x 147 x 7.6mm, 168g (mmWave) / 167g (Sub6)
Camera12MP Ultra-Wide Camera· F2.2, FOV 120˚
50MP Wide Camera· OIS F1.8, FOV 85˚
10MP Telephoto Camera· 3x Optical Zoom, F2.4, FOV 36˚
12MP Front Camera· F2.2, FOV 80˚
12MP Ultra-Wide Camera· F2.2, FOV 120˚
50MP Wide Camera· OIS F1.8, FOV 85˚
10MP Telephoto Camera· 3x Optical Zoom, F2.4, FOV 36˚
12MP Front Camera· F2.2, FOV 80˚
Memory & Storage12 + 512GB12 + 256GB8 + 512GB8 + 256GB8 + 128GB
Battery4,900mAh4,000mAh
ChargingWired Charging*: Up to 65% charge in around 30 mins with 45W Adapter** and 5A USB-C cable***Fast Wireless Charging 2.0****Wireless PowerShare*****Wired Charging*: Up to 50% charge in around 30 mins with 25W Adapter** and 3A USB-C cable***Fast Wireless Charging 2.0****Wireless PowerShare*****
OSAndroid 14One UI 6.1Android 14One UI 6.1
Network & Connectivity5G*, LTE**, Wi-Fi 6E***, Wi-Fi Direct Bluetooth® v 5.35G*, LTE**, Wi-Fi 6E***, Wi-Fi Direct Bluetooth® v 5.3
Water ResistanceIP68IP68

On the software side, the Galaxy S24 series is launching with Android 14 with Samsung’s One UI 6.1 over the top and of course all the AI features announced for the series including Circle to Search, Live Translate, Note assist and Photo Assist. 

I’ve had two weeks with the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ and here’s how it went.

Hardware and Design

The Galaxy S24 and S24+ differ from the Galaxy S24 Ultra which has a more squared design to accommodate things like the S Pen. With no S Pen to accommodate, the Galaxy S24 and S24+ have a little more curve in the corners and, to me, a more pleasing look overall. 

The two phones include a flat display on a metal chassis and rear panel, with those circular camera bumps poking through in the top corner. Just as they did last year, Samsung are leaning into the camera array poking through the rear with no island surrounding it – and I really like it.

There are some internal material differences, namely the Galaxy S24 Ultra gets a Titanium chassis and Gorilla Glass Armour on the display, while the Galaxy S24 and S24+ use an Armour Aluminium frame with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front.

Despite the lack of titanium, the Galaxy S24 and S24+ are both lightweight, weighing in at 167 g and 196 g respectively, though they feel solid and well built with no flex. The body is a mere mm larger all round than last year’s models on both the Galaxy S24 and S24+, but you also get a 0.1” larger display on the front on both models which is a win.  

Against the competition, the phones are slightly smaller, and lighter than the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 pro and I really love the finish on the Galaxy S24 series rear panel which doesn’t show fingerprints. 

The sides and ends of the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ are flat, allowing them to stand on end if you choose, with a volume rocker and power button on the right and power button on the left. These buttons have a nice clicky feel to them when you push them which is a big plus. 

The base includes a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer alongside a SIM tray (They support dual-SIM and eSIM), with a bottom firing speaker that pairs with the earpiece for stereo sound – which is decent quality.

The body looks fantastic, with the Galaxy S24 review unit sent over in a beautiful Cobalt Violet colour, while the Galaxy S24+ came in Amber Yellow. There’s a range of colours to choose from for both models, including good old black, but I do recommend you check out the options – including some which are exclusive to the Samsung online store.

The Galaxy S24 series is all IP68 rated for dust and water protection, with the phone good for submersion in up to 1.5 metres of freshwater for up to 30 minutes.

I love the design of these two phones, which have more rounded corners than the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The overall look and feel in the hand screams premium every step of the way.

Display

While the phones include a lot of similarities, the display is a definite difference with the Galaxy S24 including a 6.2-inch FHD+ (2340×108) resolution AMOLED display, while the Galaxy S24+ gets a 6.7-inch QHD+ (3120×1440) resolution AMOLED display. 

Both displays are simply gorgeous with brilliant colours and are sharp and easy to read. You can choose your colour tuning as usual if the AMOLED colours pop a little too much – but overall they’re just beautiful to look at.

Those displays are super bright, with up to 2600 nits peak brightness making them simply brilliant to use outdoors, or indoors, beating even the Pixel 8 and iPhone 15’s 2,000 nits peak brightness.

Once again the displays are capable of up to 120Hz this year for smooth scrolling, though this year the Galaxy S24 includes an LTPO display capable of scaling down to 1Hz when nothing is on the display. You can of course force 60Hz in settings, but the Adaptive setting on by default does a pretty good job here.

The Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ still includes an under-display fingerprint sensor for biometric security. It’s fast and reliable, though you do have an option for facial recognition as well if you want.

Performance

Samsung has copped a little flack over the years on their Exynos line of processors, but in the Galaxy S24 and S24+ there’s no performance issues, with good thermal performance and overall performance. 

The largest difference I found was the memory, with the Galaxy S24’s 8GB of RAM not able to quite cache and switch apps as fast as the Galaxy S24+’s 12GB of RAM. Overall though, they both performed very well day to day.

Of course I ran both through the GeekBench and 3D Mark tests and there was a snag on the 3D Mark test, with the app advising both the S24 and S24+ were just too powerful. I ran it through the Wildlife Extreme test instead.

Battery and Charging

The Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ both support fast charging, though there are differences, as well as wireless charging. There’s a decently sized 4,000mAh battery in the Galaxy S24, a 100mAh jump from the Galaxy S23, and a 4,900mAh battery in the Galaxy S24+, a 200mAh jump from the Galaxy S23+.

The improvements in battery size, as well as LTPO display make for excellent battery life on both the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+, easily lasting a full day of fairly decent use. I didn’t have many issues with last years Galaxy S23, though the Galaxy S24 was well on track to best it.

While Samsung no longer includes a charger with either phone, there are subtle differences in the charging support – and of course the charging speeds. You do get a 3A capable USB Type C cable included in the box which is nice.

The Galaxy S24 supports fast charge at 25W, allowing the phone to get to 50% charge in 30 minutes, while the Galaxy S24+  supports up to 45W charging allowing the phone to get to 65% in 30 minutes. 

You do get wireless charging – with reverse wireless charging support – at 15W, however it is a shame we’re not seeing Qi2 as yet – maybe on the Galaxy S25. Still, the 15W charging works quite well if you have a wireless charger capable of charging at that speed.

Camera

The Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ include the same triple camera array on the rear and 12MP front-facing camera embedded in the display. The rear array includes a 50MP main camera, 12MP Ultra-Wide camera with 120˚ field-of-view and a 10MP Telephoto camera with 3x Optical zoom – and an LED flash.

The camera performance was the same on both the phones, understandable when they share the same hardware. The photos from the main sensor in good light were fantastic. Vibrant, colourful and showing good fine detail, as well as offering good bokeh for portraits – and low-light shots are excellent, offering impressive boost in extremely low-light to achieve a very nice shot.

The ultra-wide camera takes good shots without having too much of a fish-eye effect, even with the large field of view. The telephoto option offers a good chance to get closer without sacrificing quality, at least up to 3x zoom, though the digital zoom is actually fairly impressive. The 100x SpaceZoom from previous versions is gone, instead giving you up to 30x digital zoom, with some fairly impressive results in these shots. Below you see the Ultra-Wide (0.6x), 1.0, 3.0x Optical Zoom, 5.0x Digital Zoom, 10x Digital Zoom and the 30x Digital Zoom.

The camera software is simple and easy to use with quick settings at the top of the frame, and more advanced settings nearby. The camera functions are easily laid out, and you can also choose to customise which camera features you’d like to use or remove by long-pressing and dragging.

Software

The Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ launch with Android 14 and Samsung’s One UI 6.1 over the top. When you first fire the phones up, an Over-The-Air (OTA) update is ready to download and install, updating the phone from the 1st of January security patch to the 1st of March. 

During the launch, Samsung announced that the entire Galaxy S24 lineup will be supported for seven years. Including both Feature (OS), as well as Security updates. 

The Samsung One UI 6.1 software is fresh, and easy to use for the most part. The launcher is clean except for some pre-installed Samsung, Microsoft – and of course Google apps which complete their installation when you login to the phone for the first time.

The Samsung OneUI software is leaps and bounds ahead of the dark days of Touchwiz, and while there’s a few niggles to annoy – ‘Custom Order’ for the app drawer by default – the rest of the software experience is now actually quite good. There is always the availability of so many features that it’s sometimes hard to find, but the search in Settings alleviates a lot of that pain point.

Galaxy AI Features

The Galaxy S24 and S24+ also include the AI features announced for the series including Circle to Search, Live Translate, Note assist and Photo Assist.

Circle to Search

The Circle to Search feature announced for the Galaxy S24, which has spread to the Pixel 8 (and soon beyond), is reminiscent of the old Google Now on Tap search, but with the backing of today’s improved AI it’s also much better than that ever was. 

Circle to Search – launched by long pressing the home button at the bottom of the display – can basically find whatever is on the screen, be that in the camera looking at something (it captures a screenshot) or in an app or browser.

Look. I’ll admit to having used this on Framed a few times (for testing purposes only obviously!), and it really works well. I’m not saying do that – but it’s a neat feature.

Live Translate

Unfortunately I don’t get the opportunity to speak with many people in other languages on a regular basis, however Scott gave this a go on the Galaxy S24 Ultra and had some very good results. 

Note assist, SMS Assist! Summarise/Translate and more!

Note Assist and SMS Assist bring Galaxy AI into your everyday life, presenting as a component of the Samsung Keyboard.  It shows up as the star themed icon

The everyday effect of having Galaxy AI built-in to your keyboard is that it’s versatile enough that it’s now present in all your apps, from your messaging apps like Messages, Messenger, Telegram and WhatsApp, through to apps like Gmail and more.  This leads to the ability to leverage Galaxy AI to take over your messaging, and suggest options to send in a variety of different styles ranging from casual, emoji filled, professional and more.

There are other places you’ll find Galaxy AI including the Samsung Browser where the  Galaxy AI option is in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. Tapping it allows you to choose between Summarise and Translate – and the results are pretty good. 

The transcriptions in the Samsung Voice Recorder app are excellent, and the summaries are pretty good as well. It managed to pick up the major points of the Pixel Watch 2 launch I fed into it, offering a highlight list of points from the recording.

Photo Assist

Google softened everyone up with generative AI in your camera with the launch of the Pixel 8 series last year and Samsung have taken the ball and run with it on the Galaxy S24.

Just like the Pixel implementation you can see the AI option in the Samsung Gallery app. Once you choose to edit a photo you’ll see the AI icon and you can then choose to edit your photos, removing unwanted parts as you see fit.

Should you buy it them?

The Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ offer some of the best options when you’re looking for a new phone, but don’t necessarily want the size, cost or even all the hardware included in the flagship S24 Ultra. 

Individually, the Galaxy S24 offers one of the best options on the market for anyone wanting a ‘small’ phone, while the Galaxy S24+ – to me at least – offers a more affordable, better looking device than the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which, unless you need that S Pen or the 200MP  image sensor, it’s an easy choice to make. 

In a sea of Android powered options, the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ stand out in a good way with premium design, materials, excellent cameras and specs and of course seven years of software support.

If you need a new phone, the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ are definitely worth a look – and there’s some fantastic deals on offer on contract, or to purchase outright. You can find the phones all Australian Telcos, the Samsung online store or through retailers including Harvey Norman, Officeworks, JB HiFi and Bing Lee

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Review: OPPO’s sub-$100 Enco Buds2 Pro — budget earbuds but at what cost? https://eftm.com/2024/03/review-oppos-sub-100-enco-buds2-pro-budget-earbuds-but-at-what-cost-243377 Mon, 18 Mar 2024 23:03:00 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=243377 I’ve reviewed a lot of true wireless earbuds in my time and one thing is for sure, what was good five years ago is no longer anywhere near good enough.  One other thing I’ve noticed is that you get what you pay for.   The most expensive consumer earbuds, the Airpods Pro are the best I’ve […]

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I’ve reviewed a lot of true wireless earbuds in my time and one thing is for sure, what was good five years ago is no longer anywhere near good enough.  One other thing I’ve noticed is that you get what you pay for.  

The most expensive consumer earbuds, the Airpods Pro are the best I’ve tested but then the A&K UW100 MKII earphones are more expensive again and sound even better – these are designed mostly for audiophiles though and have less of the everyday features most users want.

The OPPO Enco Buds2 Pro are priced at $99 so we don’t expect them to match the Airpods Pro in sound quality but at a fraction of the price they certainly should not be expected to.  While they are cheap there is no point buying cheap if the earbuds sound like junk.  With that in mind we put the OPPO Enco Buds2 Pro to the test.

Design and fit

The design of the Enco Buds2 Pro is like so many other true wireless earbuds – an inner ear section and a stem out of the ear.  The Buds2 Pro are slightly different with their stem being a flat surface.  

The top of each earbud has a grey dot which is the touch control surface.  These are used to control your media along with phone calls, just as so many earbuds do.  The “buttons” are a capacitive touch making them easy to use without affecting the fit in the ear.

Inside the ear the earbuds sit comfortably although without the wedge-in they aren’t as secure as some of the more expensive earbuds.  I did feel myself adjusting them more than I would my more expensive Jabras which wedge a bit more firmly into the ear canal and are thus more secure.  In saying that the OPPO earbuds did not fall out while at the gym at any time.

The OPPO Enco Buds2 Pro do come with three different sized silicon tips to allow you to get the best fit inside your ear canals. They just don’t seem to wedge in as much as some other earbuds — in saying that they are super comfortable probably because of this.

The charging case is standard size neither large nor small but the earbuds slot in nicely without having to think about how they go in.  Somehow though OPPO has included an extra 38 hours of music playback in the case.  Add that on to the near eight hours of playback in the earbuds and you have a good 45 hours of music playback if you leave the house with them both fully charged.

With my use I did get close to the battery life that OPPO state you should expect with these earbuds so I was very happy with that.

Sound quality

Now when we consider the audio quality of the OPPO Enco Buds2 Pro we need to keep in mind that they are a sub- $100 set of earbuds.  As such we should be tempering our expectations.

I have a lot of sets of earbuds across the entire price range that I normally compare review buds to.  For that reason, I talk about relative sound quality.

The OPPO earbuds have decent mid and upper range sound although they lack the fine detail of the more expensive higher quality earbuds on the market.  This is predominantly where the sound lies with these earbuds, in the mid to upper end with the lower end or bass being nearly non-existent.

You need to consider whether you need this for the type of music you listen to.  It is less noticeable with a Taylor Swift or Christina Aguilera type music but play any hip-hop or metal music and you can hear straight away the lack of bass coming out of these earbuds.

So how does this compare to other earbuds of similar price?  I have a few sets of earbuds which lie in about that price range, the Skullcandy MOD true wireless earbuds ($99.95RRP), the Skullcandy Rail earbuds and now that they have seen a price reduction, the JBL Live Pro 2.

The OPPO Enco Buds2 Pro earbuds are crisper, clearer, and louder than the same-priced Skullcandy MOD earbuds and although the MOD earbuds have some bass it is not good bass but instead muffled sounds.    

The JBL earbuds are out of this world when it comes to value for money. They offer much better bass and mid to high end sounds that are clearer and louder along with an app that can be used to customise the earbuds to your ears. The OPPO earbuds aren’t even in the same hemisphere as the JBL — but once again, the price difference is large.

The Skullcandy Rail earbuds have better bass and sound louder and clearer in the mid to upper end and are overall better earbuds – but you will pay nearly twice as much for them ($169.95RRP).  That’s the problem with playing in this price range – the OPPO earbuds are only $100 and although the Rail are just $70 more, that is nearly twice the price.  Such a dilemma. 

Value for money for sure but you get what you pay for

At $100 though the OPPO Enco Buds2 Pro earbuds are great value with decent, clear sound – they just lack bass. They aren’t anywhere near as good as earbuds costing $200 or more but the price is nowhere near it as well.  If $100 really is your absolute upper limit, then the OPPO Enco Buds2 Pro are for you.  

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Five technology trends set to take foothold in the Australian household in the next five years https://eftm.com/2024/03/five-technology-trends-set-to-take-foothold-in-the-aussie-household-in-the-next-five-years-243311 Sun, 17 Mar 2024 22:36:00 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=243311 Samsung Australia has partnered with Australia’s leading futurist Steve Sammartino to publish results of consumer research into the five key areas where technology is likely to change Aussie households by 2029. The five areas identified were Ambient AI, Rolling Lounge Rooms, Soft Robotics, Energy Management and Transparent TVs.  If you are not sure what some […]

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Samsung Australia has partnered with Australia’s leading futurist Steve Sammartino to publish results of consumer research into the five key areas where technology is likely to change Aussie households by 2029.

The five areas identified were Ambient AI, Rolling Lounge Rooms, Soft Robotics, Energy Management and Transparent TVs.  If you are not sure what some of these are you are not alone but read on to see just how we will be living in 2029 (still waiting on my hoverboard though).

“We are entering an age where future fantasy will become daily living realities. This in home revolution driven by AI, will astound everyone as to how more human centric technology is becoming with benefits that go beyond convenience and enter important territories like energy, travel, and entertainment in a seamless symbiotic system design for and by end users,” said Sammartino. 

Jeremy Senior, Vice President, Consumer Electronics, Samsung Australia said “At Samsung, we’ve been committed to understanding Australians’ habits since our inaugural Australians@Home report, making us uniquely positioned to share insights on how technology will transform and enrich consumers’ daily lives.”

Ambient AI

One in five (21 percent) consumers believe that there will be an AI-powered connected device system that will be capable of controlling your entire home.  This will apparently be possible without having to leave your couch – it is already there for a lot of fully connected homes in 2024.

Nearly one third (29 percent) of consumers also believe that this whole home system will be possible using their TV remote control – open the garage door, turn on lights, start the washing machine etc, all from a TV remote (not sure why you’ve have the TV remote in your car but…).

