Canoe Technology

Young Toronto entrepreneur takes on Candy Crush turning playtime into paytime

March 20, 2015 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

A young Toronto entrepreneur is giving away a minimum of $1,000 per week with the hopes of attracting enough players to play his games and build his user base and then in turn earn ad dollars to take on the likes of Candy Crush. And unlike other revenue models where you need to pay-to-play, this model is Free-2-Win; there are no in-app purchases. And the more you play, the more chances you have to win.

“Our mandate with Big Time is to change the way mobile users play games,” says Jeremy Zuckerman, Founder of WINR Games. “The games are fun on their own, but the opportunity to win cash only adds to the appeal of the app. We’re the first and only free mobile gaming app to offer a cash prize. Our aim is to pave the way for the future of mobile gaming.”

And they’ve already given away lots of green, almost $20K to date. READ Full article at: CanoeTech Blog

Filed Under: Apps Alive, Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg, Gaming, New Product, smartphone · Tagged With: Apps, Canada, Entrepreneurship, Gaming

Furious 7 behind-the-scenes C-130 plane car drop

March 12, 2015 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

If you haven’t had enough of the Fast and Furious, the seventh instalment of the high-octane movie franchise will be hitting the big screens next month starring returning veterans Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson and the late Paul Walker. While it’s sure to be action filled, it features a really cool stunt where a car is actually being dropped from a plane. Ever wonder, how do they do that?

Read more…and see the videos at CanoeTech Blog

Filed Under: Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg, In the news · Tagged With: movies, news

iPhone 6 cases for devout minimalists

March 6, 2015 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

Every new iPhone brings a subsequent onslaught of new accessories, especially cases, covers and protective housings and in so many different shapes and sizes. In fact there are so many, it’s tough to even count them. So today, we’re going to look at a few cases and protective housings for your iPhone 6 designed with the minimalist in mind – someone who likes to keep their prized possession protected but prefers to avoid adding too much bulkiness.

Read more… at Canoe Tech Blog

Filed Under: accessories, Apple, Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg, Going Mobile, New Product · Tagged With: accessories, Apple, cases, new products

Square now accepts offline credit card payments

March 4, 2015 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

I’m sure many of you by now are familiar with Square. It’s a service that allows businesses or even individuals to accept payment by credit card using a little dongle attached to the headphone jack of their smartphone or tablet. This type of service relies on the ability to securely transmit card information either through an Internet connection or data connection like 3G, 4G or LTE. But what happens when there’s no connection available? Read more…at CanoeTech Blog.

Filed Under: Business, Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg, Going Mobile, Taking care of business · Tagged With: mobile payment, small business

Will you binge watch House of Cards Season 3?

March 1, 2015 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

If you are a big fan of House of Cards on Netflix, I’m sure you’re excited that Season 3 is now hot off the press. I wonder, how many of you have already put aside all those important things that you were supposed to in favour binge-watching the entire season of 13 episodes?

I admit that so far, I’ve only watched Season 3 Episode 1 – or Chapter 27 is it’s referred to. I made myself a promise not to repeat what I did last for Season 2 after I binged on Season 1. It started off nice and slow; I controlled the urge and watched the first three episodes over a period of a little over two weeks. Then I couldn’t help myself. I cranked out the popcorn maker and watched the rest of the season over a weekend. Read more…and take our POLL at Canoe Tech Blog

Filed Under: Canoe Technology, Digital Alberta, GadgetGreg, In the news, Signs of the Times · Tagged With: Netflix, streaming video, TV

SMS Audio heart monitoring earbuds require no batteries

February 25, 2015 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

If I mention heart monitor sensors to you you’d probably be thinking finger clip, wristband or maybe even watch. One thing for sure, you most likely wouldn’t be thinking earbuds. SMS Audio, founded by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson has teamed up with Intel to create the BioSport Biometric Earbuds, so if it’s important to you to monitor your heart rate, you can do it while out and about listing to your favourite tunes without having to worry or need to have an additional device or gadget attached you.

