Halo 4 Trailer

Microsoft and 343 Industries released the Halo 4 launch trailer. It’s produced by David Fincher and directed by Tim Miller (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World).

The trailer is more of a story trailer than anything else as it shows many small bits of story, including the origin of Master Chief and other Spartans. Master Chief's mind is violated by a powerful new enemy, who in searching for Chief's weaknesses, finds the source of his strength. The video sheds some light on how Master Chief became a Spartan. This hints to the fact that Master Chief, who was known as John before he donned the armour, had a lot of experiments done on him.
The video features both live-action and CGI effects, just like previous Halo trailers. Enjoy!

32 GB Nexus 7 Is Real

Rumours have been around for quite some time about a 32 GB Nexus 7 model.According to a tip sent to The Verge, one of their readers was able to walk into a Staples outlet and purchase the 32 GB model.


This person, who seems to be aware of the launch of the 32GB model, called his local Staples store to confirm if they have it in stock, at which point he was told that they did. After that he went to the store, exchanged his recently purchased 8GB Nexus 7 for the 32GB model that costs $249 while paying the difference.


The 32GB model, as you may have noticed, costs the same as the 16GB model previously did. This makes me wonder what will happen to the 16GB model and if Google will use it to replace the 8GB model, although that seems unlikely as they are already selling the 8GB model at cost so they can’t just double its capacity. So then it seems the 16GB capacity would likely be discontinued.

Facebook For Android Gets Updated

Facebook 

While Android users are still waiting for this long-anticipated update, though, they have just been blessed with another, smaller update for the current app, bringing it to version 1.9.11. This "maintenance" update should improve the speed when tagging photos and organizing albums. In addition, it seems that some users who have been using "certain languages" were at times unable to upload photos using the app. This should now be fixed.

You can download the latest Facebook app here

1.3 Million Android Devices Activated Daily

Google

Google's shares fell over $60 or more than 8% on Thursday after the company unexpectedly released its third quarter earnings report in the middle of the day. Usually, Google waits until the market is closed before reporting its quarterly numbers. And if you think Google did this because they couldn't wait to get the good news out, better guess again.

For the third quarter, Google reported lower earnings of $2.18 billion ($6.53 per share) vs. $2.73 billion ($8.33 per share) a year earlier for a 20.3% year-over-year decline. More importantly, the earnings fell short of Wall Streets expectations for adjusted net of $9.31 a share, instead reporting $9.03 of adjusted net earnings. On the positive side, revenues rose 18.6% to $11.53 billion, topping Wall Street estimates. The outlook for Q4 is for Google to report net of $10.52 a share, down from earlier estimates of $10.61. Wall Street sees Google reporting $37.37 a share in net earnings for 2015, down from earlier predications calling for $37.65.

Thursday's Action In Google

Google blamed the early release of its earnings on financial printer R.R. Donnelley who accidentally filled Google's 10-K early this morning with the SEC, without authorization. With the report containing the earnings for Q3, Google was forced to go public with the announcement.

During a conference call held by Google after the market closed, Google's Larry Page announced that the company is activating 1.3 million Android devices a day, the same figure announced late last month. There are 500 million Android devices in use. You can listen to the entire call by clicking on the video below.

Blackberry 10 Is Gonna Change Everything

RIM

  RIM is sending out invites to a specific group of Canadian politicians for a November 7th event at which the Canadian manufacturer will show off BlackBerry 10. Canada's elected officials have a long relationship with BlackBerry thanks to the encryption that gives users another layer of protection when sending messages. In fact, each Member of Parliament receives a 'Berry on their first day of service.