This year looks set to be another big year for manufacturers of smart home devices as well with nearly two thirds (63 percent) looking to buy smart devices in 2024.  As you would expect, the younger the consumer, the more likely they are to be buying a smart device this year according to the device.

Rolling Lounge Rooms

If you’re like me and was wondering what a rolling lounge room was – a vehicle and lounge room combined.  Vehicles are getting smarter each year and with all-electric fleets being upgraded to mirror our lounge rooms the infotainment system in a car will work side by side with your lounge room.

The cars and your lounge rooms will learn from their interactions with you and adjust settings accordingly thanks to AI integration.  

Soft Robotics

Mobile AI robots are believed to become a companion device offering screens, information and connectivity to smart devices wherever you are.

Nearly one fifth (19 percent) of consumers see these AI robots playing an integral role in performance of tasks around the house with them being a welcome source of assistance.

Energy Management

As a country we are in the midst of a transition of our energy supplies, storage and generation (a long time overdue).  AI is expected to help homes and their smart devices to use this energy efficiently without wastage.

Energy efficiency is front of peoples’ minds when purchasing new appliances with 61 percent of consumers prioritising a device’s energy efficiency.

Transparent TVs

I may not be sure where I would use a transparent TV but Samsung seems convinced about the use of them.  Although they have not provided any figures from their research it is apparently a thing.  

We’ve had a close look at them from LG and Samsung and we still cannot fathom the true value in them.  Your thoughts may differ from ours.

Maybe we need to revisit this report in 2029 but for now if you want to check out the Australians@HOME report for yourself here.

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Which 4G Phones won’t dial Triple-Zero after the 3G Shutdown https://eftm.com/2024/03/which-4g-phones-wont-dial-triple-zero-after-the-3g-shutdown-243352 Sun, 17 Mar 2024 20:15:00 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=243352 The Federal Minister for Communications has called all three mobile network providers to the headmasters office to discuss the shutdown of the 3G mobile networks over concerns that some phones in use today will not be capable of making Triple-Zero calls after the 3G shutdown – even though they are 4G enabled phones. The new […]

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The Federal Minister for Communications has called all three mobile network providers to the headmasters office to discuss the shutdown of the 3G mobile networks over concerns that some phones in use today will not be capable of making Triple-Zero calls after the 3G shutdown – even though they are 4G enabled phones.

The new “Working Group” being created by the Minister’s office will bring together representatives from Telstra, Optus and TPG Telecom to discuss the issue in an effort to ensure there are no issues post shutdown with Triple-Zero access.

Minister for Communications, the Hon Michelle Rowland MP said “Supporting Australians’ access to Triple Zero is critical.
 
“While the Government supports the safe switchover from 3G, it is important Australians are aware that some devices in the mobile market are not appropriately configured to contact emergency services on the 4G network.
 
“This new Working Group will ensure industry better coordinates efforts to identify and contact impacted customers, improves the accessibility of public-facing information and contact points, and provide regular advice to Government on the number of potentially affected devices and customers in the market.
 
“The Government will continue to monitor this issue closely and consider options under law if warranted in the public interest.
 
“I would encourage Australians who think their device may be impacted to reach out to their service provider for more information”.

For their part, Telstra, the next to shut down their 3G Network (on June 30, after TPG/Vodafone shut down at the end of last year), say they are across the issue. A Telstra Spokesperson telling EFTM “We’re working closely with other mobile networks operators, the ACMA and the Federal Government to help manage Australia’s transition from 3G to 4G/5G. It’s a significant investment by the mobile operators in the connectivity and future productivity of the country through increased speed, capacity and efficiency. We can’t deliver these improvements across our networks without closing 3G.

“Since announcing the shutdown of our 3G network in 2019, the vast majority of customers have upgraded their mobile devices. This is reflected by the fact that 3G now accounts for only 1% of our total mobile network traffic. We are working very hard to ensure that all areas that currently only have 3G coverage get 4G coverage before we close the 3G network on 30 June. More than 98% of our mobile sites already have 4G installed.

As noted by Telstra, and the Minister – this shutdown has been five years in the making, so should not come as a surprise to anyone.

However, the issue is we’ve been saying to people they need a 4G smartphone – problem is, there are phones out there that can access 4G data, show a 4G symbol on the connectivity screen, but when dialling Triple-Zero use the 3G network.

This is a way of ensuring wider access to emergency connectivity on the handset, but now that we’re moving on from 3G is set to cause an issue.

For a smartphone to work for emergency calls, and generally to work effectively in a post-3G era, it must be “VoLTE” compatible. This stands for Voice over LTE – effectively, your voice calls are made over the LTE (or 4G) data network.

As Telstra explains, “Some older 4G mobile phones require a 3G network to make calls to Triple Zero. This is a hardware feature built into the design of the phone by the manufacturer and it is a global, industry-wide issue that many countries have already worked through as they have closed their 3G networks. Following the closure of Australia’s 3G networks customers with these devices will not be able to make Triple Zero calls despite the device otherwise working normally. To be able to make an emergency call to Triple Zero once the 3G mobile networks are closed, 4G devices must support, and be configured to use, Voice over LTE (VoLTE) emergency calling. Voice over LTE (VoLTE) is the international standard all mobile networks use to carry voice calls over 4G networks. We are contacting customers we have been able to identify as using one of these devices to let them know they need to check their device and will likely need to upgrade.”

The team at EFTM spent several hours yesterday trying to create a definitive list of 4G VoLTE enabled devices, unfortunately this is a difficult task.

Firstly, VoLTE wasn’t widely listed as a feature on many phones in the early days of the technology. Secondly, in some markets the activation of VoLTE was a carrier (network) choice.

So here’s what we believe to be the best advice at this stage.

For iPhone users, any iPhone from 2015 (iPhone 6) onward is VoLTE compatible.

For Samsung Galaxy S smartphone users, devices from the around the S7 onward – in 2016 are VoLTE compatible. This differs when we look down the other ranges like the A series, but if you use 2020 as the benchmark for phone compatibility that would be safe.

Google Pixel devices from Google Pixel 3 seem to be safely VoLTE compatible.

While for Nokia, Motorola and Oppo devices, due to the wide range of low priced and specification models, combined with higher priced models – it’s best that you check with your carrier – however that 2020 benchmark is likely a good guide. Anything before then you should check with your carrier.

Additionally, any grey-imported phone, a phone purchased overseas and brought to Australia is at high risk, as the specifications may differ.

If you contact your telco provider they can look at your network usage and device information and tell you if it is VoLTE compatible.

Don’t wait till it’s too late – find out now.

And, take the time to check in on the devices of your elderly relatives, friends and neighbours. Those people who are complacent about new technology, mainly because they don’t need the latest features and their older phone is still working – they are at the greatest risk here.

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Microsoft has an announcement event this week, will we see new Surface devices? https://eftm.com/2024/03/microsoft-has-an-announcement-event-this-week-will-we-see-new-surface-devices-243348 Sat, 16 Mar 2024 00:20:06 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=243348 Next week Microsoft are holding an event, which so far, has not garnered much in the way of fanfare.  At this March 21 (US time) event, if some rumours are to be believed, Microsoft may announce a new Surface Laptop 6 and the Surface Pro 10. The title of the event is “New Era of […]

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Next week Microsoft are holding an event, which so far, has not garnered much in the way of fanfare.  At this March 21 (US time) event, if some rumours are to be believed, Microsoft may announce a new Surface Laptop 6 and the Surface Pro 10.

The title of the event is “New Era of Work” which undoubtedly refers to AI so we expect to see Microsoft talk about the future of Windows and its Copilot AI, and how they all marry together into Microsoft’s Surface devices.

While we will undoubtedly be wowed by some new fandangled AI feature that is coming to Windows and Surface devices, much of my focus will be on any new Surface devices that Microsoft will be bringing to market.

Keep in mind that this is all rumour and speculation with some outlets suggesting that this week’s event will be solely for business users with only small incremental bumps in specs in the below-mentioned devices and the larger refreshes and redesigns coming later this Autumn.

One thing we can be relatively certain of, these device redesigns and refreshes will arrive some time this financial year and I’m here for them.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 6

The Microsoft Surface laptops are some of the best looking and functional laptops on the market, often with a price to match.  Being an owner of a Surface Laptop Go 2 I can say that they are worth it for a quality device.

Once again, like the Surface Laptop 5, we expect the 6 to be incredibly thin and lightweight without any frills but what it will include will be excellent if it follows suit.

Rumours are suggesting that the Laptop 6 will be more than just a simple refresh with a new chipset but will receive a new display with a much smaller bezel and rounded corners.  Some rumours are suggesting that the Surface Laptop 6 will see an OLED display model but that is not the consensus.  

Other rumoured notable improvements include a haptic touchpad, two USB-C ports and one USB-A port, longer battery life (which is needed given the impressive battery life of the new MacBook Airs from Apple), improved performance from an updated Intel chipset with AI onboard.  

Of note is that some are expecting the Surface Laptop 6 to arrive with an option for the Snapdragon X Elite chipset which will be an interesting development – I’m looking forward to checking out the performance of this chipset in an everyday laptop.  

Microsoft Surface Pro 10

Alongside the Surface Laptop 6 the tenth generation of the Surface Pro is also expected to make an appearance.  I’ve long been a fan of the Surface Pro devices, having owned one myself for a long time, with the ability to use it as a tablet or a laptop has come in incredibly handy for work.

Rumours are suggesting that Microsoft will be upgrading the display with an anti-reflective coating on top of an OLED display and an ultrawide webcam.

This generation there is expected to be two models just as for the Surface Laptop 6, one with Intel chipset and the other with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chipset.  We expect the models to both include Microsoft’s new AI features thanks to onboard AI support in the new chipsets.

The big ticket item for both laptops in Microsoft’s eyes though will be the AI component.  Just as Google and Samsung have made AI a large component of their flagship smartphones, Microsoft will be likely doing that as well with all of their new devices.  We expect to see real-time translations, animated wallpapers, in-built noise suppression and more.

With under a week until the event we don’t have long to wait before we see what Microsoft has in store for us.  Tune into EFTM this coming Friday morning to see all the new things Microsoft.

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XCD release the Portable Air Purifier — small enough to take with you wherever you want https://eftm.com/2024/03/xcd-release-the-portable-air-purifier-small-enough-to-take-with-you-wherever-you-want-243337 Fri, 15 Mar 2024 22:32:00 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=243337 Air purifiers were always a very niche product but since the beginning of the pandemic we have all realised that air purifiers can not only keep us safer from disease but also improve the quality of the air we breathe resulting in a much healthier lifestyle. The problem is that the air purifiers we have […]

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Air purifiers were always a very niche product but since the beginning of the pandemic we have all realised that air purifiers can not only keep us safer from disease but also improve the quality of the air we breathe resulting in a much healthier lifestyle.

The problem is that the air purifiers we have seen have always been big things but now XCD has launched a portable air purifier, small enough to take with you.  

The XCD Portable Air Purifier comes complete with HEPA H11 filter and is small enough to fit into the cup holder of your car, delivering purified air to you in your car.

With a built in rechargeable battery that provides up to four hours of battery life there is no need to provide power every time you use it.  At just 330 grams it allows you to easily take it with you to provide fresh, purified air to your personal space.

Other features include three different fan speeds, an air quality indicator to let you know if and when you need to use it, a power indicator and quiet operation it is the perfect companion for those seeking fresh air.

There are no ongoing accessory costs with the filter just needing a monthly wipe down rather than replacing making the initial outlay of $129 a good investment.

The XCD Portable Air Purifier is available now exclusively from JB Hi-Fi for RRP$129.

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McDonalds outage blamed on third-party provider during a configuration change https://eftm.com/2024/03/mcdonalds-outage-stores-and-offices-around-the-world-go-offline-243333 Fri, 15 Mar 2024 08:31:16 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=243333 Good luck getting a Cheeseburger tonight, or a McFlurry, McDonalds stores across Australia and several other countries have gone offline due to an IT systems failure. That was the situation Friday night Australian time as IT teams at Maccas themselves were in a McFlurry at the office. McDonalds Australia said in a statement “We are […]

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Good luck getting a Cheeseburger tonight, or a McFlurry, McDonalds stores across Australia and several other countries have gone offline due to an IT systems failure.

That was the situation Friday night Australian time as IT teams at Maccas themselves were in a McFlurry at the office.

McDonalds Australia said in a statement “We are aware of a technology outage currently impacting our restaurants nationwide and are working to resolve this issue as soon as possible,”

Going on to say “We apologise for the inconvenience and thank customers for their patience.”

EFTM understands the outage affected not just in-store systems, but also head office IT systems, emails, networking and more.

It’s also understood the outage reached as far and wide as the UK, Japan, New Zealand and more, along with Australia. Initial reports indicate US stores are unaffected.

The actual root cause is far from being known, but it’s safe to say it is a core and fundamental networking issue, given it’s effect on in-store and office systems.

Given the fast-food chains reliance on computer systems for orders, in-store menus and more – this is as dramatic as Optus losing not just their mobile but also fixed line broadband networks in a single day.

As at late evening, services appeared to be back online – but you can bet it’s all hands on deck over the weekend in the Global IT team.

McDonalds Global Chief Information Officer Brian Rice said in a statement “At approximately midnight CDT on Friday, McDonald’s experienced a global technology system outage, which was quickly identified and corrected. Many markets are back online, and the rest are in the process of coming back online. We are closely working with those markets that are still experiencing issues. Notably, this issue was not directly caused by a cybersecurity event; rather, it was caused by a third-party provider during a configuration change.

Reliability and stability of our technology are a priority, and I know how frustrating it can be when there are outages. I understand that this impacts you, your restaurant teams and our customers. What happened today has been an exception to the norm, and we are working with absolute urgency to resolve it. Thank you for your patience, and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

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Hubbl Review – It’s good – but is it “like nothing in the market”? No. https://eftm.com/2024/03/hubbl-review-its-good-but-is-it-like-nothing-in-the-market-no-243319 Fri, 15 Mar 2024 04:55:56 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=243319 Ok, strap in, I have opinions three thousand and seventy eight words of them. Ten days ago I published my first impressions of Hubbl – it was comprehensive in many ways, but also rushed as the company was shipping the units to customers and I felt it important to get some experiences on the record […]

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Ok, strap in, I have opinions three thousand and seventy eight words of them. Ten days ago I published my first impressions of Hubbl – it was comprehensive in many ways, but also rushed as the company was shipping the units to customers and I felt it important to get some experiences on the record for prospective buyers. Now that we’re past that initial wave of early adopters and I’ve been using the device for this period of time, I have a better look at what the experience is like.

Now, I want to be clear, this is a review of Hubbl the “Experience” or “operating system” as I’ve been experiencing it across two platforms, one the standard Hubbl plugged into a Samsung TV, and the other at home on the Hubbl Glass 65 inch. Both, provided by Hubbl for review purposes. The accounts and streaming services I use are mine, and I pay for them myself.

My Hubbl Review – The context

I am coming at this from the perspective of Hubbl’s own marketing and PR – remember, this was announced by saying “INTRODUCING THE FUTURE OF TV” – awesome!

Those announcements also contained quotes from Foxtel Group CEO Patrick Delany who said “Hubbl is the next quantum leap in entertainment technology and is the solution to a complex Australian streaming landscape caused by the fabulous explosion of choice in streaming services available to Australians.

Hubbl is like nothing in the market – ‘it is TV and streaming made easy’ – seamlessly integrating world-leading technology with a purpose-built design and unrivaled app integration that sets it well ahead of the curve.

Additionally he has said “Hubbl will effortlessly fuse free and paid entertainment and sport from Australia’s favourite apps, channels, live TV and the internet into one seamless user experience.

Those three quotes in bold are the key reasons I am coming at this review to either enforce or push back on those statements.

Before I get into the details, let’s address those three quickly.

Hubbl is the next quantum leap in entertainment technology

On what basis? We have to remember that while local player Fetch has a strong market share of many hundreds of thousands of users, Google has barely slowed down in their paced development of the Google TV platform, and while small in market share, Amazon’s Fire TV is also a strong player. From a TECH perspective it’s specifications don’t jump out as revolutionary, nor a quantum leap.

Anything else I could say really leads me to point 2:

Hubbl is like nothing in the market

Ridiculous. It’s just like Chromecast with Google TV. It’s just like Amazon Fire TV, it’s just like Fetch.

However, It lacks many apps (Britbox, Hayu) and even lacks apps they say they will have, but we really don’t know when (Stan, Optus Sport, Paramount+).

On some levels, that holds them back in terms of the power of this device – more on that in sport later.

Hubbl’s one “like nothing on the market” is Free to Air TV – but that, for Sydney Hubbl owners is fine, everyone else, is a compromise.

Heck, I can’t even rent or buy a movie on Hubbl yet.

In Theory, it’s new and innovative, but the execution leaves a bit to be desired before you can label it “like nothing in the market”

Hubbl will effortlessly fuse free and paid entertainment and sport from Australia’s favourite apps

“will” is the key word here. We haven’t seen key examples of this, particularly in sport (yet), and it feels like there’s a real plan here – but getting the market to come along for the ride is the next challenge.

Let’s unpack the key features Hubbl is promoting

These are some of the core features in Hubbl’s brand and marketing campaign, so let me explain them and review each.

Watchlist

Some people are rusted onto Foxtel because they can “record” their favourite shows. Advanced streamers like me say “just watch it on catch-up” or “it’s available on Binge”.

So what Hubbl has done is taken that logic and replaced “record” with the “watchlist”. The idea is you’ll be able to watchlist everything from actors to sports teams, like a series link on Foxtel IQ boxes. For now just Watchlisting a show allows you to simply go to that list and then launch the show. Instead of playing off your hard drive, it plays from the cloud.

Watchlists can also be spread across profiles, so you can have your own that is different to the wife, and Hubbl will also suggest shows you can watch together based on those Watchlists.

