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Thu, 1st Mar 2012
FYI, this story is more than a year old

It's a mere few months until the 2012 Olympics kick off in London, and Samsung is keen to start drumming up support for New Zealand's athletes. The company recently unveiled a 28-tonne truck bursting with Samsung gadgets that will tour the country in the lead-up to the event, stopping at schools, sporting events, and anywhere else it can draw a crowd. Visitors will be able to take a photo of themselves holding an Olympic medal while the New Zealand flag is raised in the background, see photos and videos of our previous Olympic successes, and see memorabilia such as the shoes Peter Snell wore to train for the 1964 Tokyo Games. The truck is filled with almost 60 Samsung gadgets, including smartphones, tablets, and the crossover Galaxy Note, with its unique 5.3-inch screen. About 1.5 kilometres of cabling runs through the truck connecting everything up. Olympic legends Barbara Kendall, Rob Waddell and Barry Maister were all present at the launch, as well as current members of the New Zealand sailing team. Don Renwick, corporate marketing manager for Samsung New Zealand, says the truck's schedule hasn't been finalised yet, but regular updates will be posted on the company's Facebook page.  "Our goal with the truck was to share New Zealand's Olympic history, inspire a new generation of competitors, and encourage people to get behind the athletes going to London,” Renwick says. The Olympic Games begin on July 27 and end on August 12; the Samsung truck will continue to tour throughout that time, and will be at a homecoming event for New Zealand's athletes being held in Christchurch. The Olympic squad hasn't been finalised yet, but around 170 athletes are expected to compete.