3D Printers at Tinkerine Studios - Grand Opening

Tinkerine Studios Canada's leading 3D printing company that develops and manufactures 3D printer to consumers. They had a grand opening of their offices on the weekend so I decided to check it out to see what the hype of 3D printing was about. 3D printing had advanced quite quickly over the years and Tinkerine is the first company to provide affordable printers for the average consumer. Tinkerine CEO, Eugene Suyu was first introduced to 3D printers while at SFU and it inspired him to design his own. The newest model, the DittoPro prints at a resolution of 50 to 300 microns and uses biodegradable plastic.

DittoPro

A smaller version of Ditto, the Litto.

Ditto+

The DittoPro prints quietly and you can change the colour of what you are printing by swapping out the spool of plastic that is mounted behind the printer. It was impressive to see what you can create using the 3D printers, from household items and trinkets to toys and complex models.

The DittoPro retails at $1,999 CAD and comes fully assembled. Find out more about Tinkerine Studios here.

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.

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?

iPad Mini Holiday Event - Bloggers Wanted!

iPad Mini Holiday Event

Hosted by Mom to Bed by 8

Prizes: iPad Mini

Event dates: 11/21 - 12/5

Free Blog Event! Sign-up here, BLOGGERS WANTED

Price Drop on the Blackberry PlayBook

There is another major price drop on the Blackberry Playbook this week. The new price makes the tablet something to consider, especially if you only use it to browse or view pictures.
 
16gb Playbook - $129.99
32gb Playbook - $149.99 (plus free leather case if you order online from The Source)
64gb Playbook - $199.99 (plus free leather case if you order online from The Source)

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. ;)

Burst Shot & Best Photo Features on the Samsung Galaxy S3 #TakePart2012

Since I do multiple presentations a day about the Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone, I thought I'd start writing about some of the cool features of the phone here too!

Burst shot is perfect for taking pictures at an Olympic game - they are all fast-paced, the athletes are zooming around the court and you want that perfect gold-medal moment! Burst shot allows you to take 20 photos in 3 seconds, which is amazingly fast! I can think of many times I wished I had this option when I'm taking pictures of things! The phone keeps all of the photos so you can sort through them yourself.

Photo from Samsung.ca

Best photo is also a new feature of the Galaxy S3. When you turn on the best photo option, the phone will take 8 pictures and then choose the best one for you! The intelligent camera and phone will detect if someone is smiling or blinking and will choose the best photo based on that, as well as the colour and saturation of the photo.

I wish I had a video of the phone to show you just how fast it is - I will definitely take one tomorrow and update here!

Green Stonehenge Pins Galore! #TakePart2012

The Samsung Olympic pin craze has reached a new high, as the end of the competition is nearing and everybody is looking for the rare green Stonehenge and green Kew Garden pins. Many lucky people have won today, so there are only a few Samsung Galaxy S3 phone prizes remaining! At Old Spitalfields Market today, the Samsung staff were giving out loads of the green Stonehenge pin, by the bagful! This means a lot of people is only looking for the elusive green Kew Gardens pin! Good luck to all the pin collectors!

Samsung staff showing visitor how to do a panoramic shot with the Galaxy S3.

Everyone is after the rare pins!

People trying out the Galaxy S3 in the Samsung PIN store.

One of the rare green Stonehenge pins everyone is after.

Win Tickets to an Olympic Game! #TakePart2012

The Samsung PINs around the city of London have started a new promotion! Now whenever you purchase a Samsung Galaxy product from one of the PINs, you get a chance to win a pair of tickets to an Olympic sporting event! The event tickets are a hot commodity, so if you're planning on buying yourself a brand-spanking new Samsung toy, make sure you do it at the PIN! The promotion of receiving a free limited edition London Olympics Samsung Galaxy S3 cover with the purchase of the S3 is still ongoing as well.

The contest is open to people age 16+ and will run until August 10th, 2012.

The beautiful phones.

You can still win a Galaxy S3 if you collecting all 49 pins.

Galaxy Tab 2.

Galaxy S3.

The limited edition Olympic flip covers for the Galaxy S3 are still available!

Buy this = Win Olympic tickets!

Shopping on Oxford Street #TakePart2012

I got up early today to fit some shopping in, so we took the bus down to Oxford Street where I picked up some trinkets as gifts. It was cool seeing all the London themed merchandise and all the tourists shopping. It was really busy, even though it started sprinkling a little bit.

Flags all down Oxford St.

Adorable plushies!

Of course, I visited the Disney Store UK.

G'day Donald!

I really do heart London.

While down there, we passed by a Vodafone shop, where we saw the Samsung Galaxy S3 being advertised so we popped inside! There was a whole floor and demo area designated to the Samsung Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note and Tab 2. It was nice to see and the salespeople were really friendly!

ZOMG - Giant Samsung Galaxy S3!

Demonstration both - it's very comfy!

Who is that good looking model? ;P

I feel like I should get on stage and start my presentation!

NFC technology!

Samsung Galaxy S III Launch with Down With Webster

Samsung Canada held launch parties in three cities last night for the newest phone in the Galaxy S line - the Galaxy S III. Samsung usually invites a Canadian band to perform at the launch (see Galaxy Launch with Faber Drive) and Vancouver got to rock out with Down With Webster! Sam Roberts Band performed in Montreal and Cobra Starship played in Toronto.

The events leading up to the concert were pretty awesome to watch. There were dancers, acrobats, hoola-hoops, great music, and a candy bar (!) where you can satisfy your sweet tooth.

Vancouver's Launch Party was held at Venue Nightclub.

Modeling the Galaxy S III.

Dancers were incorporating the phone into their routine.

Drummer up above.

A violinist on the roof!

There was also time to check out the Galasy S III smartphone - it's a beauty! It's a very slim and light phone and has many new features. The phone comes out in Canada on June 27th in white or pebble blue and will be available with any carrier in Vancouver.

This photo was taken with the Galaxy S III - it turned out very well even though the lighting was poor!! Amazing camera.

Gorgeous phone!

The president of Samsung Canada introducing Down With Webster.

Down With Webster was great, and the crowd was really into it! They performed their hits Whoa Is Me and Professional, among others. Everyone received flashing wristbands when they came through the door, so it was cool to see everyone lit up! It was definitely a fun night - Samsung sure knows how to throw a party!

Here's a video of Down With Webster performing Go Time. For more videos, check out my Youtube channel.