This is powerful, and a great concept. I can’t truely speak to it’s usability as I’ve not had a lot of things to Watchlist, but I get the sense this is one area that will really ramp up the more you use it and the more Hubbl introduce personalisation and recommendation across the platform.

Continue Watching

Not a groundbreaking feature by any means, Google TV and Fetch are here too. But the concept is simple – if you were watching something and left or paused and watched something else, those shows appear in this row on the home screen.

Works pretty well, and from what I could tell – unless I was seeing thing, works across Hubbl devices too – My Hubbl Glass at home was showing something I started watching at the office. Nice one.

That’s likely because this data is supplied by the streamers, so Netflix sends a chunk of data about me, the shows I’ve been watching etc. And Hubbl populates this carosel.

However, it can get messy fast. Watch a few shows on different platforms and you’re having to scroll around to get back to something.

And why o why was The Old Man not showing in Continue Watching? I was binging the hell out of that – but my guess is that data Netflix provides – Disney does not, meaning Hubbl has no visibility of what you need to continue.

This is the start of the “well if you have it for one, you need it from ALL the streamers” problem with Hubbl

The most under-rated and frankly hidden feature of Hubbl is the quick link to recently used apps and channels. On the main top row of content you go LEFT (out of view) and the apps or channels are listed most recent first.

One thing that impressed me most from what I was told about the concept of “continue watching” from episode to episode anyway, and not something I’ve tested – is that Hubbl will take you from the final episode of Season 3 of a show to the first episode of Season 4 even if it’s on another streaming service. If they can nail this, it’s a big win – small stakes but smart stuff.

Speak to Hubbl, either the remote or just by “Hey Hubbl” on the Glass TV – and just ask for a show and it shows it.

The lack of a Pay Per View movie store is problematic here, because you are only searching the streamers – which is limiting, particularly when compared to Fetch. And I can’t really speak to how it prioritises the results. Fetch for example prioritise based on what you are subscribed to (ie, if it’s on Stan and i’m paying for that, it will launch it there rather than on a service I don’t subscribe to) and based on quality (putting the higher quality ones up the list)

However, If I was Netflix I’d be asking questions about Anti-trust here – search for Karate Kid and you see one Tile for the movie – on Binge, despite the fact the movie is on Netflix.

Netflix Search – in the Netflix app

Now, again, I didn’t unsubscribe from Binge to see if it would show the Netflix, but what if I like Binge for TV and Netflix for movies and I simply prefer Netflix? What if it doesn’t show Netflix even to those who don’t have Binge. More explanation and testing required. For the record, in this situation, it should show the tile for the movie, then the next page should list the viewing options available.

Stack and Save with Hubbl

Optus Sub-Hub was the first to do it, and they do it across not just streaming services but any sort of Subscription. Hubbl brings that same “one bill” or streaming aggregation to their platform with the idea that the more services you put on your Hubbl bill, the more you can save.

This means you can let Hubbl bill you once for Binge, Kayo, Netflix, Flash, Lifestyle and Disney Plus. Four of those six are Foxtel Group products, and to get the discounts you need three, four or five services.

Now I’m a pretty full on streamer, I’ve got most services, but I have just four of those six. Binge Lifestyle content is shedding over to Lifestyle for a new $8 fee, so it feels firstly like they are making me pay $8 more to get content I might already have been watching, but hey, I save $5 because of Stack and Save.

I was unable to bring my Netflix account over to my Hubbl account because if I did, my mother in law would lose her Netflix account as it’s an “Extra Member” account – created after the password sharing crackdown.

If you’re going to do something, it has to be done in full, and the lack of that style Netflix account means I’m out. Can’t take advantage of this.

Plus, Where’s Stan, Where’s Apple TV, Where’s Paramount, Where’s Amazon Prime.

I suspect it’s likely most of those won’t want to hand over their billing to Hubbl – so – this will for the foreseeable future be an incomplete concept, and while ever I need two or more of Foxtel/Hubbl’s own streaming services to get the full $15 discount, the more it just seems like it’s not ideal.

Great concept, and works for some, but for it to be revolutionary and the future – it has to be everything.

Single View

And gosh, they are so close. So Close.

This Single View My Account page is remarkable – a single page on a big screen showing the streaming services you have and a simple tickbox to deactivate them.

The page is a dream – simple click to pause your account, save some money – more over, the balance and total monthly cost is on screen. Families and Aussie Households would be shocked to know what they are paying each month, because they don’t – they see streaming as a $10-15 a month thing, not realising they all add up.

Just falls short again because it’s too narrow, it needs all the streamers.

And, if you want an effortless system that is a Quantum leap forward, it has to be easy to add these services. It’s not.

You See a show on another service it just launches the app and gets you to sign up. You are on the My Account Single view, it should be the press of a plus, a verification and confirmation of price and boom, account created.

Again, this needs the streaming services to loosen the reigns they have on account creation and billing for it to really work.

Free to Air TV on Hubbl

A game-changer* – the Asterix is critical here, because it only applies to people who live in Sydney.

Sign into all the Free Catch Up apps and then the live-streams for the channels appear in the TV guide. Change channels like the old days, and it’s cool. Not fast, but not slow either.

There are glitches where you get an error and it goes away, but you get used to it (should we?).

Problem is, Melbourne people get Sydney News on Channel 7.. Regional viewers only get metro based channels and not all channels have time-shifting so Perth folks aren’t three hours ahead of themselves.

And if you’re watching Channel 7 for the AFL, not only is it a Sydney feed, but 7 doesn’t have the digital rights to the AFL until next year.

Plus, I’m not seeing all the Free to Air Channels – where’s 9 Rush?

Lots and LOTS of work to do on this one – if done right – it does change the game.

TV Guide/EPG Access on Hubbl

Dear god why is Channel 9 on channel 109? Drop the Foxtel silliness and just put Channel 7 on Channel number 7. It’s purely ego and Foxtel bias, drop it.

And if Free to Air TV is so important, why isn’t there a “TV” or “EPG” or “Guide” button on the remote.

It’s too hard to get to (without voice control)

The in-app experience

I appreciate that Hubbl owns and runs this box, and Kayo, but why o why is Kayo not the Kayo App – that is one of the greatest creations of layout, personalisation and easy access ever.

Instead, Kayo (and Binge) follow the Hubbl format for content layout. This makes it jarring and different to existing users.

Fetch tried this with apps, like Stan, had a Fetch look so navigation was consistent. But again, if you can’t get them all, don’t do it at all. Stan on Fetch now launches like it does everywhere else.

And ahh, what the hell – why is there no split screen on Kayo Live events? This is YOUR box. Apple TV does it better than literally any other device – why doesn’t yours??

ADS on Hubbl

We went to watch the NRL on the weekend, and I’m convinced a pre-roll advertisement played – can’t be sure we didn’t just tune in at an ad break, but didn’t seem at all like it.

If you’re adding ads, don’t. People hate them.

Sport! The future of Hubbl

If I was in charge, I would have launched this after they got sport right. This is the real “let me paint a picture of the future” moment for sports fans.

You’ve got a Kayo Subscription, and a Stan Sport Subscription, and also Optus Sport. And hey, you’re doing well because that’s $95.99 there at 4K levels. (Imagine Hubbl had Stack and Save on those – they won’t – so just keep imagining).

Now, on the Sport page of Hubbl, when you launch it – you see ANY LIVE SPORT on now across all three platforms, perhaps Amazon Prime or Apple TV too! this is HUGE. This is the real Genre defining concept of our generation.

Honestly, this is the one page with the most potential on this box. But it requires all those streamers sharing strong and useful metadata and allowing it all to happen.

Is Hubbl better than Fetch TV?

If you’ve got a Fetch Mighty in your lounge room, recording shows, antenna connected – and looking for something for the other room with no antenna – get the Fetch Mini. It will stream Free to Air channels from the Fetch Mighty, no antenna required in the Mini. Plus it can view your recordings on the Mighty too.

That is to say, it depends.

If a whole bunch of streaming services on one box is your need – Fetch and Hubbl both do that. But Fetch does more – like Movie Rent and Buy, additional apps, it has a mobile app you can download movies to so you can watch on the go. I could go on but that’s the headlines.

In my view – no, Hubbl is not better.

Their single view list of streaming services is good, but Fetch has a similar page – Fetch could learn from Hubbl’s simple UI in this case. Fetch doesn’t have IP streamed Free to Air channels, but I suspect they will soon.

is Hubbl better than Chromecast with Google TV?

Nope.

It’s basically on-par with Chromecast, with the addition of Free to Air via the internet, and that pretty awesome account page.

Other than that, it could easily be argued Google TV is a better interface, and that Hubbl emulates that for the most part.

Hubbl’s biggest issue – speed

If you want to compete with Apple TV, Chromecast, Fetch et all – you’ve got to race alongside them.

Hubbl can’t, it’s too slow. Sloppy to load apps, sloppy to load pages and search results.

It’s just almost at times unbearably sluggish and you wonder why. It needs a better processor, literally more power, and Hubbl need to address that.

Who would buy Hubbl?

I’m not sure even Hubbl know that.

Certainly, if someone calls me on the EFTM Podcast and says “I’m getting rid of Foxtel” then Hubbl becomes a strong alternative for those who don’t have an antenna because they’ve been using Foxtel for Free to Air for donkeys years.

For anyone who uses streaming services and doesn’t watch them on their main TV because they don’t know how – Hubbl works for you.

But if you’ve got a Fire TV, Chromecast with Google TV, Fetch or other “HDMI 1” device for Streaming – you’re purchasing Hubbl to be a beta tester.

The best potential user of Hubbl is a die hard fan of the shows on Hubbl apps, Selling Houses Australia, anything on Binge, Sky News, you name it, those apps from Hubbl will drive the user base, they will save the most with Stack and Save, they will get the most out of a lot of these concepts.

I do struggle to see who else would bother though.

Huge potential, sadly most of it out of the control of Hubbl and in the hands of global and local streaming partners.

At $99 the Hubbl box is a decent buy, though in reality for what it is, it should be a $59 product. Some people are being offered those discounts already, which says to me they want to flood. the market as best they can.

Hubbl Glass at $1,599 for a 55 incher – is ok value – it’s really mid-priced, and you have to take into account the included soundbar, though personally, I’d want a big-brand TV with the Hubbl box at best.

Does Hubbl have a future?

Foxtel aren’t going to walk away from this, they will put everything into it. They are partnered with ComCast in America to build it, but they need more engineering on speed, they need a better box and processor, and they need all the commercial terms for streaming services to fall in their favour.

It’s something worth revisiting in a year, or two. Because it WILL get better, and it’s not – in any way – a bad product today. But it falls short in a lot of places, and mostly I think the hype doesn’t match the outcome.

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Samsung launches the OLED S95D TV with Anti-Glare technology https://eftm.com/2024/03/samsung-launches-the-oled-s95d-tv-with-anti-glare-technology-243305 Thu, 14 Mar 2024 08:53:09 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=243305 Samsung Electronics Australia has unveiled the first TV of its 2024 lineup with the new S95D with the World’s first Anti-glare technology on a TV. The new OLED S95D is available in 55-, 65- and 77-inch screen sizes for $4,640, $5,800 and $9,281 respectively. Although there will be more Samsung TVs released ion the 2024 […]

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Samsung Electronics Australia has unveiled the first TV of its 2024 lineup with the new S95D with the World’s first Anti-glare technology on a TV.

The new OLED S95D is available in 55-, 65- and 77-inch screen sizes for $4,640, $5,800 and $9,281 respectively.

Although there will be more Samsung TVs released ion the 2024 range this is it for now, headlining with their new OLED Anti-Glare technology, designed specifically for this model. The technology allows for the reduction in glare and reflections while maintaining colour accuracy and sharpness, even in a brightly lit room.

Jeremy Senior, Vice President, Consumer Electronics, Samsung Electronics Australia said, “We know Australians take great pride in their living and entertainment areas, with the TV often the centrepiece of not just the room, but Australians’ homes. With many Australians’ living in bright or light-filled rooms, this new technology helps to ensure Australians can enjoy a low interruption viewing experience, regardless of their TV preference.”

The Samsung S95D is powered by their NQ4 AI Gen2 Processor bringing an ability to upgrade/upscale content to 4K while maintaining brightness and colour accuracy. Thanks to this chipset and its more than 8-million self-illuminating pixels making up three sub-pixels and zero white subpixels the Samsung OLED is the World’s First Pantone ®-Validated HDR OLED.

The S95D also includes Motion Rate 200 to minimise blur from fast-moving scenes in action movies and sports viewing and can provide 4K 144Hz VRR for smooth gameplay.

At just 11.2mm deep and a barely-there bezel, the S95D sits atop the top the Samsung OLED range while still delivering True Dolby ATMOS for an immersive environment whatever you may be watching.

The Samsung OLED 4K S95D will be available from all major retailers and Samsung.com from Monday 18 March for:

Interestingly these prices are a fraction more than the current top of the line model from LG — the OLED evo G4 ($4,199, $5,299, and $7,999) but with their true top end model, the M4, coming in a couple of months it will be interesting to see not just the feature-set and picture quality differences but also the price comparison between the two manufacturers. One thing for sure, we, as consumers, have a lot of great TVs to choose from.

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TikTok ban not on the cards for Australia – and nor should it be https://eftm.com/2024/03/tiktok-ban-not-on-the-cards-for-australia-and-nor-should-it-be-243303 Thu, 14 Mar 2024 06:32:46 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=243303 Australia work this morning to the news that the US Congress had voted overwhelmingly in an almost entirely bi-partisan fashion to introduce a ban on TikTok in the USA if the parent company ByteDance does not sell it’s stake in the business/app. For those looking for some context, what’s happened here is the US Congress […]

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Australia work this morning to the news that the US Congress had voted overwhelmingly in an almost entirely bi-partisan fashion to introduce a ban on TikTok in the USA if the parent company ByteDance does not sell it’s stake in the business/app.

For those looking for some context, what’s happened here is the US Congress voted 352 in favour and 65 against a bill called “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act”

The subtext of that bill title is “To protect the national security of the United States from the threat posed by foreign adversary-controlled applications, such as TikTok and any successor application or service and any other application or service developed or provided by ByteDance Ltd. or an entity under the control of ByteDance Ltd.”

So let’s call it what it is, the Anti ByteDance bill.

That’s cool. ByteDance is a Chinese company which has shareholders around the world, and owns the TikTok App. TikTok isn’t available in China, instead a separate app called Douyin is available there, and it will come as no surprise to anyone that if you search for videos or information about Tiananmen Square and the protests and massacre that took place there – there’s nothing on Doyin about it. Search for that on TikTok and you’ll see what you’re looking for (assuming someone has posted it!).

So is the Chinese Government censoring TikTok – doesn’t seem that way.

Are they looking at our personal data? No, but the story that comes back to bite TikTok here is one of Chinese employees some years ago using server data to look at things like the IP address of journalists on the platform. Those staff were fired and the company’s data practices changed as a result, but – it’s hard to shake one shocking incident like that from your record, so it continues to haunt them today.

Even now when they spend huge dollars moving data offshore and into the USA specifically for US users, the Congress seems not to believe the company’s CEO who sat before them at a hearing.

In fact, it seems they chose to disbelieve every word he said, because this bill now seeks to ban TikTok unless ByteDance sell it, and given the Chinese Government themselves say they won’t allow that (which does, I hear you, signal a link between them that creates just the same pause for concern) then it looks like US TikTok users might need to find a new platform soon.

For what it’s worth, TikTok’s CEO says they have invested heavily in keeping data safe and keeping it free from outside manipulation.

This Bill now has to pass the US Senate, which isn’t a guarantee, but given the Republican’s voted broadly with the Democrats over there in the House, the same could happen in the Senate, and President Biden seems keen to sign off on it if it reaches his desk.

Strangely, wanna-be re-elected President Donald Trump now doesn’t agree with this ban, despite himself calling for TikTok to be sold to a US company during his time as President.

Back home, Australia’s PM Anthony Albanese said you’d “need to have an argument for it, rather than automatically just ban things,” to ABC Radio.

He also added “I think you’ve got to be pretty cautious. You’ve always got to have national security concerns front and centre, but you also need to acknowledge that for a whole lot of people, this provides a way of them communicating,”

“We haven’t got advice at this stage to do that (legislate a ban on TikTok). We don’t use TikTok on government phones, and that is an appropriate measure that we’re putting in place.”

One thing you’ll notice here is there’s been no security advice suggesting TikTok was a risk. So why would it be banned?

With all the revenue going into TikTok from US companies would likely be diverted to Zuckerberg’s Meta platforms – that’s good for business right?

In Australia, a TikTok spokesperson said “We welcome the Prime Minister’s comments that Australia has no plans to ban TikTok. Any changes to TikTok in Australia would have a significant impact on the 350,000 businesses, and more than eight-and-a-half million Australians, who use the app to connect and grow their businesses. Action being taken in the US is not based in fact, and we are hopeful that the US Senate will consider the impact on the millions of small businesses and 170 million Americans who use the service.”

The fact is this is all ridiculous over-reach by almost racist and bigoted politics, hating on a platform just because its roots are in China.

What’s needed here is regulation and data security laws. Australia already has strict data security laws and if breached would cost TikTok handsomely, and remember this, Facebook and Google know just as much and likely far more about you than TikTok does.

In my view, TikTok has created the single greatest algorithm in Social Media History. An hour on Instagram Reels will show you that the content isn’t anywhere near as fresh, relevant or niche as that you can see on TikTok – if these platforms want to compete, they should compete on product, not on lobbying.

Fear mongering and click-bait headlines, that’s what’s driving the China-Hating TikTok Ban stories and reporting – there’s very little basis in fact around the creation of or imposition of a Bill like that in the USA

All the while, the US President Joe Biden has been using the platform for campaigning in the upcoming US Elections. Hypocrisy much?

