Help send me to Sochi - Vote for my video! #BringItHome

I'm a huge fan of the Olympics and would love the chance to cheer on Team Canada in Sochi Russia for the 2014 Winter Olympics! I've entered myself into a contest from Samsung, who is sending two lucky winners to experience Sochi and share their experience with the world. I think I would be perfect for the job, and I need your help! I need to get as many votes as I can for my video!

Just click HERE to go to Youtube and click on the "Vote for This" button on the bottom left corner.

And viola, you're done! You can vote everyday until November 27th, when Samsung will judge the videos with the most votes. You can take a look at how the video looks like below, if you are having trouble finding it.

I would really appreciate it if you can spare a second to vote for my video! Fingers crossed I will be seeing you in Sochi!

Free Jay-Z Magna Carta Holy Grail Album for Samsung Users

Attention Jay-Z fans and Samsung users! Samsung is giving away one million digital copies of Jay-Z's new album, Magna Carta Holy Grail, to Samsung Galaxy S3, S4 and Galaxy Note II users on July 4th, 72 hours before it is available to everyone else!

Download the "Magna Carta Holy Grail" app through the Android Google Play Store and if you are one of the one million users selected, the album will appear in your app on July 4th. There is also exclusive content available in the app, including videos and song lyrics.

Free Samsung Galaxy Tab with New Account at TD Bank

Banks have been increasingly offering better promotions to try and get new customers, and TD Bank is the latest to have an attractive offer. From now until July 19, 2013, you can receive a Samsung Galaxy 7" Tab (wifi) for absolutely free when you open up a Select Services account or an Infinity account. Both are unlimited transaction chequing accounts, with monthly fees waived if you have a minimum balance in the account (balance varies between accounts).

Opening an account is easy enough, but of course it's never quite that simple. The next step is to complete 2 of the following 3 by August 30, 2013.

- Complete one recurring, eligible Direct Deposit
- Complete one bill payment (via EasyWeb or the TD Mobile app)
- Complete a Pre-Authorized Debit transaction

For those looking for some benefit of opening a new bank account, this is it. The Samsung Galaxy Tab is worth $199 and is a great little device (or possibly a perfect gift for the upcoming Father's Day?). TD Bank had previously offered an iPod with new accounts, so a Tab is so much better.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Infinite Possiblities Preview Party #GS4Canada

Samsung Canada held a launch party for their newest flagship phone, the Galaxy S4, in three cities simultaneously last Thursday, April 25th. Held at the Rocky Mountaineer Station in Vancouver, doors opened at 5pm, and there were plenty of people in line to get in!

There was a drink especially made for the event - the Blue Galaxy!

I went to find the Galaxy S4 as soon as I got in so that I could play around with it. Staff were demoing the phone and I got the rundown on all the new features. Being released in two colours, White Frost and Black Mist, the S4 looks very much like its predecessor, the Galaxy S3, though the 1080p HD 5-inch screen is slightly larger. I was amazed at how light and thin the phone was. Holding my S3 side by side with the S4, my phone felt very big and clunky (though by no means is the Galaxy S3 not still a great phone!).

The back plate of the S4 doesn't have the slight curve of the S3, so there is no "bum" on the phone, which I actually really liked in the S3 because it made it fit more comfortably in my hand.

The phone boasts a 13-megapixel camera with a host of photo editing features that can spruce up your photos, including drama shots, erasing people in the backgrounds and creating a 9-second sound clip.

There are plenty of impressive new features on the S4. Some of my favourites include multi-window, allowing you to create a split screen of two apps, waving your hand to scroll through windows (goodbye fingerprints!) and Group Play, allowing you to share music, videos, documents and games with other phones, while letting you control the volume and surround sound on the other phones. S Health is another new app built into the phone, you can log the calories you consume, keep track of your exercise and use your phone as a pedometer.

Samsung has outdone themselves by creating an all-in-one phone. I was very impressed with the Galaxy S4 and would definitely suggest getting one if you are in the market for a new Android phone.

The rest of the evening was devoted to some great performances. Canadian group STARS came on first to do their set, and the crowd was definitely excited!

Samsung held Galaxy S4 Casting Calls, where the winner would have the chance to perform on stage at the launch party. Gio Levy won from Vancouver, and in between sets, he came out and serenaded us with the song that won him this amazing opportunity.

Like a mini Bruno Mars!

One of the surprises of the evening was a special appearance by Feist. Slated to appear in three cities at once - Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto, Samsung turned her into a hologram to accomplish this feat! Amazing!

It was another great launch party by Samsung and I had a lot of fun! Here's a video of  STARS performing "Ageless Beauty" below. Check out my Youtube channel for more videos.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Preview Party (Apr 25)

Samsung is celebrating the launch of their newest phone in the Galaxy line, the Samsung Galaxy S4, by throwing a preview party. Happening in three cities across Canada (Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto), tech lovers will have the chance to get their hands on the new device, which promises to be even better than the already amazing Galaxy S3. Canadian group STARS will be performing in Vancouver, with a special appearance by Feist. The preview party is open to the public, and will be happening at Rocky Mountaineer Station on Thursday, April 25th at 5pm.