While RIM CEO Thorsten Heins has been pounding the table for BlackBerry 10, on the invitation RIM might have given away its feelings about the do or die operating system that the future of the company is riding on. "Join us for an exclusive cocktail reception and presentation of BlackBerry 10 and get a sneak peek of the next generation mobile platform that will change everything," (emphasis ours) RIM boasts on the invitation

RIM CEO Thorsten Heins

On November 7th, RIM will show the politicos a run through of BlackBerry 10 at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier. At the same time, the politicians will get to mingle with RIM executives. But it's not only Canada where politicians favor BlackBerry. U.S. president Barack Obama was known to favor the device during his first campaign, although his passion for the device has apparently cooled.

Meanwhile, as we've documented, a number of U.S.companies like Yahoo have jumped ship from BlackBerry to the Apple iPhone or Android. The latest is U.S. government adviser Booz Allen Hamilton, which on Friday said it was shuttering its BlackBerry server and allowing its employees to switch to the Apple iPhone or an Android device.

Attendees to the November 7th event will have a chance to win a BlackBerry 10 phone or a 4G LTE enabled BlackBerry PlayBook

iPhone 5 vs iPhone 4S - the Review

 With the launch of the new iPhone 5, many smartphone users, especially those who bought the iPhone 4S recently, have been left wondering whether it would be worth it to buy Apple’s latest device. To find out which of the two phones is better, we need to compare some of the similar features.

The iPhone 4S next to the larger iPhone 5

 For starters, the difference between the size of the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5 is minimal-a 1/2inch vertically and over 1 inch in depth. Apple’s newest addition, the iPhone 5, is longer, thinner and has a longer widescreen display (16:9) as compared to the iPhone 4S. 

360 degree view of the iPhone 5

 With regard to design, both of these devices look amazing. The iPhone 4/4S has one of the best designs on any phone so far though it is rather easy to break due to the glass panels placed at the front and back. The iPhone 5’s design has somewhat remedied this problem as it has an aluminum panel at the back. In addition, its appearance is much better than that of the iPhone 4S because the finer points of the device and its overall shape have been devised with accuracy giving it a more stunning look.

 The iPhone 5’s A6 ARM chip processor has the same design as that of the iPhone 4S though it has numerous modifications. These modifications make the phone’s processor better giving it an edge over the previous models. As for its camera, the iPhone 5 has disappointed many of its customers because the update on it is very slight. It still has the same lens speed and megapixel rating as that of the iPhone 4S. The only difference is the lens glass, which is important though not what was expected. And of course there is still the the issue of Purple Flares on the iPhone 5! However, here is a comparison that does show that there is some improvement from the previous model:

 Another disappointing feature on the iPhone 5 is the flash memory storage. The cost to install flash storage on the phone is still very expensive and it hasn’t changed much since the previous models, going as far back as the iPhone 3GS. Therefore, for those who require faster data speeds and are on the Verizon network, it would be advisable to purchase the new iPhone 5. For users on AT&T and Sprint, it is recommended that you stick to the iPhone 4S until the next iPhone launch as it is not that different from the iPhone 5 as far as most users are concerned and educated. 

 Of course, you can always let it all go to hell and get the GooPhone I5, the iPhone 5 clone for $300 in China! Hahaha!

Sites that Pay You To Blog (Final Part)

The list continues

• Helium

Earn a share of the advertising money earned here at Helium. If you write well, and write often, you earn even more recognition and reward.

• LoudLaunch

   If your blog and interests are aligned with an advertiser’s campaign then you can do your own research and write about them in exchange for pay—not in exchange for a pre-determined outcome but for a fair assessment.

• Squidoo

 Every lens carries Google AdSense ads. Those are used to generate royalties for the whole co-op (ie, everyone gets a cut). If you want to increase your direct royalties, though, you should consider adding commercial modules that the visitors to your lenses will appreciate.

• In Blog ads

 You’ve been writing about web sites, products, services and companies for years, now you you can also get paid for it. With our system, you get paid for each post request you fulfill.

• Wise Bread

 WiseBread.com is one of the top 5 personal finance blogs. We give our bloggers 100% of the advertising revenue they earn on their blog posts.