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LG announces their 2024 TV and soundbar lineup arriving here this month with price reductions across the range https://eftm.com/2024/03/lg-announces-their-2024-tv-and-soundbar-lineup-arriving-here-this-month-pricing-below-243269 Wed, 13 Mar 2024 20:03:00 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=243269 LG Electronics Australia has today announced the Australian availability of its 2024 TV range with a large range of devices with something for everyone at every price point. To celebrate the launch of the 2024 TV and sound bar range, purchases of eligible 2024 LG OLED and QNED TVs between March 14 and April 3 […]

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LG Electronics Australia has today announced the Australian availability of its 2024 TV range with a large range of devices with something for everyone at every price point.

To celebrate the launch of the 2024 TV and sound bar range, purchases of eligible 2024 LG OLED and QNED TVs between March 14 and April 3 from participating retailers, will receive a bonus gift card.

As part of the announcement LG has revealed that new TVs will receive their updated LG webOS 24, marking a decade of use on their TVs.  This will even be rolled back to some 2022 LG TVs and in the future all TVs will receive five years of updates improving the longevity of their TVs.

The new version of LG webOS brings a new home screen allowing for up to 10 individual user profiles with the content on the home screen matched to their preferences and tastes.

The new 2024 TV lineup brings the ability to access not just free to air services but also subscription services with apps for services such as Stan, Disney+ Amazon Prime, Netflix, Apple TV+, Foxtel, Kayo, Paramount+, and Optus Sport available for the LG TVs.

LG has also introduced their own service with LG Channels offering over 80 free channels with content such as news, sports, movies, TV series’ and more included.  

The new 2024 LG TVs will once again include Apple AirPlay and for the first time Google Chromecast built-in.  All the new 2024 TVs will also include support for Matter giving them a seamless integration into your smarthome.

Some models will also offer a new split screen mode with a splitting of the screen into up to four segments for four different content streams on the display at one time.  

LG OLED TVs – LG’s best gets even better

LG was the world’s number 1 OLED TV once again last year, making it 11 years in a row – an impressive feat.  They are looking to extend that to 12 this year with their new lineup.

The 2024 LG G4 and M4 evo model OLED TVs are receiving the new LG Alpha 11 AI processor which will deliver a 70 percent improvement in graphic performance with a 30 percent faster processing speed compared to the previous generation chipset.

As you would expect with this upgraded AI processor, LG has integrated more AI features across select models in this year’s lineup.  

One such feature includes the user selecting a few images for preferences in viewing styles.  The deep learning algorithms then apply picture settings to suit the user – these can be customised for the user that is currently logged in.

AI Brightness also adjusts the TV picture balance based on the brightness of the room whereas AI Super Upscaling sharpens objects and backgrounds that may appear blurry.

The G4 models include Brightness Booster Max, allowing for a brightness increase of up to 150 percent over non-evo OLED TVs.

The 2024 LG OLED TVs include a five-year warranty with some models including the one wall design and LG’s new Zero Connect Box allowing for a true wireless experience.  In fact, this year’s OLED lineup from LG includes the World’s first and only 4K 144Hz wireless OLED TV technology thanks to this Zero Connect Box.

LG QNED – for that massive screen stadium experience

If big screens (without breaking the bank) are for you then the 2024 LG QNED lineup is worth checking out.  With ultra-large screens, Quantum Dot and NanoCell Colour, Alpha 8 AI processors, a super slim design and WebOS 24 they are a compelling purchase.

The new QNED range now tops out at a massive 98-inches with LG’s research showing that customers want screens 98-inches and bigger if possible.  

The Quantum Dot and NanoCell Colour provides a wider colour gamut than before while also “catching” incorrect shades in the picture and touching them up to deliver up to 90 percent colour accuracy.

The upgraded AI processors deliver authentic colours with optimised audio and picture quality resulting in a pleasing viewing experience making you feel like you are right on top of the action. 

TV pricing and availability

The big headline here though is the pricing. Across the range we are seeing reductions in prices with last year’s G3 model priced at $10,999, $1,000 more than the G4 this year. The C4 and B4 also see similar price reductions while the QNED TVs see price reductions of up to $1,700 (QNED81). These price reductions are great to see given the sheer volume of product price increases we are seeing everywhere else in life. More TV and more features for less money? Yes please.

LG Sound bars designed for your new LG TV

To pair their new TVs with precise and convenient sound experiences LG are introducing new sound bar models, the S95TR, SG10TY, S70TY, S60T, and S40T models.

One of the new features of the 2024 LG sound bars is the WOWCAST Ready feature which provides a wireless 7.2.1 channel audio (with compatible LG TVs).  Add in Dolby Atmos driven by DTS:X and the cinema experience is complete – just add your own popcorn.

The headline of the 2024 LG sound bar series is the S95TR which delivers 810W of power out through 15 channels for an extremely powerful sound.  The sound bar includes AI features such as AI Room Calibration Pro and AI Sound Pro, with the former tailoring the audio output to the space it is in thanks to internal microphones and spatial awareness technology.

The S95TR sound bar includes five up-firing channels including a centre up-firing speaker to provide a seamless audio experience at home.  

Middle of the new sound bar pack is the SG10TY with 420W audio and 3.1 channels with WOW Orchestra, WOW Interface and WOWCAST Ready technology.  The slim profile sound bar delivers lossless 7.1.2 multi-channel audio, wirelessly while seamlessly integrating into the LG OLED G series TVs.  

The 2024 LG sound bar range is available from leading retailers and LG.com/au now. To find out more head on over to LG.com.au/sound-bars

Head on down to your local electronics retailer to check out the new offerings from LG and prepare to be impressed.

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ASUS ROG Phone 8 series arrives down under with a new design and plenty of power https://eftm.com/2024/03/asus-rog-phone-8-series-arrives-down-under-with-a-new-design-and-plenty-of-power-243278 Wed, 13 Mar 2024 01:48:32 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=243278 After announcing the series at CES earlier this year, ASUS Australia have announced the ROG Phone 8 series is now available in Australia. While the ROG Phone 8 series retains it’s high powered internal specs, which this year includes a large 6.78” LTPO display which can support up to 120Hz refresh rate and is powered […]

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After announcing the series at CES earlier this year, ASUS Australia have announced the ROG Phone 8 series is now available in Australia.

While the ROG Phone 8 series retains it’s high powered internal specs, which this year includes a large 6.78” LTPO display which can support up to 120Hz refresh rate and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor with up to 24GB of DDR5 RAM and up to 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage in the ROG Phone 8 Pro Edition, it’s the design that is the biggest news this year.

The ROG Phone 8 series has undergone a facelift to appeal to broader audience, eschewing some of the more gamer themed elements of previous ROG Phone releases for a more mainstream look. The new design features a thinner, lighter body with thinner bezels. It’s not all about going mainstream though, with both the ROG Phone 8 and ROG Phone 8 Pro including the AniMe display on the rear which can ‘display preset or user-created animations’.

The thinner design doesn’t impact the long battery life we’ve come to know and love from the ROG phone series, with a 5,500 mAh battery that can be charged by the dual USB Type C ports on the base and side of the phone. The Dual-Cell technology in the battery means you can charge super fast, and if you need it, you can wirelessly charge as well.

ASUS is also spruiking the camera credentials of the ROG Phone 8 series, with a triple camera setup on the rear of the phone including a 50MP main sensor on a 6-axis gimbal for more steady shots, a 32MP telephoto sensor with up to 3x Optical zoom and Optical Image Stabilisation for clear photos, and a 13MP ultrawide sensor with up to 120° field of view with minimal distortion. For selfie lovers, there’s a 32MP ultra-wide camera on the front to snap you at your best.

ASUS will be launching the ROG Phone 8 with Android 14 on-board, as well as a host of AI focused features including X-Sense, X Capture, AI Grabber for gaming; and AI Noise Cancellation, AI Wallpaper, Semantic Search for lifestyle.

ASUS have announced the ROG Phone 8, ROG Phone 8 Pro and ROG Phone 8 Pro Edition (1TB storage and 24GB RAM) are available in Australia from today through JB Hifi and the ASUS e-Shop.

•             ROG Phone 8 – AUD 1,799

•             ROG Phone 8 Pro – AUD 1,999

•             ROG Phone 8 Pro Edition – AUD 2,499

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Uniden releases new Dash Cams including 5K resolution and Rideshare features https://eftm.com/2024/03/uniden-releases-new-dash-cams-including-5k-resolution-and-rideshare-features-243262 Mon, 11 Mar 2024 20:52:00 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=243262 Uniden has released a new and improved range of Dash Cams with advanced features to suit all different use-cases including rideshare drivers in need of an in-car view also. The next generation of the advanced DashView series from Uniden is a sleek barrel design with an ever so slightly squared off shape that remains perfectly […]

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Uniden has released a new and improved range of Dash Cams with advanced features to suit all different use-cases including rideshare drivers in need of an in-car view also.

The next generation of the advanced DashView series from Uniden is a sleek barrel design with an ever so slightly squared off shape that remains perfectly discreet for positioning high on the windscreen in a discreet position.

Boasting a cracking 5K video resolution, the new DashView 60+ uses Sony Starvis sensors, great low light performance as well as High Dynamic range for those bright sunlit drives, and a 150 degree wide angle lens

In Smart Parking Mode the DashView 60 series records motion activated events in shorter 60 second blocks when you’re parked up at home or away.

Adding a rear camera and the DashView 60R records 2K footage from behind the vehicle for a full understanding of what went on around you in the case of an accident.

If you’re a rideshare driver, taxi driver, or owner of a courier vehicle or tradie looking for vision from the inside of the car too – the DashView 40R also includes an in-car “cabin” camera alongside it’s 4K front and Full HD rear camera.

All of them work with the DashView app to get access to your recordings and settings in an easy way without removing the SD card.

Other Uniden Dashview features: 

  • Up to 5GHz Built in WiFi for fast data transfer
  • Safety Speed/Red Light Camera Warnings
  • Windows/Mac Viewer
  • Built in GPS and G Sensor
  • Loop and Event Recording
  • Multi-Level Cell 64GB U3 High Endurance SD Card (included)
  • 2 Year Warranty (SD card and accessories 6 months)
  • Uniden DashView 60+ – RRP $399.95
  • Uniden DashView 60R – RRP $499.95
  • Uniden DashView 40R – RRP $399.95

In addition to the new DashView cameras, Uniden also has a couple of new iGO cams, the affordable iGO Cam 35 is just $99.95, features a 2 inch LCD screen and Full HD camera.

The iGO Cam 45 R has a larger 3 inch screen, 2K resolution front camera and full HD rear camera in addition to WiFi for easy data transfer.

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Samsung Galaxy A35 Review – As much phone as you need for just $549 https://eftm.com/2024/03/samsung-galaxy-a35-review-as-much-phone-as-you-need-for-just-549-243253 Mon, 11 Mar 2024 09:01:00 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=243253 When Samsung showed me the newly announced Galaxy A35 and A55 I knew they were onto a winner – sleek design, great screen, triple lens camera – what’s not to love. While the A55 is more premium with a metal frame, I begged to try the A35 for the weekend because I figured that on […]

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When Samsung showed me the newly announced Galaxy A35 and A55 I knew they were onto a winner – sleek design, great screen, triple lens camera – what’s not to love. While the A55 is more premium with a metal frame, I begged to try the A35 for the weekend because I figured that on specs, this would be a great test of that mid-price or even low-price smartphone category.

In fact, let’s just unpack that for a moment. Premium smartphones range from $1300-$2500+. So mid-range probably is $800-$1300, while at $549 this has to be considered a low-cost smartphone right?

Turning it on and getting it setup was a breeze as always these days, and I do setup these phones from scratch, no data transfer. I think that’s the best way to get a sense of what’s impacting performance, and also just means I don’t have apps that I don’t need or use wasting space.

I’m taken by the screen brightness here. This is a 6.6 inch Super AMOLED screen, running at up to 120Hz refresh rate, and while some keen eyed videophiles might notice this or that compared to a flagship S series Samsung, I’ve not had a single moment where I questioned how great this screen is.

Full HD+ – um, what do you need more pixels than that for – it’s 6.6 inches across!

That’s just one of those areas where we buy something that offers more – because it does – not because we need it.

I honestly think there’s three types of $1500+ flagship phone buyers. Early adopters who want the best always. Contract buyers who don’t realise how much they’re actually spending on their phones, and the FOMO’s. Yep the people with a Fear of Missing out.

A fear that at dinner one night someone with an S series phone next to them will magically do something cool on their phone that the Galaxy A35 can’t do.

Won’t happen.

Aside from not having the 30 or 100 times hybrid Zoom Samsung does offer at the higher price point, I’ve barely noticed a thing.

I turn it on, and definitely notice the larger edge around the screen – but does it affect my usage – not at all.

Battery life here is remarkable. Because you’re pushing less pixels, and not wasting amazing performance you don’t really need – you have a far more efficient device on your hands.

The 5,000mAh battery has lasted me through very very long days, 4 or 6am starts through to 10 or 11pm bed time – and still more than 20% battery.

Not a hint of battery anxiety.

It’s not quite the more than Two Days Samsung might have hoped, but honestly, what people want and need today is enough to get to charging time:)

The camera didn’t disappoint – easy to use, a slight shutter or processing delay (by slight I mean blink of an eye slight), but crisp clear colour images.

Ultra Wide works well

I’m not sure the 2x is as good as you’d like for, but overall it’s far more than a pass on the camera front.

Looking at the Samsung Galaxy A55 and wondering if I’d prefer it – there’s no doubt the metal edges are a better more premium look – but no, I’d just take the A35 every day of the week in this instance.

Having come from iOS to Samsung this time round, the only issue I’ve had has been re-learning the keyboard layout and shortcuts, other than that, the device is more than adequate for my daily use.

It’s a $150 price premium to go to the A55, and while some will, I personally think the A35 is the sweet spot and new benchmark for low-prices smartphone.

Great design, looks, usability and screen – oh and the triple lens camera – what more could you want?

The Samsung Galaxy A35 goes on sale March 25.

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Samsung announces new A Series smartphones with all the punch but none of the hip-pocket bite https://eftm.com/2024/03/samsung-announces-new-a-series-smartphones-with-all-the-punch-but-none-of-the-hip-pocket-bite-243218 Mon, 11 Mar 2024 09:00:00 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=243218 A lot of hype, pizzaz and marketing power goes into some of Samsung’s best selling phones. The Samsung Galaxy S24 announced just two months ago set pre-order records here in Australia, while those flip and folding phones are all the attention seekers come the middle of the year. But if you’re after true value, features […]

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A lot of hype, pizzaz and marketing power goes into some of Samsung’s best selling phones. The Samsung Galaxy S24 announced just two months ago set pre-order records here in Australia, while those flip and folding phones are all the attention seekers come the middle of the year. But if you’re after true value, features and bang-for-your-buck – then look no further at the Samsung Galaxy A series devices.

In addition to a couple that quietly launched in retail earlier this year (I’m looking at you Galaxy A05, A15 and A25), Samsung has tonight announced the Galaxy A353 and A55 with sharp pricing and fantastic design.

“With the Galaxy A series, we are expanding our latest technologies to a wider audience so that more people can benefit from them,” said TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. “We are excited to open up even more possibilities on the Galaxy A series this year, including offering Samsung Knox Vault for the first time on this lineup. We’re proud to enable Galaxy A series users to safely and reliably enjoy outstanding mobile experiences.”

Drawing down from features seen recently in the Flagship “S series” Galaxy Smartphones, you’ll find things like better image signal processing, night time photography and an overall better camera from the previous generation.

The two devices also feature optical image stabilisation and video digital stabilisation for better protection from those blur-inducing hands of yours.

A bright, full HD screen which is Super AMOLED is nothing to blink at, coming in at 6.6 inches both the A35 and A55 look fantastic in all conditions.

Another featuring trickling down from the top end of town is Samsung Knox Vault allowing your most critical data, like PIN codes, passwords and lock screen credentials to be stored in a single hardware chip, encrypted for your own privacy.

Critically also, Samsung’s A series now also features their “Auto Blocker” which is opt-in, but features the ability to block unknown apps and provide app security checks. Users also have a Security and Privacy Dashboard for basic and detailed recommendations.

Great peace of mind for people too, with five years of security updates included.

Both the A35 and A55 will be on sale from 25 March, the A35 comes in at $549, while the A55 pushes harder at $699.

A 35 comes in a deep blue and ice blue, while the A55 comes in that deep blue and a lilac.

Specifications:

Galaxy A55 5G
Display 6.6-inch FHD+Super AMOLED DisplayUp to 120Hz refresh rateVision Booster
* Measured diagonally, the screen size is 6.6-inch in the full rectangle and 6.4-inch with accounting for the rounded corners; actual viewable area is less due to the rounded corners and camera hole.
Dimensions & Weight 161.1 x 77.4 x 8.2mm, 213g
Camera 12MP Ultra-Wide CameraF2.250MP Main CameraF1.8, AF, OIS5MP Macro CameraF2.432MP Front CameraF2.2
Memory & Storage8GB + 128GB
*Actual storage availability may vary depending on pre-installed software.
Battery 5,000mAh (typical)
*Typical value tested under third-party laboratory conditions. Typical value is the estimated average value considering the deviation in battery capacity among the battery samples tested under IEC 61960 standard. Rated (minimum) capacity is 4,905mAh. Actual battery life may vary depending on network environment, usage patterns and other factors.
OS Android 14One UI 6.1
Security Samsung Knox
Galaxy A35 5G
Display 6.6-inch FHD+Super AMOLED DisplayUp to 120Hz refresh rateVision Booster
* Measured diagonally, the screen size is 6.6-inch in the full rectangle and 6.4-inch with accounting for the rounded corners; actual viewable area is less due to the rounded corners and camera hole.
Dimensions & Weight 161.7 x 78.0 x 8.2mm, 209g
Camera 8MP Ultra-Wide CameraF2.250MP Main CameraF1.8, AF, OIS5MP Macro CameraF2.413MP Front CameraF2.2
Memory & Storage6GB + 128GB
* Actual storage availability may vary depending on pre-installed software.
Battery 5,000mAh (typical)
*Typical value tested under third-party laboratory condition. Typical value is the estimated average value considering the deviation in battery capacity among the battery samples tested under IEC 61960 standard. Rated (minimum) capacity is 4,905mAh. Actual battery life may vary depending on network environment, usage patterns and other factors.
OS Android 14One UI 6.1
Security Samsung Knox

*Specifications may vary by market.