SMS Audio is not the first out of the gate to create the dual-purpose earbud/heart monitor. However, what is novel is that the biometric monitoring is designed to use so little power, it does not require a battery; it’s fully driven from the 3.5 mm gold-plated audio jack that plugs in to your smartphone. Read more…at CANOE Tech Blog

Filed Under: accessories, Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg, Going Mobile, Hands On, New Product, Product review, Review · Tagged With: earbuds, fitness, Gadgets, health, product review

Apple initiates MacBook Pro video repair program

February 21, 2015 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

If you purchased a MacBook Pro system between February 2011 and December 2013 and you experienced distorted, scrambled or loss of video or unexpected random restarts then your computer maybe eligible to be repaired free of charge regardless as to whether or not it’s under warranty, under Apple’s new MacBook Pro Repair Extension Program for video issues. Read more…at Canoe Tech Blog

Filed Under: Apple, Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg, In the news · Tagged With: Apple, MacBook Pro

iStabilizer smartMount better 2nd time around

February 18, 2015 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

To satisfy the Selfie generation, last year iStabilizer released their smartMount smartphone tripod adapter. It was available either as a standalone item or as part of their monopod or flexible smartphone tripod products. While the design seemed quite clever at the time, in practice, depending on your phone it would often, quite frankly, miss the mark. Plus, it wasn’t wide enough to accommodate the iPhone 6. So iStabilizer went back to the drawing board, redesigned it and this time they hit the target.

The original adapter (below) looked pretty cool. It was spring-loaded to allow for any phone up to 2.75 inches in width and a separate model; the XL would accommodate the iPhone 6 and other phones up to 3.5 inches in width. The top portion had a metal wire frame with a rubber insert that could easily fall out and get lost. The bottom grip had a rest adorned with rubberized foam to keep the phone in place. Read more…at CanoeTech Blog

Filed Under: accessories, Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg, New Product, Product review, Review, smartphone · Tagged With: accessories, product review, travel, video

goBAT rugged waterproof battery pack to hold charge for years

February 15, 2015 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

We’ve seen rugged waterproof cases, laptops and speakers but I can’t recall ever coming across a rugged and waterproof portable backup battery, until now. Scosche is unveiling the goBAT 6000 and the goBAT 12000, a pair of ultra durable and high capacity battery solutions designed to be taken out on the rough road.

The new models feature rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that are 6,000mAh and 12,000mAh respectively, enough to recharge a typical iPhone four or eights times. The smaller capacity battery has a single 2.4A USB charging port designed to quickly charge devices including energy hungry tablets like the iPad. The larger capacity battery has double the charge and a pair of charging ports that can quickly charge two devices at the same time. Read more…at CanoeTech Blog.

Filed Under: accessories, Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg, Going Mobile, New Product · Tagged With: accessories, battery, travel

Red gadgets to sweeten up her Valentine’s Day

February 13, 2015 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

There’s more than chocolate to sweeten up your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day. How about saying “I LOVE YOU” with funky cool red gadgets and accessories that will (hopefully) last longer than simply a dozen long stemmed red roses.

The Smile Jamaica in-ear headphones with mic by House of Marley (yes, the family of that Marley) is a Valentine inspired gadget with small and simple wood rear housing, recycled machined aluminum chassis, 52″ multicoloured fabric braided cable with plastic restrain and fire red eartips. They have noise-isolating properties and despite their size, give out a good vibrating bass.

Buying a Marley product you are also helping a cause as the Marley Family supports 1Love, their charitable organization dedicated in supporting youth, peace and the planet by using with earth friendly and recycled materials. I think she’d like that. Smile Jamaica headphones retail for $24.99 and are available directly from HouseOfMarley.ca, Future Shop, Visions & Shoppers Drug Mart. Read more… at Canoe Tech Blog

Filed Under: accessories, Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg · Tagged With: accessories, Gadgets, gift ideas