Life & Technology – 2GB 19th April, 2015

Samsung this week announced the Australian pricing and availability for its range of SUHD TVs. We first saw these impressive displays at CES, and it will be great to finally get a proper hands-on, or should I say eyes-on, now that they're available locally. While Samsung has some huge TVs as part of its 2015 line-up, SUHD's draw card is that the new technology allows for greater colour accuracy, "unparalleled contrast," and an image that is two and a half times as a brighter as a regular TV. Essentially, they look really good.

Here's the pricing for Samsung's SUHD TVs.

 

Samsung might have axed removable storage with the release of the Galaxy S6, but there are still ways to add more memory to your brand new smartphone. SanDisk this week announced the Australian launch of its Ultra Dual Drive 3.0, a flash drive with a USB connector on one end and a micro USB connector on the other, meaning you can connect it to both your PC and your smartphone.

 

This new version has USB 3.0 speeds, making it even faster when its plugged into your PC! The SanDisk Ultra USB Drive 3.0 is available now in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models at AUD$29, AUD$39 and AUD$69 respectively.

 

I talked to Stephen Baxter from Microsoft a couple of weeks ago about Microsoft’s two new mid-range smartphones: the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL. Well, both phones will be available from early May and our sponsor Harvey Norman will be carrying both.

 

The Lumia 640 is a 5-inch phone that retails for AUD$299 while the 640XL has a massive 5.7-inch screen and a AUD$399 price-tag. Both have very similar specifications, are 4G enabled and come with a free subscription to year of Office 365 Personal, making the price tag even sweeter.

 

Like everything else, homes are getting smarter, and Belkin's WeMo is one of the biggest names in smart home technology. Belkin are bringing a couple of new products to Australia soon, and the WeMo Insight Switch is one I find super interesting. Plugging an appliance or device into the Insight Switch gives you the ability to turn it on and off via your smartphone, but it also measures how much electricity you're using – and more importantly, the cost. You can then use this knowledge to trigger automated events – such as automatically turning off the TV when its used a certain of power. Not only is WeMo making homes smarter, it can help save you money.

 

It seems like you can’t announced a new flagship smartphone without it leaking before-hand. LG has accidentally revealed its brand new G4 handset almost two weeks before it’s due to be announced.

 

We don’t know everything about the handset yet, but we know it will look similar to the fantastic G3 that it’s succeeding. It still has the same Quad HD 5.5-inch display in a fairly small form factor. But this time round, LG has opted for a camera with an even wider aperture, meaning the G4 should be a great choice for low-light photography. The other key difference so far is that you’ll be able to get the phone with a leather-back – real leather. If you’re not a fan of leather, there’ll still be a traditional plastic option, but it’s very interesting to see a different approach to smartphone design. Click here for photos!