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Swann announces availability of the award winning MaxRanger4K security camera https://eftm.com/2024/03/swann-announces-availability-of-the-award-winning-maxranger4k-243208 Mon, 11 Mar 2024 01:19:37 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=243208 Swann has announced that its latest home security product, the MaxRanger4K, announced earlier this year at CES2024 is now available for purchase here in Australia. Take one look at the MaxRanger4K and it isn’t too difficult to guess what its strong points are – longest, strongest, signal range compared to regular wireless security cameras using […]

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Swann has announced that its latest home security product, the MaxRanger4K, announced earlier this year at CES2024 is now available for purchase here in Australia.

Take one look at the MaxRanger4K and it isn’t too difficult to guess what its strong points are – longest, strongest, signal range compared to regular wireless security cameras using 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and it has a built-in solar panel for unlimited battery life.

The cameras are great for setting up in difficult to reach places such as perimeter fences etc where the distance is prohibitive, and the best-in-class Sony STARVIC sensors provide vibrant 4K colour in both day and night conditions provide for a quality video at any time.

The 900MHz Wi-Fi allows for coverage in open air of up to 600m with typical coverage in a standard property around 200m which would cover most people’s houses.  900MHz is also advantageous in crowded areas with stronger signal and less interference.

Add in the 2-way audio, True Detect+ for heat, motion, people and car sensing for real time notifications and you have a complete security camera system.  

The hub that is required to set up the cameras includes 64GB of inbuilt memory which allows you to store at least six months of footage at any time with support via this microSD slot for up to 256GB. These clips can then be uploaded to the cloud as required. 

The MaxRanger4K is available with 2, 3 or 4 cameras and the hub. You can also purchase extra cameras to monitor up to 8 cameras on the same hub.

The MaxRanger4K is available to purchase now from leading retailers such as JB Hi-Fi, Bunnings Warehouse, Harvey Norman, Amazon, and also Swann.com. The RRP are: two camera kit $949.95AU, four camera kit $1699.95AU, and extra camera $399.95AU.

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Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra deep dive — it is the biggest but is it the best? https://eftm.com/2024/03/samsung-galaxy-s24-ultra-deep-dive-it-is-the-biggest-but-is-it-the-best-242979 Sun, 10 Mar 2024 23:45:36 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=242979 Samsung have changed their tack on the Galaxy S Ultra lineup this year with the new Galaxy S24 Ultra being not so much about the hardware but all about the software, and in particular, AI. Don’t get me wrong because once again the hardware is outstanding, but the software and AI chops of the phone […]

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Samsung have changed their tack on the Galaxy S Ultra lineup this year with the new Galaxy S24 Ultra being not so much about the hardware but all about the software, and in particular, AI.

Don’t get me wrong because once again the hardware is outstanding, but the software and AI chops of the phone is what Samsung are hoping will set it apart from the rest of the pack.

First, a disclaimer:  I have never been a huge Samsung fan due to various reasons but this year I am a changed man.  I have used an iPhone 15 extensively over the past few months and am more open-minded than ever.  

It may be a new-found love for ALL things mobile or the fact that Samsung has improved their device extensively, but I think I can safely say that this is the best Samsung smartphone ever.

Design

Let’s get this section out of the way first.  While changing up the design of the less Galaxy S24 devices, Samsung has stuck with the ugly, boxy shape of the Ultra model.  I don’t like it.  Not even a bit. The edges on the sides are rounded slightly but the top and bottom edges, not so much.   Harsh is what I call it.

The phone is basically a black rectangular slab very reminiscent of the Sony smartphones back in the day.    The lesser Galaxy S24’s have much more rounded corners giving them a much more pleasing shape, finally enough, reminiscent of the iPhone design of the last couple of years.  

I assume that the boxy shape is required to fit the stylus inside the body of the phone without it poking out anywhere. To me, it is like they need a separate phone for the stylus, maybe they could call it a note? The Galaxy S24 Note, and the non-S-Pen version the Ultra.

Then they could make a good-looking, well-designed ultra-premium smart phone without a stylus and then one with the stylus.  Sounds like a revolutionary idea but funnily enough, like many things in life at the moment old is new.

Now I do like the idea of the stylus/S Pen, but who really uses it all that much? These days Android is so optimised for touch and finger use that the accuracy of a stylus is rarely required.  

The front of the device houses the most beautiful display I’ve ever seen on a smart phone with exceptionally minimal bezels with amazing symmetry.

Turn the phone over and you are greeted with four camera sensors all set apart from each other and not in a single camera island like we see on pretty much every other premium smartphone on the market.

Size

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is a big phone and with its boxy design it looks even bigger.  It is still approximately the same size as the Pixel 8 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max.  It is just 2.5mm wider than the Pixel 8 Pro, but the same height.  Compared to the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is just 2.4mm taller and 2.3mm wider.  

But, although the actual measurements are extremely similar, the Galaxy S24 Ultra seems so much bigger than the other two.  The boxy shape does it no favours. In fact, my wife saw me with the Galaxy S24 Ultra and said there is no way she could use a phone so big – after placing it against her Pixel 8 Pro she was still not convinced, even though they are nearly identically the same size.

Now, even though it is similar in size to the other two flagships, it is much more wieldy to use.  Getting it into and out of pockets is nowhere near as easy as the iPhone and the Pixel due to its square corners – they just do not slide into pockets as easily.  The curved corners of the iPhone and Pixel make them much easier to use on a daily basis.  

In case you didn’t guess already, I’m not a fan of the design/shape.

Display and hardware are the best in the business

As mentioned above the 6.8 inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display is possibly the best display of a percent of smartphone. It offers a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz and a peak brightness of 2600 nits.  

Now that smartphone manufacturers are starting to come to their senses we also see the return of the completely flat display on the S 24 Ultra something that I totally love.  It was Samsung that started this curved display trend. It seems fitting that they end it — it was never a great thing.

That brightness is astounding. I thought the Pixel 8 Pro had a great display viewing in the sunlight and even that pales in comparison to the display in the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

I will say though that Samsung once again pump up and saturates the colours on the display a lot more than Google does.  This could be because Google is instead opting for a more natural softer colour palette which it does in its photographic images.

Samsung has also included the new Gorilla Armour glass on the Galaxy S 24 Ultra, the first smartphone manufacturer to do so.  This is meant to not only protect the display but decrease the glare from surrounding lights.  By itself it’s difficult to see this but popping up alongside the iPhone 15 and a Pixel 8 Pro and you can see a subtle difference.  

Underneath the display is the fastest fingerprint sensor Samsung has ever used on a smartphone.  It is nearly instantaneous and is great to use.  Loved it.  

S-Pen — Who uses it?

There’s not really much I can say about the S-Pen that has not already been said in previous years.  These days most people can type extremely fast in their phones, the stylus is superfluous.  Handwriting? Why?

The best use of the S-Pen I could find was as a remote control for the camera.  You can easily use it to take a photo flip from selfie to rear camera and vice versa.  

To be honest I love this functionality that could also be replaced by gestures such as holding your hand up or smile detection that some manufacturers have.  Samsung does include voice commands such as the ability to take pictures by saying “smile,” “cheese,” “capture” or “shoot” so once again the S-Pen is really superfluous.

Camera is great once again but is it the best?

This year Samsung has decided to use a 5x optical zoom camera instead of the 10x that was in the S23 Ultra.   It may seem like a downgrade but you do need to keep in mind that Samsung has also bumped up the resolution of the zoom camera to 50MP now instead of the 10MP 10x sensor in the S23 Ultra.

Joining the 50MP telephoto camera is a main 200MP camera with larger pixels than last year, a 12MP ultrawide camera and a 10MP telephoto camera with 3X optical zoom.

To get the 10X zoom of last year’s S23 Ultra a user can simply zoom in on a photo taken at 5X on the Galaxy S24 Ultra – this results in a 12MP resolution image according to Samsung.  So the end result is basically the same but the way of getting there is just different.

As discussed above, Samsung has made AI a feature of the S24 Ultra this year and it is evident in their photo editing software.  When you open up a photo in the Samsung Gallery app the AI will check out the photo and offer a couple suggestions how you could improve it – be it by making the photo better exposure etc or by adding creative touches such as background blurring.

The overall colours the S24 Ultra produces are extremely vibrant, much more so than the actual colour is in real life. It would be nice if you could easily manually dial that down with an easy setting in the camera but some folks like this colour saturation. When viewing an image by itself it looks great but when you view it side by side with another similarly priced smartphone it looks blown out of all proportions at times.

These are incredibly useful, if you use the Samsung Gallery app.  If you had photos where you liked the result in your usual gallery app (it should be Google Photos for all Android users IMO due to its ability to backup photos instantly) you should then open up the photo in the Samsung Gallery to see what the AI suggests you could do to make it even better.  It would be better if Samsung were able to offer Google Photos backup from within their Gallery app – that would make me use theirs by default.

If you buy this Samsung smartphone I would suggest that you spend a bit of time running every single photo through the Samsung AI to see how it could “improve” your images.  Now there are times where it was really pumping up the HDR levels just far too high and the colours look far too saturated but you do not have to accept every suggestion it gives you.

Software and performance like never before

Samsung has often included everything included as kitchen sink in their software and the performance of the smartphone has suffered as a result.  This year they have removed some of the older more useless software “enhancements” and the resultant performance is vastly improved.

Samsung’s software has always been an Achilles heel of their smart phones in my opinion with their overly bloated android skin making for a less than optimal Android experience.  

Samsung’s focus this year is on their AI and its “Life Enhancement.”  Their main features for this includes:

  • Live Translate
  • Circle to Search with Google
  • Chat, Note, Transcript, and Browsing Assist
  • Interpreter

Live translate during the phone call was amazing although there was a bit of lag between the speech and the translation but it worked well for the languages I tested it out on – Chinese, French and Italian.  This is extremely helpful and while we have seen Google come up with something similar with their Buds, the real world function of theirs left a lot to be desired.  Not so with the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Circle to Search is a great function to have and allows you to easily search for things on your smartphone display – even if you screenshot something.  While the Samsung was the first with it, it has since rolled out to the latest Pixel devices so you can experience that anywhere.  Samsung of course say you can use the S-Pen to circle to search but it works equally well with your finger.

Chat and Note assist functions were minimally useful – does anyone really care about writing style while sending a text?  

Transcript assist though is incredibly useful.  I use the Google recorded on my Pixel extensively for many things, such as lectures, meetings, doctors and vet appointments and the added AI functionality of the Transcribe Assist with the ability to distinguish different speakers from each other incredibly useful.

Browsing Assist is for those who do not wish to read an entire article and instead want a quick summary of it.  This functionality does require you to use the Samsung browser (a long way from my favourite browser) along with turning off on-device only processing of data so you may not use this one much.  Using summarise Browsing Assist decreased Trevor’s article down to just three dot points.  You can get those three dot points in detail or a small sentence but I’m sure Trevor will be rapt that his hard work was summarised down to just three sentences.

Interpreter is not new but with it relying more on AI now the interpretation should be extensively improved. 

When I heard that the Galaxy S24 Ultra would have an AI focus I was hoping for a voice typing experience that was equivalent to the Assistant typing on the Pixel phones.  Unfortunately the Sasmsung voice typing was even worse than that on a basic everyday Android smartphone.  Disappointing.  Either Google needs to share their Assistant typing or these other manufacturers need to spend at least a little bit of time developing AI voice typing.

Microsoft have long had a partnership with Samsung so I tested out Swiftkey keyboard but they do not have any special voice typing capabilities.  You would think that Microsoft could use Copilot or one of the myriad of AI capabilities it has to create a decent voice model?  That is a topic for another day but for now, no voice typing experience even comes close to that on the Pixel smartphones (and that includes the iPhone).

A quick word here with the one thing that many are critical of Samsung for doing – their own apps.  Google has the best Android apps for nearly all of their apps and Samsung on the other hand, not so much.  

Samsung needs to cut their losses and stop wasting time, effort and money developing their own apps (browser, calendar,, mail, texts etc) and just include Google’s only by default.  They include most of them anyway so it is more likely to confuse users with two options for so many things.  That time would be better spent on developing their own AI enhancements and system optimisation – although that is as good as it has ever been.

Now there are exceptions to every rule, and it is possible that Samsung’s Gallery could be one.  Their AI editing suggestions are incredibly useful but at the same time most people backup their photos to Google Photos.  

Google needs to sit down with Samsung and give them access to the API or something to allow them to allow Google photos to be shown in their Gallery.  In the end it would be great for Android. Google needs to wise up, their smartphone OS market share is slowly but surely being eaten away by Apple.  While they do not need to offer the same thing as each other, they need to collaborate to get the best out of their own products.

As a wise man once told me: “Better together, Not the same.”

Battery life and charging

In my experience the battery life on every single Samsung phone I have used for the past few years has been well under par.  They have rarely lasted a full day, especially with the display set on the highest resolution and fastest refresh rate.  This year though I set the display on the full QHD+ resolution and the maximal refresh rate of 120Hz and yet I was easily able to get over a day of use.

This is the best Samsung has ever been with their battery life and whatever they have done, more of it please.  Inject it straight into my veins.  Not only is it less power hungry but the entire system is snappier with no lag system UI lag present anywhere I could find.

I’m not entirely sure why this improvement is so pronounced but let’s put it down to all the new AI on-board?  Less bloatware?

Charging-wise, Samsung are still playing it safe with their charging although there is support for 45W wired charging (PD3.0) and 15W wireless charging. Nothing special but at least the equivalent of the Pixel and the iPhone charging speeds and capabilities. It’s good enough but Samsung has once again included no charger in the box — you’ll have to fork out extra for that unless you already have one in the cupboard.

Best ever Samsung

I have been very critical of Samsung in recent years but this year’s flagship, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is their best ever. It should be no surprise that a company improves a phone from the year before but for me this year has been a major improvement.

The much improved (and much needed) battery life, the flat display that is the best I have ever seen on a smartphone, the software that is faster than ever (it has been bogged down a bit in the past), and some of the new AI enhancements. All these add up to decent improvements on last year’s offering.

The shape is still ugly (considering how good the normal S24 models look), cumbersome and generally difficult to pocket with a stylus that is getting less and less useful for the average user every year.

The camera performs ok. I don’t rate it as highly as that in the Pixel 8 Pro nor the iPhone 15 Max Pro but it is still acceptable. The ridiculous zoom is gone with a lot of smoothing algorithmic adjustment and the colour saturation of photos is still blasted well beyond any realistic representation of the true nature of the colour the image is representing.

Some people like that and it can be pleasing to the eye when seeing such bright, punchy colours. I’m not though. I like a true representation of what I see which is why I favour the Pixel 8 Pro — those who sit in between should look at the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

If you don’t mind the look of it though then this is a must when considering which ultra-premium smartphone you wish to purchase. Although the camera isn’t quite as good as the other ultra-premium flagships on the market it has enough other enhancements to make it a compelling consideration and/or purchase.

Check it out at a store near you.

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Acer brings new lifestyle appliance range to Australia https://eftm.com/2024/03/acer-brings-new-lifestyle-appliance-range-to-australia-243126 Fri, 08 Mar 2024 05:38:29 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=243126 Normally known for their laptops, projectors and other tech devices, Acer have announced they’re moving into the lifestyle appliances market, launching the Acerpure line in Australia. The Acerpure range will initially include a new stick vacuum cleaner, as well as a range of air purifiers and circulators, with the plan to bring more products, including […]

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Normally known for their laptops, projectors and other tech devices, Acer have announced they’re moving into the lifestyle appliances market, launching the Acerpure line in Australia.

The Acerpure range will initially include a new stick vacuum cleaner, as well as a range of air purifiers and circulators, with the plan to bring more products, including beauty and cooking appliances later this year, and early 2025. 

Acer describes the Acerpure range as “stylish, smart and simple-to-use appliances that

promise better air quality, comfort and cleaning”, with Gaba Cheng, Managing Director Oceanic Region, Acer saying

Acerpure’s mission is to provide technological innovations to resolve various consumer concerns and provide better home living. Acerpure uses technology to solve human problems and seamlessly integrate intelligent devices into the lives of consumers, offering high-efficiency lifestyle products for a healthier home and life,

The health side of life is a big focus for the Acerpure range, with one fifth of Australians experiencing hayfever, and 1-in-9 adults & 1-in-5 children reporting having asthma. Coupled with bush fires, COVID and life in general, the new Acerpure range features tech infused devices to help ensure your home and the air you breathe is dirt-free and clean. 

Acerpure Pro UVC Air Purifier

At the top of the range, Acer is bringing their A-game to air purification, with the Acerpure Pro which is priced at $1,599. 

The premium system includes their most advanced UVC purifying technology, and 4-in1 HEPA filters, offering the ability for efficient and reliable filtering of areas up to 116m2.  The system includes a real-time CO2 detection system, allowing you to monitor your home environment, with levels displayed in the Acerpure Life​ app, or on the LCD display. 

The Acerpure Pro is whisper quiet, generating just 25dB of noise at minimum fan speeds, and has a sleek design with a dark theme and orange highlights. 

Acerpure Cool 2-in-1 UVC Air Circulator and Purifier

Priced at $599, the Acerpure Cool is a 2-in-1 device, offering air purification along with circulation. There’s a UVC based filtration system on board which includes a 4-in-1 HEPA filter to eliminate 99.9% of bacteria, allergens and other airborne contaminants. 

AcerPure Life app

Both the Acerpure Pro UVC Air Purifier and Acerpure Cool 2-in-1 UVC Air Circulator and Purifier come with remote support from the Acerpure Life app, available for Android and iOS.

The app allows you remote access to your Acerpure devices, offering the ability to remotely control fan speed, air flow, operation mode and sleep timer, as well as set up schedules and get real-time indoor air quality alerts straight to your phone – as well as see the history and lots more.

