At the time (and largely still to this day), Australia’s search engines would invariably provide results from overseas and international reviewers, which didn’t generally relay the same experience as what local would see.
With different mobile networks and often different specifications, a phone review from one part of the world may not have matched up to one found in Australia, and so Pickr was initially built to serve Australian reviews and give customers searching for a new phone a way to change the way they choose: by comparing phone reviews and specifications in the one environment.
Created in 2016, Pickr initially began as a phone comparison system. Built on the idea that local reviews weren’t easy to find, the original Pickr system served as a way for users to check phone specifications and reviews across Australia, providing not just a way to make their own comparisons, but to see what Australian reviewers had to say. Local reviews matter when it comes to specific product categories, particularly when there are local technology considerations, such as phone networks and environmental situations, making finding them important.
Over time, that has largely changed. Depending on how Google’s system is working at the time, Australian product searchers may find technology reviews relevant to their interest, though it can vary wildly, thanks in part to a large amount of updates Google is making to its system, which may or may not work as well as the company intends.
The goal was to help you change the way you choose phones, but it grew beyond one category.
An award-winning approach to technology
Throughout that time, Pickr released The Wrap, Australia’s fastest technology round-up, a podcast that aims to provide a week’s worth of technology in the space of five minutes, or just enough technology you can get into in the space of time it takes to either order or drink a cup of coffee.
For over five years, The Wrap provided a five minute look at the world of technology, sticking to the five minute time limit as a principle because so many of us only have so much time for tech. In a world where everything is competing for time, five minutes seems like a solid amount to wrap it all in. Special episodes were also produced, covering topics that transcend the weekly round-up, such as understanding password scams and security issues, how you can fix your WiFi at home, and exploring government issues such as “My Health Record” that had popped up in technology in Australia.
In 2019, The Wrap received an award at the Australian technology journalism awards, The Lizzies, voted as Best Independent Media, and was one of the top four technology-related podcasts across the country at The Australian Podcast Awards. In 2020, Pickr and The Wrap received the award of Highly Commended at the 2020 Lizzies.
In 2023, The Wrap was put on hiatus, though may be restarted in the near future.
Appearing on TV and radio
In 2019, Pickr began appearing outside of just the website, lending expert commentary on TV and radio with occasional appearances.
However, in 2024, things were stepped up significantly, as Pickr’s Leigh Stark made his way to regular appearances in the radio world, with weekly technology commentary on several radio stations.
As such, Pickr can now be heard across Australia, with information aimed at providing technology assistant and news throughout the country.
About Pickr’s creator
Leigh :) Stark has been working as a technology journalist since 2007, appearing at publications and media outlets such as the Australian Financial Review, Popular Science, APC, PC & Tech Authority, Technology & Business, CyberShack, GadgetGuy, and more.
His work has been seen across nearly every medium, including print, TV, online, radio, and the web, and his addiction to technology is noted regularly through just how much time he spends talking about it.
As a technologist, you can typically ask Leigh for advice, and he’s all to happy to provide it.
Contactable on X/Twitter through @Leighlo, through Mastodon at @Leighlo, via LinkedIn, or over email, he’s more than happy to answer any questions about gadgets and technology, and even provides tech support for one or two celebrities. You can even find him on TV from time to time, as well as on other podcasts.
Leigh :) Stark lives in Sydney with his lovely science writer wife Nic, and his beautiful daughters Emma and Elly, who often appear in test images for phones and cameras, as well as their dog Daisy, which also make appearances in the images.
