Halo 4 will be released worldwide on November 6, 2012, Microsoft and 343 Industries have announced. The November date is a departure from the franchise’s typical September debut, which is now likely to place the game in direct competition with fellow FPS giants Call of Duty and Medal of Honor.

Set four years after the events in Halo 3, Master Chief returns to confront his destiny and face an ancient evil that threatens the fate of the entire universe. The game marks a new beginning for the franchise under the development of 343 Industries.

“We are beginning a new saga with Halo 4 and embarking on a journey that will encompass the next decade of Halo games and experiences,” said Phil Spencer, corporate vice president of Microsoft Studios. “Millions of fans worldwide have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to step back into the boots of Master Chief, and with Halo 4 leading the charge, we’re confident 2012 will be the most successful year in Xbox history.”

Source: VideoGamer

LG has officially announced the launch of its Optimus VU smartphone. The 5 inch display bearing Android smartphone is a direct competition to Samsung Galaxy Note and Acer Iconia Smart. The LG Optimus VU comes in a 4:3 aspect ratio as against the 16:9 aspect ratio featured on most smartphones nowadays. The different aspect ratio, as per the company, helps better handling of the device besides improving its usability.

Just about a couple of days back the company had released a teaser video of the device showcasing its design and characteristics. Notably, LG has announced the device just before the Mobile World congress during which it is expected to be unveiled. The pricing and the international availability details will also be announced during the event. But in the press note LG has mentioned that the Optimus VU will make its debut in the Korean market first, which is scheduled for early next month.

The LG Optimus VU will come preinstalled with Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread operating system, but an Android Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade has been promised for the device already. Optimus VU will likely to get the Android 4.0 update three months after the launch of the device.

The smartphone has 1024 x 768 pixel resolution based 5 inch screen that boasts of 650 nits of brightness and an 8 megapixel camera along with features like Android Beam (NFC for Android), WiFi Direct for faster file transfer, Bluetooth 3.0 and a frontal 1.3 megapixel camera as well.

Along with this, the LG Optimus VU features a dual core 1.5 GHz processor and a faster graphic engine. For storage the device has 32 GB of onboard storage and a 2080 mAh battery pack to power it up.

With features such as a built-in GPS system, compass, altimeter and barometer, the TS4 remains the company’s top model. Even for non-outdoorsy types who may just be clumsy, or looking for gadgets as tough as they are, it’s waterproof to about 40 feet, shockproof from a fall of about a 6.6 feet, freezeproof to temperatures as low as 14 degrees Fahrenheit, and dustproof as well.

As a camera, it has chops too, with a Leica 4.6x optical zoom lens, a 12.1-megapixel Hi-Speed CCD sensor and the advanced image processing LSI Venus Engine.

This engine powers high-speed burst shooting and super-fast auto focus to help you capture all the action, and gives images the added bonus of reducing noise on photos and videos. For the first time in the Lumix TS-series, the TS4 gives adventurous photographers manual control of their devices for adjusting shutter speed and aperture.

The TS4 builds on the GPS data of its predecessor to include more than a million landmarks and 82 countries/regions, which are in the maps available on the bundled DVD. For those on the journey of their lives — or who believe it’s the journey, not the destination that counts — geo-tagging allows for a virtual map to exist of where they’ve been, all saved in the EXIF data.

And as (or when) you’re reaching all those places that most mere mortals can only imagine, you can document the moments with full 1080p HD video. Come mid-March, the TS4 will be available in orange, blue, black and silver for around $400. (If you want to save a little money, you might want to look for the older TS3 to start dropping in price, as it gets phased out for the TS4.)

For those who don’t need all that, the entry-level TS20 should provide ample resources. Besides also being waterproof (but only to 16 feet), shockproof (from a height of about 5 feet) and dustproof, the 16.1-megapixel compact camera has a 25mm ultra-wide-angle lens and a 4x optical zoom that extends to 8x.

The TS20 shoots 720p HD video, and has a 4x optical zoom lens. It can also switch between taking still photos and videos, which can be uploaded directly to YouTube when the included software is installed. Like the TS4, it also has 2.7-inch LCD screen, but there’s no GPS, barometer or altimeter.

With both models, you can show the world those images in creative ways, too, with the time-lapse feature. Set the start time, interval and the number of photos to shoot, and then the camera automatically records the images based on those settings. Leave it alone and you’ll see those cool NatGeo-type images of clouds across the horizon, flowers blooming, meerkats at play, etc. In “Miniature Effect” mode, photos are given the diorama treatment. And of course, for those breathtaking summits, panorama shots reward the achievement with 360-degree of horizontal or vertical images, taken by snapping consecutive shots and overlaying the photos.

You don’t have to ascend Everest to grab this camera — it’ll probably come in just as handy for that stroll around the lake or anywhere you might run into the elements.

The TS20 will be here in late-February, in orange, blue, black and red models for about $180.

Panasonic has also expanded its ZS-series of digital cameras with the Lumix ZS20, which purports to be “the world’s slimmest digital camera” with a 20x optical zoom lens. It takes stills up to 14.1 megapixels, with manual controls, and can also record full 1080p HD videos. Though it’s not rugged like the TS4, it also has built-in GPS. It’s got a 3-inch touch screen and intelligent auto mode for minimal-thinking, maximum point-and-shoot potential. It’ll be available in March for about $350, in black, red, white and silver.

Source: GADGETBOX @ msnbc

One of the companies putting down that kind of cash this year is Samsung, in their first ever Super Bowl ad. In posts on the company’s Twitter page, Samsung states they will use their Super Bowl commercial time to “launch a device so revolutionary only an ad in America’s biggest game can do it justice.”

The Twitter page hints that the device is in fact the Galaxy Note, the massive 5.3 inch Android smartphone that will launch on AT&T on February 19 for $299.99. Samsung says the ad will appear sometime in the game’s fourth quarter and will be “one of the longest in the game.” That means Samsung could be spending over $4 million for a 60 second spot or over $6 million for 90 seconds.

The commercial will be directed by Bobby Farrelly, one half of the Farrelly Brothers team that have given us such comedy hits as Dumb and Dumber and There’s Something About Mary. This will be his first ever TV commercial spot.

Source: Neowin

Source: Engadget

Accessories
Thermaltake Meka G Unit @ LanOC Reviews

Cases
Corsair Carbide 500R @ TechReaction
SilverStone SST-GD06B HTPC Media Center Case @ Benchmark Reviews

Cooling
Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 CPU Cooler @ Hi Tech Legion

Motherboards
ASUS P9X79 WS @ Benchmark Reviews
ECS X79R-AX Black Series @ Legit Reviews

Storage
OCZ Synapse Cache 64GB @ Bjorn3D

Video
Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB @ Tweaktown
Galaxy GeForce GT 520 MDT @ Overclockers Club

Source: Engadget

The story further claims that 10,000 wafers of the processor are being made, with the conclusion that these chips are being created for installation in official Xbox Next/720 game developers kits. It claims that the production of these chips actually started at the end of 2011 and that the first chips will be ready to go sometime in late February. The article speculates that development kits with these chips could be ready to be sent to game developer studios in March 2012.

The article also speculates, and many other people agree, that Microsoft will once again have a PowerPC-based CPU for the next Xbox processor, just as the Xbox 360 has one based on PowerPC’s design. Xbox Next/720 might also have a Radeon-based graphics chip from AMD.

Again, this is all rumor and Microsoft is likely not to confirm anything about the next version of the Xbox until E3 2012 in June at the earliest.