Acerpure Vero Eco Air Purifier

At the entry level, the Acerpure Vero Eco Air Purifier offers  an environmentally friendly option.


Acer’s Vero line has been focused on using more sustainable devices, and the Acerpure Vero Eco Air Purifier is no different. The packaging is recycled, and the unit includes a chassis comprised of 35% post consumer recycled plastics, decreasing the carbon emissions for its manufacture by up to 20%. 

The device itself includes a 3-in-1 HEPA filtration system, able to stop 99.9% of airborne particles including allergens, gasses and particles down to 2.5 microns in size.

The unit includes a green mode for saving power, while still keeping the air fresh, and a three segment (Green, yellow, red) light array shows air quality on top of the unit. 

Acerpure Cozy Pedestal Air Circulator Fan 

For those wanting a powerful, yet intelligent fan for their home, the Acerpure Cozy Pedestal Air Circulator Fan offers a powerful option which can project air up to 25 metres away with 16 speeds available.

The circulator fan can be adjusted in height from a desk friendly 54cm, to a free-standing option up to 86cm high. 

The fan itself can be adjusted up to 90° up and down, and offers a 90° range of motion for left to right. The air-flow can be adjusted to concentrate on a single area, or as a more broad flow for the entire room. 

The fan can be left overnight with an eco-mode which uses less energy as the room cools, and a sleep mode reduces wind speed and noise to help you sleep better while staying cool.

The Acerpure Cozy Pedestal Air Circulator Fan is priced at $289.00.

Acerpure Clean Lite Cordless Vacuum Cleaner 

The Acerpure Clean Lite Cordless Vacuum Cleaner offers a compact, and lightweight option to quickly, and effortlessly clean your home, with edge-to-edge cleaning and a range of versatile brushes available. 

Priced at $199.00, the Acerpure Clean Lite Cordless Vacuum Cleaner conveniently charges with USB-C and at just 550g, it can still clean well with 13,000Pa of suction pressure power.

Availability

The Acerpure range is available in Australia from today via the Acer Online Store and at Bing Lee

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Apple MacBook Air with M3 Review – Incremental at best, but still outstanding https://eftm.com/2024/03/apple-macbook-air-with-m3-review-incremental-at-best-but-still-outstanding-243101 Fri, 08 Mar 2024 04:18:47 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=243101 I don’t want to downplay the performance and capabilities of the new Apple MacBook Air with M3 at all, other than to say when compared to it’s siblings it’s an incremental improvement at best – but for those of you still rocking a wedge shaped MacBook Air – especially if it has “Intel Inside” – […]

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I don’t want to downplay the performance and capabilities of the new Apple MacBook Air with M3 at all, other than to say when compared to it’s siblings it’s an incremental improvement at best – but for those of you still rocking a wedge shaped MacBook Air – especially if it has “Intel Inside” – you’ve got a wild ride ahead of you.

Available in both 13 and 15 inch sizes, and in four colours (Silver, Starlight, Space Grey and Midnight – the dark blue I’m testing) – this really is the sweet spot in the Apple laptop lineup for the majority.

$200 more than the older generation with M2, at $1,799 it kinda feels like Apple’s prices are creeping back up, whereas with the Wedged M1 Air we seemingly got to a really cracking price point for a while – but starting at $1,599 for the M2 version isn’t a terrible thing for sure.

So let’s first look at what’s new, or more specifically what’s different between the MacBook Air with M2 and Macbook Air with M3

Macbook Air 13 inch with M2 compared to MacBook Air 13 inch with M3

Spot the difference – you can’t – they are identical pysically
  • $200 – The M2 model is $1,599 the latest with M3 is $1,799
  • The silicon:) Apple’s M2 chip vs Apple’s M3
  • For gamers and graphics pros, the M3 Macbook Air has Hardware-accellerated ray tracing
  • M3 Macbook Air can decode AV1
  • Apple’s M2 MacBook air lists “Wide Stereo Sound” as a feature, but both have Support for Spacial Audio via Dolby Atmos
  • Video Calls and Meetings are better on the M3 MacBook Air with “Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum microphone modes
    Enhanced voice clarity in audio and video calls”
  • WiFi is improved with the M3 packing WiFi 6E if you’ve got a compatible router.
  • The latest MacBook Air with M3 is capable of outputting to two external displays, while the laptop is closed

How can we test it?

It’s not a massive change – let’s be honest.

And while Apple will tell you the M3 is so much more than the M2 – will you notice it?

Well, I think editing video is a great example of improvements in processing and graphics power.

I compared the M2 and M3 MacBook Airs (along with the MacBook Pro and Mac Studio) performing the same video export task. Of course, the MacBook Pro and Studio were far better, almost half the time to render and export (geez the MacBook Pro impressed me by going head to head with the Mac Studio).

While the M3 was about a minute faster than the Macbook Air with M2 on a 1.5 hour 4K video export using Davinci Resolve.

Doing a similar task in iMovie and the result was the same – a neck and neck race, but the M3 wins it. But not by lengths.

Should you buy the MacBook Air with M3?

I have had this laptop for just days, and I’ve really only put it through it’s paces today. However, another week or three using it won’t change too much about this review.

The MacBook Air with M3 is an outstanding and powerful laptop, with battery life almost all other brands – 18 hours on one charge? That’s remarkable, and you realise it too – battery anxiety just isn’t a thing.

The battery life Apple has been able to achieve on their laptops, including this new MacBook Air with M3 do make them the perfect choice for students – no question.

If you have an M2 don’t be ridiculous and consider an upgrade. But if you are one of those people with a sleek, wedge shaped Apple MacBook Air (RIP wedged Air), then this is the perfect upgrade.

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EPSON Global President Visits Australia – His vision for the future is fascinating https://eftm.com/2024/03/epson-global-president-visits-australia-his-vision-for-the-future-is-fascinating-243097 Fri, 08 Mar 2024 02:58:56 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=243097 When a company says their Global President is in town, you don’t think twice about the chance to sit down and chat about the past, present and future. Yesterday, I sat down with Mr Yasunori Ogawa, President of EPSON during his visit to Australia. Here in part to join the celebrations of EPSON’s 40 years […]

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When a company says their Global President is in town, you don’t think twice about the chance to sit down and chat about the past, present and future. Yesterday, I sat down with Mr Yasunori Ogawa, President of EPSON during his visit to Australia.

Here in part to join the celebrations of EPSON’s 40 years in Australia, Mr Ogawa has a long history with Epson, rising up through the ranks to President having worked in a range of roles and divisions.

So what do you ask the most powerful man at a brand that represents products like printers, projectors and even smart glasses?

I actually kicked off looking forward, asking about innovations that excite Mr Ogawa, and his answer wasn’t what I was expecting. But we’ll get to that.

He said “the first one is the evolution of printing, not just for everyday printers, but for various applications”. Ok, Not quite the Augmented Reality Glasses I was expecting.

But here’s the thing – did you know, as he explained “you could use our (Epson) print heads for example in printing Large LCD panels or OLED panels” – What? Wow. Now take a glance over at your printer – and imagine that or similar technology is printing out the panels for your next OLED screen. That’s wild!

It’s not just that – he said “also things like wiring, printing metallic wiring” And, in the health and bio-tech space “in place of ink, you could also print (fire) human cells in biotech or chemicals and you can use it in various testing applications”

Mr Ogawa is also immensely proud of the company’s work in the environmental technology space. He pointed out their Paper Recycling Machine which can be used in offices to recycle paper using far less water – but it seems that’s just the star “So it’s a unique mechanical technology that we can recycle paper with very minimal use of water. So far we’ve done paper to paper recycling, but you can also use the technology to recycle paper into like a sponge-like substance, which you could use as packaging in place of polystyrene. And you could, but if you harden it up, you can make it into a substance that’s very similar to, to like plastic, like garden chairs

The mind boggles with the possibilities.

Let’s get back to what I was thinking he would talk about with that future thinking question – the Smart Glasses.

Wearing the Epson Moverio BT-100’s – Yep, I know I look silly

Having used the bulky and funky looking Moverio glasses some 11 years ago, I wondered how far they had come, given what I saw from Oppo just last week in Barcelona.

Mr Yasunori Ogawa pointed to those very glasses, saying “we still sell them. And we’re actually also selling the optical engines that are the core technology. And we actually have the core technology, which are very small OLED panels. Actually our technology has the characteristics of being very energy efficient and very long life.

However one remaining issue is that you need to make the glass is very small and light. That’s a big challenge for the future. And we are doing R&D on that at the moment.”

Seems to me EPSON might become the parts supplier to innovators of the future in this area, kind of how Sony is renowned for their Image Sensors in almost all smartphones, Perhaps in future we’ll hear about EPSON OLED panels or smart glasses technology in other brands.

Fascinating stuff!

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Eufy unveils new X10 Pro Omni robotic vacuum cleaner with AI object detection https://eftm.com/2024/03/eufy-unveils-new-x10-pro-omni-robotic-vacuum-cleaner-with-ai-object-detection-243090 Wed, 06 Mar 2024 22:02:00 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=243090 Eufy have announced their latest robotic vacuum and mop is heading to Australia, with the eufy X10 Pro Omni now available in Australia. The eufy X10 Pro Omi is priced at $1,699, and includes AI driven obstacle avoidance capable of recognising 100 household objects – including those “surprises” from your pet.  This latest model combines […]

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Eufy have announced their latest robotic vacuum and mop is heading to Australia, with the eufy X10 Pro Omni now available in Australia.

The eufy X10 Pro Omi is priced at $1,699, and includes AI driven obstacle avoidance capable of recognising 100 household objects – including those “surprises” from your pet. 

This latest model combines the powerful suction, detangling capabilities and self-emptying convenience of the X8 Pro, with the self-cleaning and improved mopping of the X9 Pro for a hands-free cleaning option that keeps the house spotless.

The X10 Pro Omni includes the new, and improved MopMaster System 2.0 with rotating hexagonal heads and 1kg downward pressure to get those hard to remove stains, and they’re positioned to allow it to get into all the edges of your room. There’s also a new built-in water tank to keep the mopping pads wet, allowing the pads to work more effectively and the mop pads can be raised up to 12mm to avoid touching carpets or clean surfaces. 

The vacuum includes a powerful 8,000Pa suction, letting it easily pick up hair, debris, dust and powder from hard floors, or carpets in just one pass. The V-Shaped, high-density bristles on the roller brush, ensures that the hair and fur won’t get tangled, and the brush is detangled when it returns to the base station. 

When not in use, the eufy X10 Pro Omni will head back to it’s base-station where it can charge, empty the on-board dust bag and water tank, then clean the mopping pads and dry them to avoid bacteria growth and bad smells. 

You can control the vacuum easily thanks to the eufy Clean app – available on Android and iOS – which can help you to manage cleaning with the option to set a schedule, restrict areas in your house and a new cleaning profile, which lets you set a select area for cleaning at a certain time – such as around the table after dinner each night. 

The eufy X10 Pro Omni is available from today from $1,699 from JB Hi-Fi, The Good Guys, and myeufy.com.au.

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STM launches new Eco Collection of backpacks and laptop bags https://eftm.com/2024/03/stm-launches-new-eco-collection-of-backpacks-and-laptop-bags-243076 Tue, 05 Mar 2024 19:06:27 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=243076 Aussie brand STM has announced a new range of backpacks and laptop cases with a strong mix of sustainability and style called the Eco Collection. These environmentally-friendly items are designed for the eco conscious consumer but still enjoy the strong functionality that is at the core of STM products. Using an eco-fabric made from 100 […]

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Aussie brand STM has announced a new range of backpacks and laptop cases with a strong mix of sustainability and style called the Eco Collection.

These environmentally-friendly items are designed for the eco conscious consumer but still enjoy the strong functionality that is at the core of STM products.

Using an eco-fabric made from 100 percent recycled “300D” Polyester – whatever that is :). That’s used on the outer side of this collection and is long lasting, durable but also reduces waste and therefore has sustainability at it’s core.

“This new collection has been created for everyone, with its minimalistic design and with the planet in mind. We want our customers to know that when they choose an STM Eco product, they’re part of a mindful shift towards more sustainable choices.,” says Adina Jacobs, Co-founder and Head of Product at STM Brands.

There are three products in the collection:

Eco Backpack

16 litres of storage in a sleek design with protection for your laptop in a suspended compartment with a comfy shoulder strap all in a lightweight form.

RRP $129.95

Eco Brief

A decent shoulder carry for your laptop with 15 litres of internal storage plus two external water bottle pockets. For travellers there’s a pass through port for attaching this to your other luggage on the go.

RRP $99.95

Eco Sleeve

A simple laptop sleeve, with that eco style – with great protection for your laptop, plus a pocket for accessories and power adaptors.

RRP $59.95

You can grab items from the STM Goods Eco Collection in three colours Black, Blue and Olive from www.stmgoods.com.au.

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Arlo passes 3 million subscribers to Arlo Secure smart AI camera plans https://eftm.com/2024/03/arlo-passes-3-million-subscribers-to-arlo-secure-smart-ai-camera-plans-243074 Tue, 05 Mar 2024 18:51:44 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=243074 A milestone this week for smart home security company Arlo surpassing 3 million paid accounts on their AI-powered subscription service Arlo Secure. “Arlo launched the first consumer AI subscription in June of 2018, revolutionising the security market and foretelling the incredible value the technology can create for users across many industries. Since then, we have […]

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A milestone this week for smart home security company Arlo surpassing 3 million paid accounts on their AI-powered subscription service Arlo Secure.

“Arlo launched the first consumer AI subscription in June of 2018, revolutionising the security market and foretelling the incredible value the technology can create for users across many industries. Since then, we have continued to invest in our AI and SaaS platform which is at the core of Arlo’s incredible user experience and low churn rates,” said Matthew McRae, Chief Executive Officer of Arlo.

“The 3 million subscriber milestone, which came earlier than expectations, is a testament to the true user benefits of our plans and the overall power of our service business. Arlo’s innovation will continue as we roll out numerous exciting new features and AI capabilities over the course of this year that will drive further subscriptions and continue our position as the true leader in the market.” 

Key to their services/subscription growth was the decision to reduce their prices to a starting point of just $4.99 making committing to the service far easier for those who had purchased Arlo Cameras and signed up for the initial free trial.

Arlo’s subscription plans include 4K cloud video recording, Smart and interactive notifications and the all-important Advanced Object Detection which sees Arlo process and filter some 50 million events every day using Visual AI to get better recognition of people, packages, vehicles and animals.

Smart Home Security cameras are a hugely competitive market, and here in Australia Arlo has a dominant position having established themselves over many years with a wide range of high quality cameras and lights – with more security products due to launch this year.

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NBN’s Speed Boosting plans – The Telcos Respond: Telstra, Optus, TPG and Aussie Broadband’s responses https://eftm.com/2024/03/nbns-speed-boosting-plans-the-telcos-respond-telstra-optus-tpg-and-aussie-broadbands-responses-243068 Tue, 05 Mar 2024 06:05:55 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=243068 This morning’s news from NBN that they had plans for supercharging their highest speed plans has been well received by customers capable of obtaining those speeds or ordering the Fibre upgrade, but it was news to the Telcos as they got out of bed today. So, we asked the big four just what they thought […]

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This morning’s news from NBN that they had plans for supercharging their highest speed plans has been well received by customers capable of obtaining those speeds or ordering the Fibre upgrade, but it was news to the Telcos as they got out of bed today. So, we asked the big four just what they thought of these new plans.

Andrew Sheridan, Vice President of Government and Regulatory Affairs at Optus said “We welcome nbn’s move to improve customers’ access to higher speeds.”

This proposal is something Optus has long called for and is consistent with our focus on improving the connectivity experience for all Australians in this rapidly evolving digital world. 

“We look forward to working with the nbn to understand how these higher speed tiers can be delivered to all households. 

A Spokesperson for TPG Telecom said “Enabling faster download speeds for NBN customers is a positive opportunity for those who can access it. However, we must not overlook customers who cannot afford pricier, high-speed NBN plans, or the associated costs of upgrading equipment to take full advantage of these new speeds.

But went on to say “If NBN was genuine about addressing affordability and high-speed access for all Australians, it would extend these benefits to the 70 per cent of NBN customers on its entry-level 12, 25, and 50Mbps plans. In this cost-of-living crisis, it would be disappointing if only those with the financial means to access high-speed NBN plans reaped the benefits of these upgrades.

Our biggest telco Telstra offered this from a Spokesperson We are always supportive of any initiative that provides an improved experience for our customers. We look forward to further discussions with NBN Co during the consultation period as we assess the impact on Telstra and our customers.

While challenger brand Aussie Broadband’s Managing Director Phillip Britt said “Aussie Broadband is still understanding the detail of NBN Co’s speed proposal, but on the face of it could represent one of the most exciting steps in technology adoption for Australian households and businesses.

At Aussie we’re incredibly proud of the great investments in our retail network to improve the experience for customers adopting FTTP, and NBN Co’s announcement has made that early investment all the more essential as Australians take the next step into a high speed future. It’s essential, however, that these announcements are paired with more investment in fixed broadband for regional Australians so the digital inclusion gap isn’t widened further. 

While Aussie has a very strong share of the Fibre Connect market we still need to understand what impacts this will have for competition. By switching customers over at the wholesale level, smaller RSPs may miss out on the opportunity to compete for those customers which could harm retail-side innovation in the Australian broadband market.

Behind the scenes, there’s certainly some distain to the very public approach NBN has taken today to the commencement of these negotiations, and at the same time, plenty of chatter about how the NBN are selling it as “at no additional wholesale cost” which might be fair and reasonable, but for the Internet providers themselves, they have to purchase additional backhaul to connect those customers to the internet, they need equipment and support to make it all work.

To that end as has been noted privately to me, there will also be people who have home networking gear not capable of these higher speeds, so the end user could be up for their own upgrade costs to make the most of the higher speeds. NBN themselves note this in their announcement, saying “Critical to the success of the proposal will be internet retailers’ ability to transmit the higher wholesale speeds across their retail networks and ensure in-home equipment, such as modems and Wi-Fi routers, are capable of delivering the full benefits to customers,” it said in a statement. “NBN Co will be seeking retailer feedback on what in-home equipment will be needed to bring the increased speeds to market.”