Get your general admission tickets here using the code GS4Van13.

$200 Price Drop on Samsung Galaxy S3 at Mobilicity

Mobilicity has further dropped the price of the Samsung Galaxy S3 phone, no doubt to make room for the Galaxy S4 coming out later this month. If you have been on the fence about purchasing this amazing phone, now is the time! The pebble blue 16GB Galaxy S3 will be $399.99 (down from $599.99). If you were eyeing the marble white version (which seems to be more popular), then you're out of luck as it is still only $100 off at $499.99. Though the new Galaxy S4 will be the flagship phone for Samsung, the S3 is still one of the best smartphones on the market, and it's never too late to make the switch!

Pre-Order the Samsung Galaxy S4 Today

Samsung's newest phone, the Galaxy S4 will be available at Canadian retailers later this month, but you can pre-order one in stores starting today by putting down a $50 deposit. The phone is gorgeous, with a 5-inch Super AMOLED display, 1080p resolution, 2GB of RAM and a quad-core processor; a step up from the already impressive Galaxy S3. However, it has a price tag of $799.99 without contract, which it does make me think twice before purchasing it. Will you be pre-ordering the Samsung Galaxy S4?

Harry Potter Studio Tour #TakePart2012

With the last full day in London and the Olympics coming to an end, we all were taken out of the city to avoid the crowds. About an hour drive away from central London, we visited The Making of Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studio! The place was packed with props, sets and costumes from the Harry Potter movies and so much fun to go through. It was like I was a kid again, reliving the memories from the books and movies. It's a self-led tour, where you just wander around and look at props from the movies, but there are tons of stuff to see and take pictures of/with! The tour ends at the gift shop - beware as you will get sucked into buying something! You can even get your own wand for £25!

Outside the studio

The Great Hall in Hogwarts!

Ravenclaw robes

Hufflepuff costumes

Slytherin costumes

Gryffindor

Hagrid

Snape

Dumbledore

Wands

The Chamber of Secrets door

The Burrows

The Knight Bus

Tom Riddle's gravestone

The chess pieces

Buckbeak

Diagon Alley

There was a room full of concept beautifully drawn concept art!

Large Hogwarts model

Museum of London #TakePart2012

The Museum of London is a small place that showcases some of the history of London. It wasn't too interesting to me but if you have time, check it out, as admission is free. There was a small exhibition of the history of the Olympic Games in London with some items from the Olympics that were cool to see!

Wall just outside the museum, made up of various pictures. Very cool!

Swords and skulls.

Gold coins!

A phoenix

Previous London Olympic artifacts!

Here's a quick clip of some of the exhibits!

The End of an Amazing Three Weeks #TakePart2012

With the Olympics coming to an end today, that also means I fly back home to Vancouver tomorrow. I went out to the same place to watch the end of the closing ceremonies as I did the opening, and it was even more of a party. Everyone came together and was singing and dancing to all the songs. The atmosphere was charged and it was just an amazing night. I didn't have my camera with me, unfortunately. I had such a great time in London these past few weeks, even though sometimes it was hard work. I got to meet some amazing people from around the world, and make new friends with the other staff. The London 2012 Summer Olympic games were definitely a once in a lifetime experience! Stay tuned as I finish updating on all the attractions I saw while in London!

The place was packed with everyone celebrating!

Galaxy S3 - Smart Stay #TakePart2012

Another new feature of the Samsung Galaxy S3 is the Smart Stay feature. Instead of always having to touch the screen to keep your phone awake, or having it shut off constantly, the Smart Stay feature will detect when you are looking at the screen, so it will never turn off if you're reading an email or watching a video! If you look away or fall asleep, the screen will shut off itself to save battery. It's pretty amazing! Check out this fun video of a staring contest I had with the Galaxy S3!

Share Files with S-Beam! #TakePart2012

S-Beam is a great new feature on the Samsung Galaxy S3. I have taken hundreds of photos and many videos of my time in London and now I can share it in moments! S-Beam uses NFC technology and wi-fi direct to make sharing files quick and easy. All you have to do it put two S3 phones back to back and tap on the content you want to send. You can share anything you want, from contacts and urls to pictures and videos. I've taken a video to show you how easy it is!

Visit a Samsung PIN to get your Battery Booster Pack #TakePart2012

With the Olympics winding down, the Samsung Olympic pin craze has also ended, but that doesn't mean you should stop visiting the PIN stores! Go and check it out, and maybe you might walk away with an awesome battery booster pack! This is perfect for people who need to charge their phone on the go. There will be presentations happening about the Samsung Galaxy S3 phone and you can get a chance to win one for yourself if you participate. Or you can see some of the other staff, and if you ask nicely, maybe they will give you one too. ;)