Additionally, customers stuck on FTTN or living in Apartments have expressed concern that this will leave us with a wider divide between the haves and have nots when it comes to NBN technology.

A long road ahead for this change it seems.

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Hubbl First Impressions – Slick interface, sloppy app setup https://eftm.com/2024/03/hubbl-first-impressions-slick-interface-sloppy-app-setup-242992 Tue, 05 Mar 2024 05:36:55 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=242992 Full disclosure, I received the Hubbl set top box just 24 hours ago, and would normally like to enjoy days if not weeks of use before even thinking about publishing any form of review. But, with Hubbl’s launch date just five days away, and customers already receiving boxes (several have contacted us with photos of […]

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Full disclosure, I received the Hubbl set top box just 24 hours ago, and would normally like to enjoy days if not weeks of use before even thinking about publishing any form of review. But, with Hubbl’s launch date just five days away, and customers already receiving boxes (several have contacted us with photos of their Hubbl delivery) – I need to jump to action and give you my first impressions of the device – and it’s mixed.

First and foremost, some additional context for those who aren’t regular readers or listeners. I subscribe to and pay for pretty much every streaming service, as such I’d be an advanced streamer, and I’m not sure that’s the sweet spot for Hubbl – but I could be wrong. Secondly, I was not sent a retail version of the box. My box was specially packaged, and I am a Hubbl “customer” because I have Binge and Kayo Subscriptions – as such, by entering my email – it authenticated me and I was off and running.

I say this because I’ve not had to setup any payment plan in this initial process, but assume when you create your Hubbl account online – you will need to do that. Existing Binge and Kayo customers will login with their account info.

Setting up Hubbl

There are three key steps to getting your Hubbl working. Firstly, WiFi, and of course this is as you’d expect and easy to sort out.

There is also an Ethernet port if you have cable nearby.

Then there’s your Hubbl account – as I say, this was a relatively straightforward process for me – but I think a retail box would have had a few more steps to go through, should all be a breeze though.

I completed this on my phone, on the couch – no dramas at all.

You’ll note I chose a postcode in regional NSW (Griffith), more on that later.

After this, and this is probably the number 1 standout feature of Hubbl, you are presented with the five free-to-air TV apps.

You click on each, sign in with your account, and it returns it instantly to this page with a tick under it when you are signed in.

I worry people will skip this, but in the end, it’s the key to getting live free-to-air TV channels without an antenna.

And that’s it, we’re in, and it’s running.

Launching Streaming Content – directly

Because it was literally two clicks to the right, the first thing I considered doing was watching the Apple TV Show “Masters of the Air”.

When I did it launched me to that title in the Apple TV+ app. Offered me the option to watch a free episode or accept a trial subscription.

As an existing subscriber I didn’t want either, and then proceeded to pull my hair out trying to work this out.

Turns out I needed to be in the Apple TV App – then bring up a menu and go to settings, where a Traditional Apple TV interface presents itself and lets me sign in via a QR code.

Netflix was worse.

From the home screen, pressing on a show from Netflix popped up a message at the top of screen saying ” Sorry, this app is currently unavailable. Please try again later.”

I wondered Did the app need an update?

Nope, I scrolled to the Netflix app, logged into my existing account and from then was able to watch content.

Disney Plus took me to a join or login page whenever trying a bit of content, again, I just had to login to overcome that.

My point here is, once you sign everything in you’re good, but it’s not always perfectly intuitive to get to that point.

Subscribing to a Streaming Service

Key to the success of this platform is the tease of content everyone is seeing and clicking to view it.

So I imagine that you’d want a seamless “you’re not subscribed to this, do you want to be” yes or no – and boom, I’m watching.

But no, I needed to go to the home page, scroll all the way to the bottom and Manage my account.

This is a pretty impressive area of the system, that lets you see your account details, existing subscriptions, monthly cost, and also add new services like Disney+ and Netflix.

What’s great is the presentation of your monthly streaming costs on one screen – might freak a few people out.

Sadly, it’s just the Foxtel properties, Kayo, Binge, Flash and Lifestyle, plus Netflix and Disney+ here as a part of My Account.

They need them all, not just on the box to watch content, but as part of their single billing platform – otherwise there’s always something missing.

Migrating your streaming accounts to Hubbl

The fact this wasn’t an option as part of the setup – amazing to me.

Turns out, through reading the fine print (read: Any text) in the Automated email when I added Netflix and Disney+ to my Hubbl, that instructions were going to be mailed to me.

They were not. So I’m kind of in limbo here, theoretically with two Disney+ payments. I’m sure it’s a teething problem – we’ll wait and see.

Of course, Netflix and Disney+ are the only two third party streaming apps that currently support the Hubbl billing platform, the rest are all Foxtel/Hubbl apps so the “stack and save” discount is all off the top of Hubbl’s own billing – the service urgently needs Stan, Paramount, Apple TV+ and Prime to be part of that for it to be of true value.

That one screen showing monthly cost – huge deal and powerful stuff.

Netflix Restrictions on Hubbl

When I first checked out Hubbl, I asked their head Tech Guy and CEO if they had “full” access to Netflix billing, particularly “Extra Member” accounts. As this is an area Optus Sub Hub is not able to do – for those of us paying for the Mother-in-Law’s account after the epic password crackdown, I have an extra family member payment.

Turns out, that’s not going to work on Hubbl. Here’s what their Help pages say:

And here’s what the sign up page says – indicating only those who live with you can use it.

Sure, it’s not everyone – but it’s yet another restriction on using Hubbl as an existing Netflix account holder – thus, that service won’t count toward my stack and save discount because I can’t migrate it.

Live Free to Air TV – with a catch

If you choose to login to all the Free to Air apps, then you will instantly get those primary and secondary channels within the TV Guide.

It’s very much a Foxtel approach, high channel numbers – not Channel 9 and 7, but 109 and 107. Not a deal breaker, but come on, just use the actual channel numbers folks.

Then there’s the issue of where you live and what you see.

I chose Griffith in Regional NSW as my test site.

The live channels I get are the SYDNEY channels.

Interestingly, all the channels I SHOULD get as a “Griffith local” are shown in the EPG – 7TWO Griffith, 9HD Wagga – but nope, no content there to watch.

You might not see this as a big deal – I get that, but for someone who is cutting the cord or moving from something else to Hubbl on the promise of Free to Air without an antenna, it’s an important caveat.

So regional News and content, only available via Antenna connections.

Subscription TV channels

As a solid tease, all the channels appear, but only play if you’re subscribed. Well played.

I tried to watch Channel 600, Sky News, nope.

So I added Flash News to my Account, and boom, all worked a treat.

HOWEVER, in the spirit of my picky first look tester feedback (all of this I could have given them two months ago if they’d have shown people like me in advance) – I had to work out what to do.

When I watched Sky, it just said I didn’t have that. It should be a pop up message or take me direct to my account to add the service – it needs to make it clear that this channel requires “FLASH NEWS” to be added.

This has to be seamless, one or two clicks – give me what I want. I think it’s all possible with software tweaks, but given this is a tweaked unit from Sky Glass/Comcast, it’s not built from the ground up – one wonders how likely that will be.

Personalisation

Finally, while there is a link to Personalisation in the settings, that does nothing right now.

Everything you see is marketing or editorially driven. The only thing that relates to YOUR usage is the top carousel of content, scroll LEFT and you see your most recently used apps or channels.

True success for this device relies on Personalisation.

If Foxtel/Hubbl can convert the deeply personal style of content presentation like we see on Kayo Sports – this would be a big deal.

First thoughts Summary

Feels like it’s been rushed to market. Waiting for more deals to be done, more apps to be readied, and more of those apps to support the single billing page option.

If they can get all the apps, and all the apps to support billing – huge!

Free to air is a big win, but AFL fans don’t expect to see your games on Channel 7 Via the internet – they don’t own those rights.

So there will be hurdles.

Right now, I don’t see a leaps and bounds advance on what Fetch has in the market, or what Chromecast with Google TV is already offering.

Give me more time and I’ll report back in more detail.

I’m also going to test the Hubbl Glass TV – so stay tuned!

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Mega speed boost – NBN plans to multiply speed for Aussies on 100Mbps plans and higher https://eftm.com/2024/03/mega-speed-boost-nbn-plans-to-multiply-speed-for-aussies-on-100mbps-plans-and-higher-242982 Mon, 04 Mar 2024 17:00:00 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=242982 Ten years ago there was no Netflix, no Stan, Binge, Kayo, Disney+ and the average home was using 40GB of data every month. Fast forward to today and we’re using ten times more data every month and we have streaming services for every day of the week and then some. To respond to this demand, […]

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Ten years ago there was no Netflix, no Stan, Binge, Kayo, Disney+ and the average home was using 40GB of data every month. Fast forward to today and we’re using ten times more data every month and we have streaming services for every day of the week and then some. To respond to this demand, and help lift Australia’s “speed ranking” from low in the top 100 globally to nearer the top, the NBN is proposing a new set of Wholesale speed plans.

The proposal needs to be negotiated and agreed on with our retail telcos (Telstra, Aussie Broadband, Optus et al) who will sell them to us the end user. For it’s part, the NBN say they plan to “deliver these accelerated speeds at no extra wholesale cost to internet retailers”, but having only recently closed out a two year long negotiation on speeds and service plans with the Telcos it’s likely this proposal will be met with some distain among the telcos.

In terms of speed boosts the 100Mbps plan gets the biggest jump in available speed, lifting to 500Mbps downloads and an increase from 20 to 50Mbps in upload speed. The 250/25 plan will move to 750/50 and the fastest or “Ultrafast” NBN plan will go from being an offer between 500 and 1000Mbps down and 50Mbps up, to 750-1000 down and between 50 and 100Mbps uploads.

Speaking of the huge leap in Aussie household internet usage, NBN’s Chief Customer Officer Anna Perrin says “despite this explosion in data usage, many customers have remained on the same broadband plan for years. Our network monitoring suggests that some customers are potentially hitting their maximum speed on a regular basis. These customers may enjoy a better internet experience on a faster speed tier.

The good news for customers is we are upgrading the nbnnetwork to keep pace with customer demand. Fibre is the great enabler to deliver near gigabit speeds across the nbnnetwork. 

We are on track with our national fibre upgrade program to put these incredibly fast speeds within reach of more than 10 million Australian homes and businesses by the end of next year. 

Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland says the proposal is “consistent with the Albanese Labor Government’s objectives and will deliver turbo-charged speeds that would deliver significant benefits for businesses and households alike.” 

Adding, “Reliable, quality, high-speed internet is not a luxury or nice-to-have: it is essential 21st century infrastructure. “

How and when this happens though is the big question, with the minister adding “The Government expects nbn to consult closely with its retail partners and work with them to enable these speed enhancements to be available for consumers as soon as practical.”

From the NBN’s perspective, it seems likely the changes are 12 months away, Anna Perrin saying “we are proposing to deliver these accelerated speeds at no extra wholesale cost to internet retailers. By working together with the industry, we hope to deliver these accelerated services to customers later this year or early next year.” 

While these plans will be welcomed by the vast majority of Australians, they will create a bigger gap between the haves and the have nots of Australian Internet.

New 500Mbps plus speed plans are only available to those on HFC or FTTP connections, leaving those on Satellite, Fixed Wireless and Copper based technologies left wanting. This is of course a limitation of the non fixed line technology. They will though serve as a strong incentive for people to take up the NBN’s free Fibre Upgrade offer, something hundreds of thousands have done, and the NBN has the capacity to do on a much larger scale.

With that upgrade in place, over 10 million homes are capable of these new speeds by the end of next year.

Expect some interesting responses from Telcos today, who have just completed an updated Wholesale Broadband Supply agreement with the NBN at the end of 2023. Based on that, and their own and NBN’s forecasts for speeds and usage your Telco has likely made plans for their own network needs. Ordering the “backhaul” capacity that links their customers to the wider internet – this new proposal will mean a radical change to the possible data needs of the telcos and as such, they’ll be looking to understand the NBN’s forecasts and lock in deals that could take a year to negotiate.

As for price, while the NBN isn’t planning to up their wholesale supply charge, that again only covers the connection from the home to the internet provider – there will be an impact on the cost of the data supply, meaning telcos will need to adjust their pricing. It’s not likely to be a huge amount by any measure, but it may see more plan switching than otherwise, with people seeing value in the lower plans which may mean a similar or lower cost. Those on the 100Mbps plan today will be somewhat trapped by whatever the Telcos choose to charge for the new 500Mbps plan as there’s no way they’ll want to drop down to 50Mbps.

Great news for consumers, and particularly for those with big data needs.

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Apple updates MacBook Air with M3 processor for AI power – starting at $1,799 https://eftm.com/2024/03/apple-updates-macbook-air-with-m3-processor-for-ai-power-starting-at-1799-242985 Mon, 04 Mar 2024 16:27:04 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=242985 Overnight Apple has revealed updates to it’s MacBook Air lineup with their most recent M3 Apple Silicon to offer greater performance with no compromise on Battery Life or design. With an 18 hour battery life, Apple’s MacBook Air is a standout option at the price point, with often double the battery life of similarly priced […]

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Overnight Apple has revealed updates to it’s MacBook Air lineup with their most recent M3 Apple Silicon to offer greater performance with no compromise on Battery Life or design.

With an 18 hour battery life, Apple’s MacBook Air is a standout option at the price point, with often double the battery life of similarly priced PC Laptops.

This new M3 MacBook Air is up to 60 percent faster than the model that had an M1 chip in it, and 13 times faster than the Intel-Based MacBook Air.

Fascinatingly, Apple is highlighting performance as it relates to Artificial Intelligence for the first time I can recall, saying in the release “MacBook Air continues to be the world’s best consumer laptop for AI.

The announcement goes on to say “With the transition to Apple silicon, every Mac is a great platform for AI. M3 includes a faster and more efficient 16-core Neural Engine, along with accelerators in the CPU and GPU to boost on-device machine learning, making MacBook Air the world’s best consumer laptop for AI. Leveraging this incredible AI performance, macOS delivers intelligent features that enhance productivity and creativity, so users can enable powerful camera features, real-time speech to text, translation, text predictions, visual understanding, accessibility features, and much more”.

With a broad ecosystem of apps that deliver advanced AI features, users can do everything from checking their homework with AI Math Assistance in Goodnotes 6, to automatically enhancing photos in Pixelmator Pro, to removing background noise from a video using CapCut. Combined with the unified memory architecture of Apple silicon, MacBook Air can also run optimised AI models, including large language models (LLMs) and diffusion models for image generation locally with great performance. In addition to on-device performance, MacBook Air supports cloud-based solutions, enabling users to run powerful productivity and creative apps that tap into the power of AI, such as Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365, Canva, and Adobe Firefly.

It’s a strong sign that AI will be a core feature of the Apple 2024 product range, and likely a core topic at their Worldwide Developers Conference in June.

Speaking of the new MacBook Air with M3, Greg Joswiak, Apple’s SVP of Worldwide Marketing says “MacBook Air is our most popular and loved Mac, with more customers choosing it over any other laptop. And today it gets even better with the M3 chip and new capabilities,”

“From college students pursuing their degrees, to business users who need powerful productivity, or anyone who simply wants the unmatched combination of performance, portability, and industry-leading battery life, all in a fanless design, the new MacBook Air continues to be the world’s best thin and light laptop.”

You can use one external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz – or shut that MacBook Air lid to use a second external display with up to 5K resolution at 60Hz.

MacBook Air with M3 also supports WiFi 6E for better data transfer speeds.

For those with one eye on the environment and the other on performance, the new MacBook Air is also the first Apple product to be made with 50 Percent recycled content, including the use of 100% recycled aluminium in the body, 100% recycled rare earth elements in all the magnets and for Apple another first – with 100% recycled copper on the main logic board.

Orders for the new MacBook Air start today, with the product on-sale this Friday starting at $1,799 – a $200 premium over its M2 Processor enabled sibling.

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OPPO launches the affordable Enco Buds2 Pro for just $99 https://eftm.com/2024/03/oppo-launches-the-affordable-enco-buds2-pro-for-just-99-242973 Mon, 04 Mar 2024 06:01:58 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=242973 OPPO had a hit with their original Enco Buds true wireless earbuds and today they have released the follow up to them with the Enco Buds2 Pro hoping to build on that quality sound profile at an extremely affordable price point. The new Enco Buds2 Pro include 12.4mm extra-large drivers to deliver big sound while […]

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OPPO had a hit with their original Enco Buds true wireless earbuds and today they have released the follow up to them with the Enco Buds2 Pro hoping to build on that quality sound profile at an extremely affordable price point.

The new Enco Buds2 Pro include 12.4mm extra-large drivers to deliver big sound while improving the clarity at the same time. To tune the drivers to the sound profile you prefer there is an Enoc Master Equaliser which includes three default sound profiles, Balanced, Bass and Bold giving you the option to alter the sound profile to the style of music or the type of media you are consuming at the time.

When used with an OPPO smartphone they support Dolby Atmos and Dirac Audio Tuner for even more audio optimisation.

Clear conversation within calls is front and centre thanks to dual mics for noise separation and an AI Clear Call algorithm to extract clear human voices.

Weighing just 4.3 grams per earbud, the Enco Buds2 Pro include IP55 dust and water resistance so you can use them in the gym or on a rainy day wherever you are. Bluetooth 5.3 support provides low latency playback and the battery with 8 hours of long-lasting playback, with the case including another 38 hours of music playback.

Enco Buds2 Pro, available in Granite White, are now on sale through OPPO Australia’s Online Store for $99.

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120W SUPERVOOC USB charger clears Australian regulator — OPPO Find X7 Ultra inbound? https://eftm.com/2024/03/120w-supervooc-usb-charger-clears-australian-regulator-oppo-find-x7-ultra-inbound-242942 Thu, 29 Feb 2024 21:31:00 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=242942 OPPO did not launch their flagship smartphone, the Find X6 Pro, outside of China last year and given that it was rated the best smartphone camera in the world that was extremely disappointing. This year there is yet to be any indication whether we will see the Find X7 Ultra in Australia but the latest […]

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OPPO did not launch their flagship smartphone, the Find X6 Pro, outside of China last year and given that it was rated the best smartphone camera in the world that was extremely disappointing. This year there is yet to be any indication whether we will see the Find X7 Ultra in Australia but the latest leak suggests it may be on the way.

Gizmochina spotted a new USB charger making its way through the Australian Electrical Regulatory Authority Council and given the notes on it, its clearance suggests that a flagship OPPO smartphone is on the way.

Source: Gizmochina

We were able to confirm the charger being cleared for use in Australia with the model number VCBBOAAH / A788-110110U-AU1. More specifically, the “tradename” of the charger is SUPERVOOC and even though OPPO are not the only company to use SUPERVOOC (OnePlus, realme are two others) they are the only one with a current presence in Australia.

The charger is said to support a max charging rate of 120W so it definitely not coming in a mid-range or entry-level device leading us to conclude that it will be arriving in the box of a Find device, hopefully the Find X7 Ultra.

Australians are starved for ultra-premium smartphone choices so it would be great to see the OPPO Find X7 Ultra arrive here, especially when the camera looks set to top the smartphone camera rankings once again. Hopefully it is not just wishful thinking on our behalf but with this high end charger clearing our electrical regulator all signs are pointing to yes.

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The two Aussies share stories of Life-Saving Apple Watch Features https://eftm.com/2024/03/the-two-aussies-share-stories-of-life-saving-apple-watch-features-242952 Thu, 29 Feb 2024 20:00:00 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=242952 Imagine being 17 years old and undergoing heart surgery to receive a pacemaker – and potentially owing your life to an “annoying” Apple Watch feature. Or, waking up in an Ambulance after riding your bike through Victoria’s Macedon Ranges, not knowing what happened or how emergency services got to you. These are the very real […]

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Imagine being 17 years old and undergoing heart surgery to receive a pacemaker – and potentially owing your life to an “annoying” Apple Watch feature. Or, waking up in an Ambulance after riding your bike through Victoria’s Macedon Ranges, not knowing what happened or how emergency services got to you. These are the very real situations two Aussies found themselves in, both with their Apple Watch to thank for their potentially life-saving intervention.

After nagging her parents for an Apple Watch, Lexie Northcott finally got one on her 16th birthday. It wasn’t long though until that very watch would start sending her regular notifications about a low heart rate. As a young, fit and active 16 year old, this was dismissed as somewhat annoying on the assumption that a low heart rate was a sign of fitness.

Fast forward a year and at the doctors for another reason Lexie was asked if there was anything else that might be wrong. After her mum Karla told the doctor about these notifications it was assumed that Lexie would be ok, but sent her for an ECG to be sure. A week later, and Lexi was told she was at extreme risk of heart failure. They raced to Melbourne and received heart surgery where a Pacemaker was installed.

Lexie describes a whole new level of health since that surgery and both she and her family admit that it was only because of the Apple Watch that they actually looked into the possible condition.

Another Victorian who questions just where they’d be today without the Apple Watch is Bruce Mildenhall. Bruce loves to cycle, and was out for his regular ride in the Macedon Ranges – something happened and the next thing he knew he was inside an Ambulance where he could hear his wife pounding on the side asking if Bruce was inside and. if he was alive.

He’d been knocked unconscious from his bike. When he was, his Apple Watch detected the fall and dialled 000. At the same time, it sent a text message to his wife who was listed in his Medical ID as an emergency contact.

That allowed his wife to race to his location, and emergency services to attend promptly.

What happened? Well, when recovering Bruce from the road surface to put him on a stretcher he was – according to the Paramedic treating him – rather chatty. It was that chatty nature that revealed Bruce was indeed hit by a Kangaroo and knocked to the ground while riding. Bruce had no recollection of this.

Bruce reckons if it was not for the Apple Watch he would have been left stranded, and wonders what might have happened and how long he would have been there. He suffered a dislocated shoulder and fractured ribs – today, he’s back on the bike – his Apple Watch as critical to his gear as his helmet no doubt.

Fall Detection and Low Heart Rate notifications are just two of many features that are always keeping an eye on Apple Watch users.

Critically, a Cellular Apple Watch has the capabilities to contact Emergency Services directly regardless of whether or not you have a subscribed mobile plan.

Don’t ignore those notifications folks – could be a life-saver.

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Podcast – Prominence on TV and MWC Barcelona – Two Blokes Talking Tech #622 https://eftm.com/2024/02/podcast-prominence-on-tv-and-mwc-barcelona-two-blokes-talking-tech-622-242939 Thu, 29 Feb 2024 02:41:54 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=242939 Trev flew all the way home from Barcelona to be here to record, but Stephen has jetted off to Las Vegas for his beloved Bunnies. However, we get it done and the blokes discuss the issue of Prominence and how the current plans might not suit the future of TVs Plus a wrap of the […]

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Trev flew all the way home from Barcelona to be here to record, but Stephen has jetted off to Las Vegas for his beloved Bunnies. However, we get it done and the blokes discuss the issue of Prominence and how the current plans might not suit the future of TVs

Plus a wrap of the biggest things at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

A view through smart glasses as what might be the true future of technology

The Amazon Echo Hub and what it works well at, and Trev has the ultimate luggage tracker and alarm.

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Knog Scout Travel review – Forget Airtags, this is THE Luggage and bag tracker https://eftm.com/2024/02/knog-scout-travel-review-forget-airtags-this-is-the-luggage-and-bag-tracker-242914 Wed, 28 Feb 2024 09:11:02 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=242914 I need you to look forward, I’m going to shine a light in your eyes don’t blink and don’t flinch – boom – you now forget everything I ever said to you about Apple AirTags and let me introduce you to the ultimate travel accessory, the Knog Scout Travel. This thing does it all. It’s […]

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I need you to look forward, I’m going to shine a light in your eyes don’t blink and don’t flinch – boom – you now forget everything I ever said to you about Apple AirTags and let me introduce you to the ultimate travel accessory, the Knog Scout Travel. This thing does it all. It’s a bag tag, tracker and alarm.

Now, let me be clear, I’m not throwing away my AirTags any time soon. Perfect for keyrings, and I’ve even got one concealed in my car:). But, for luggage, and your backpack – the Scout Travel is the king.

Why? Durability, and it’s rechargable.

Let’s look at the price of throwing an AirTag onto your Suitcase for your next trip. We need an AirTag, and an AirTag Holder:

You’re up for $78.95. Yes, you can buy multiple AirTags at a discount, and yes you can get cheaper luggage tags, but this metal loop style mimicks what I’m getting with the Scout Travel and makes it a secure fit on your bag.

The Knog Scout Travel will cost you closer to $100 – at $94.95. Over the course of 2-3 maybe 4 years, you’re going to replace the battery in that AirTag probably two , maybe three times. Now you’re getting close to cost parity.

But there’s more that the Scout Travel does, that an AirTag does not.

And I have to be honest, I was sceptical. When the founder of this company Knog rang me and told me they had a travel luggage tracker, I rolled my eyes and thought to myself – mate, AirTags are all anyone needs. I was wrong. So very wrong. Sorry Travis 🙂

Scout Travel is an AirTag at heart

Now, first and foremost it should be made clear, the Knog Scout Travel works with Apple’s Find My. So you can add it to your iPhone’s Find My app in the same way you do an AirTag.

And that means it has the same benefits as an AirTag – the entire Apple Global device ecosystem forms your search party when you are looking for a location update.

So like for like, the Apple FindMy features are spot on.

However, using the Knog Scout Travel App you have a couple of additional features that stand out to me.

Name Tagging your Scout Travel

When you fire up the app, you are able to name your tag, but also add some text to the tag, in the same way you would a physical hand written luggage tag.

On the side of your Scout Travel is a QR code, and thanks to the Pandemic – everyone knows how to use those!!

Someone can scan that code, and get whatever details you choose to display – like your phone number!

This is a big advantage in a busy airport where you might have accidentally left your bag behind, or if someone took the wrong bag from the carousel.

Made for Travel

The Knog Scout Travel comes with a wire loop (two lengths to choose from in the box) and the tools to attach it to your Scout Travel.

This means it’s much harder to remove from your bag, so is perfect for travel situations where the bag is getting moved around and beaten up a lot.

Bag Alarm

Something far greater in terms of personal bag safety, this tag has an alarm.

Enable the alarm in the App, and if your bag is moved, the alarm will sound.

I found this to be ideal in the Airport lounge, where often you’ll leave your bag while you head to the bathroom for example. Or it could be handy when you’re in accommodation, be it a hotel or AirBNB – alarm your bag when you’re out, so any intruder will be put right off taking your bag!

You can only disable the alarm with your app.

Brilliant stuff.

This thing is high quality construction, durable and the app works a treat for the few times you’ll need it – because primarily, you’ll use it as an AirTag replacement.

Run, Don’t walk to your browser window and get yourself a Knog Scout Travel now if you’re a regular backpack, laptop bag or luggage carrier!

Web: Knog

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Aldi has another amazing sale on ECOVACS DEEBOT NEO robot vacuums next week — get in early https://eftm.com/2024/02/aldi-has-another-amazing-sale-on-ecovacs-deebot-neo-robot-vacuums-next-week-get-in-early-242876 Tue, 27 Feb 2024 21:01:00 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=242876 Aldi and ECOVACS often team up for sales on their robot vacuums with the devices so heavily discounted that stocks never last long. This one is set to be much of the same with the DEEBOT NEO once again on sale, at the same price. Inflation? What inflation? The DEEBOT NEO was on an Aldi […]

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Aldi and ECOVACS often team up for sales on their robot vacuums with the devices so heavily discounted that stocks never last long. This one is set to be much of the same with the DEEBOT NEO once again on sale, at the same price.

Inflation? What inflation? The DEEBOT NEO was on an Aldi Special Buy sale in 2022 for $399 and now, two years later will once again be on sale for the same price next week on March 6.

We reviewed the ECOVACS DEEBOT NEO back in 2022 and concluded that at its usual price of $799 it was good value but at its 50% off price of $399 it was “an absolute steal.”

One thing the pandemic has taught us is that mental health is important and spending quality time with family and friends can help a long way towards improving mental health. A robot vacuum helps make your housework faster and easier, giving you more leisure time.

“Robotic vacuum cleaners continue to be highly sought after by Australians keen to save time and reap the many other benefits of having robotics in their home. Our work with ALDI continues our mission to bring ‘Robotics For All’ by making innovative technology available at a great price, and is reinforced by the many passionate consumers that have shared with us the numerous ways that having a DEEBOT can positively impact their day-to-day lives in real and practical ways.” said Karen Powell, Regional Director, ECOVACS ANZ.

Be it pet hair that is constantly being shed, you may be mobility-restricted or just want to reclaim some quality time, a robot vacuum is the perfect tool for helping keep your home clean.

Not only vacuuming but the DEEBOT NEO also can mop at the same time as it vacuums offering al all over home clean.

For more information on the DEEBOT NEO check out our review and if you are interested hurry into Aldi on March 6 and grab one of these amainzg robot vacuums for $399.

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Ray-Ban Meta review – Love them, and I haven’t even scratched the surface of what they can do https://eftm.com/2024/02/ray-ban-meta-review-love-them-and-i-havent-even-scratched-the-surface-of-what-they-can-do-242885 Tue, 27 Feb 2024 20:38:00 +0000 https://eftm.com/?p=242885 The original Ray-Ban Stories were a pretty darn cool item – a pair of Ray-Ban glasses that had speakers in them and cameras to take photos and video, but I feel like they didn’t really take off. Partly because they are pricey, partly because they were feature limited. The new generation Ray-Ban Meta glasses take […]

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The original Ray-Ban Stories were a pretty darn cool item – a pair of Ray-Ban glasses that had speakers in them and cameras to take photos and video, but I feel like they didn’t really take off. Partly because they are pricey, partly because they were feature limited. The new generation Ray-Ban Meta glasses take the concept to a whole new level, and promise so much more.

I picked up these Ray-Bans at OPSM, seems like the best and easiest physical place to grab a pair, but don’t expect them to let you try them on – the boxes are sealed and they weren’t keen on a test run, which was bothersome to me as I found the first gen a bit tight on my fat head, so wondered if the larger sized model would be a better idea. Turns out they didn’t stock those anywhere, so I rolled the dice and grabbed the standard Wayfarer design and size – no regrets.

Perhaps given the work that’s gone into thinning out the glasses the fit is just a bit better, but I for one find these easy to wear at all times, not just when I want the cool features. I have literally been using these as my standard issue daily driver Sunnies for 3 months now.

How are the Ray-Ban Meta glasses different to the original Ray-Ban Stories?

Well, to start with the cameras are better. A 12MP still camera (the right lens), and full 1080p video recording (the left eye lens)

Additionally, the speakers are vastly improved – something like 50% louder and 2 times deeper bass.

And there’s a much wider range of styles, lens colours and options.

POV Capture with the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses

Clearly, one of the great features of these glasses are the cameras. Creepy as hell some would say, but convenient as anything I’d say. Something strong about being in the moment rather than through the screen of a smartphone that really does appeal.

I wore these on a sunny day 3rd base coaching my son’s baseball team. I could record every single at-bat he had, without taking my eyes off the game and my job. And without looking like I wasn’t paying attention by holding my phone up to record.

They capture sound and video very well – albeit at a rather wide angle – but it is – frankly – Point of View capture. It’s not meant to be a zoomed view of life.

Photos are recorded with a single press of the button on the top of the right arm of the glasses, video is recorded with a long press of the same.

Even easier, just say “hey Meta” “record a video” and it does.

The voice commands are utterly responsive – there’s no delay to the response or the action, the only downside is looking like a dick talking to yourself.

Downsides of the cameras on the Ray-Ban Meta glasses.

Firstly, the photos are captured in Portrait orientation – In looking through a few that I took, I just thought to myself – why? Why not take them landscape. If it’s a setting, I didn’t see it.

I also think there’s a level of distortion to the picture. Look at the shot of me driving the Cupra above, the bottom of the steering wheel is exaggerated – as is Pete Stefanovic’s leg – it’s subtle, but just a bit off.

Secondly, as pointed out by fellow tech-head and Dubai Tech legend Slorks, the POV is offset. So if you’re recording a video, it’s recorded from the left eye perspective, and even then, to the left side of the left eye. No big deal for the majority of uses, but in some cases this might just frustrate a touch.

Bypassing the Capture Light

One of the key privacy features of the Ray-Ban Meta glasses is the white blinking capture light that shines in the right-eye lens when you are recording video.

For those that think it’s creepy that you can record video with these things, and those who say “just paint over the light” – nope. The software knows. And that’s a big win.

Cover that light up and you get this message on your phone – and audibly in the glasses:

I for one think this is great, but I am still not sure that tiny light is enough to warn folks that you’re recording. I guess if you were standing talking to someone, they’d notice and ask what the hell was going on.

Live Streaming

Perhaps the single greatest innovation in these glasses is the integration with Instagram, and ability to live-stream from Instagram direct from the glasses.

It’s really quite easy. First you open Instagram and start a live stream session. Wearing your glasses you get a prompt on screen and audibly in the glasses to double click the side button to switch to the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, and it happens instantly. The view on your phone updates to the camera on your glasses.

You also get a notification that your glasses have been removed if you take them off – another privacy feature preventing you from starting a live stream and leaving the glasses on a shelf to secretly record someone.

My first test of this was when I went for a walk and just used the glasses. Very simple, very cool.

You even get audible notifications in the glasses so you don’t need to be looking at your phone. For example “Your first viewer has joined – Dan Smith is watching” – nice.

Then if you start to get comments, it will tell you “You got a comment – tap and hold your glasses for number of viewers and most recent comment” You can do this at any time to check on the status of your Live. Again, works great.

This is a really great feature which is under-utilised I think – so much potential here.

Audio Quality – Recording

If you’re keen to know how good the microphones are – well, no better way than to demonstrate:

@trevorlong

A test of the audio quality when recording video with thr RayBan Meta smart glasses – not too bad at all!! #tech #gadget #smart #smartglasses #video #audio #rayban #meta #facebook #video

♬ original sound – Trevor Long

Audio Quality – Listening

As for how they are to listen to content, fantastic.

Now to be clear, if you’re on a bus or train, the people around you will know what you’re listening to. But when you’re walking around or at home or anywhere basically alone, they are a great way to enjoy podcasts or music.

No good when mowing the lawns because of the ambient sound, but still, fantastic way to stay engaged in the real world – ie: Traffic – while walking, and also enjoying your content.

Battery life and Power

If you’re a vlogger looking to capture your day, be prepared to throw them back in the case now and then to get charge to get you through the day. Constant captures drain the battery and you’ll get a low battery notice half way through the day.

But in every day use, you’ll rarely get a notification. Given the sleek case is the charger and you put them away when you’re inside and not wearing them, I never found myself on 0%, but there were some days I was going hard on capture, and I noticed the drain.

Of course, if you know you’re just going normal sunnies for a while, you can just slide the power button to off, and enjoy the day.

Future

I really don’t think I’ve touched the surface of what’s possible here.

Meta showcased some cool stuff when launching these, like using the Meta AI to look at something and get an audio description. Very very cool.

But for now, the basic features alone are worthy of the price.

If they add more, it just gets better.

In my view, the Meta AI just needs to be “my assistant”, add things to my calendar, remind me of things, add things to lists, the things that when you’re out and about you have to grab your phone for – take that away and we’re onto something.

Now imagine a generation or three ahead, where these merge in features with something like the Oppo Air Glasses 3, which project information onto the lenses you’re looking through, like navigation, or messages and notifications – that’s something I can get behind.

It’s an exciting category of product.

I can’t recommend these enough, especially if you want to capture those in the moment style memories without grabbing your smartphone.

with Meta AI to spark creativity, get information, and control features — just by using your voice. Meta AI features will be available in the US in beta only at launch.

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