Samsung has now officially confirmed that a smaller version of the Galaxy S3 is on its way with a reveal tomorrow. Besides confirmation of a 4-inch display, we really don’t know much about the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini, though. That being said, we now have what is supposedly a leaked official image of the device from Mobile Geeks— they have the specs, too. Keep in mind that this is all just rumor and speculation for the moment.

As you can see, the S3 Mini looks just like its bigger brother, it is just a bit smaller. So what is under the hood (if rumors are true)? You can likely expect a 4-inch Super AMOLED 800 x 480 display, a STE U8420 dual-core processor running at 1GHz, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, microSD, a 5MP rear cam, a 1500mAh battery and the power of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

This basically means this isn’t a high-end device, but it is quite a distance away from being considering low end as well. For those coming from 4-inch smartphones like the iPhone, this could certainly be the perfect size. What do you think, would you consider the 4-inch Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini or are the specs not as good as you would like?

In clarifying the future of its virtual currency, Microsoft confirms that Microsoft Points will be used on Xbox 360 but not Windows 8.

It’s always surprising when a massive corporation decides to introduce consumer friendly policies. Obviously Sony wants people to buy more PS Vitas, but it’s still impressive that it’s just giving away Vita versions of games like Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time with PS3 versions that are going to be sold for $60 regardless. On Monday, it appeared that Microsoft would finally reconsider some of the more byzantine and vicious monetization policies in its entertainment business. It would still charge people to play together online through Xbox Live, but it would finally stop using Microsoft Points, its virtual currency, for downloadable purchases. The reasoning was sound: The Windows 8 platform would unify all Microsofts platforms—PC, Windows Phone, and the still unannounced Xbox 720—and digital shopping transparency would speed adoption of the platform.

Turns out that Microsoft won’t be engaging in any consumer friendly activity after all, as the company confirmed on Wednesday that it was not just keeping Microsoft Points, it would further confuse its audience by using real money prices on other platforms.

“Microsoft Points continue to be the currency for purchasing content for the Xbox 360 console,” a Microsoft spokesman told The Verge. When it releases on Oct. 26, though, Windows 8 will let users purchase goods, even through Xbox Live, using local currency or Microsoft points. “Current Xbox Live customers may also make a purchase using points.”

Any customers looking for parity between their Xbox Music and Xbox Video accounts between their Xbox 360 in the living room and, for example, a Windows 8 laptop taken on the road will be out of luck.

Microsoft’s confirmation that Microsoft Points are here to stay on the Xbox 360 does not mean that its policy won’t change when the next console arrives. The Xbox 720, sometimes called Durango, will run on the Windows 8 operating system according to Microsoft’s Brian Hall, so it’s reasonable to expect that by the time it releases in 2013/2014, Microsoft will finally stop charging consumers for virtual currency packs that leave them with credit they can’t spend.

The time for Microsoft to begin changing its policies is now though. If Windows 8 is going to be successful as a core for the company’s growing entertainment businesses, it needs parity across all platforms. Restricting options on the Xbox 360, and continuing to charge for services like online play as part of Xbox Gold, is only going to alienate consumers increasingly accustomed to free play and real money pricing on platforms like iOS.

Groupon unveiled its latest play in assert the company as a commerce platform with the iPad-based point-of-sale system for merchants.

Groupon acquired iPad point-of-sale solution Breadcrumb just a few months ago and today the daily deals giant has accordingly unveiled its own POS system for local businesses to use on the iPad. While Groupon has offered a Square-like card reader to its clients, the new service is a fully-featured cash register replacement. Given Groupon’s recent launch of its payment system, Groupon Payments, the physical POS system is a natural next step. 

With Groupon Payments, Groupon hopes to reassure shareholders that have been disappointment by the company’s performance since its initial IPO price at $20 per share tanked and settled into single digits. At the moment, based on Yahoo Finance, Groupon’s stock is priced at $5.31. Still, that number is up since September, when it was at its lowest at $4.15 per share.

According to Groupon’s blog post, Breadcrumb’s General Manager Seth Harris explains that the company will be purposed with the hospitality industry in mind. “We started Breadcrumb to provide the hospitality industry with the best POS experience it has ever had,” says Harris. Breadcrumb is a fairly robust point-of-sale system: Servers can search for menu items and rearrange tables within the iPad-based software, take and place orders, split checks, process payments, and access analytics to track sales and performance.

Breadcrumb for Groupon will run strictly on iPads for a recurring monthly rental fee of $99, and this cost includes 24/7 support from Groupon’s hospitality focused customer service representatives. Breadcrumb will likely have multiple payment plans depending on the number of terminals that a business is interested in renting. All plans include the iPad compatible Breadcrumb software for rent, unlimited users, and free updates. But for $399 per month, merchants can use Breadcrumb on as many as 10 iPads, according to Breadcrumb’s site. Although, for that cost, the hardware (iPads, printers, and cash drawers) isn’t included.

Groupon Payments will likely serve as the payment system running on top of Breadcrumb’s platform. We’ve reached out to Groupon to clarify this.

When we last talked to Groupon, we learned exclusively that the company is working on developing a brick-and-mortar point-of-sale terminal for local mom-and-pop type shops, which should be introduced within the next month. According to a Groupon rep, not all small retail owners are tech savvy and interested in evolving into iPad POS services. 

With Groupon’s stock price slowly climbing, the company may have found a way to crawl out of the daily deals black hole.

To the surprise of no one, things take yet another turn for the worse in Telltale's latest episode of The Walking Dead.

Assuming you’ve read our reviews of the past three episodes of Telltale’s adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead, you’re aware that we’re big fans of this game. Episode 1 was a wonderful surprise, Episode 2 was even better, and Episode 3 somehow topped both of its predecessors, both from a storytelling perspective and in the gameplay options it offers players. Fans of the original comic book series should be delighted by how excellent and source-accurate this game has been so far, but to be honest with you, I’m running out of ways to praise The Walking Dead. The newly released Episode 4, dubbed “Around Every Corner,” does nothing to change that; Like Episode 2 and 3 before it, Episode 4 is the finest entry in the series to date.

While the story of Lee and Clem’s survival amidst the zombie apocalypse in the American Southeast remains the key focus here, there is one big difference that sets Episode 4 apart from its forebears: This episode was written by Gary Whitta. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Whitta spent years as the Editor In Chief of PC Gamer magazine before leaving to write scripts for Hollywood. To date his biggest film has been 2010′s The Book Of Eli, a dystopian action flick starring Denzel Washington. While Whitta has been involved in Telltale’s The Walking Dead since the beginning, his role has largely been that of a supervisory position over the game’s writing team. In the case of Episode 4 however, Whitta has been tapped to write the episode himself.

This is probably where you’d expect me to detail all the new, interesting elements that Whitta brings to the story, but honestly that’s not at all the case. Given Whitta’s previous involvement with the series, it makes sense that he would want to seamlessly blend his episode with those that came before it, and in that regard he was very successful. If anything, Whitta’s writing gives players more of the same — excellent characterization, a bleak atmosphere and poignant moments that are genuinely emotionally resonant — and while I generally thrive on novelty, “more of the same” is exactly what I wanted to see from this episode.

Of course, that’s not to say that Episode 4 doesn’t bring anything new to the table. If you’ve played through the past three episodes of The Walking Dead, you’re well aware that over time the story in the game, regardless of your decisions, has grown increasingly dark. Death has been a constant companion on this journey since day one, but by the end of Episode 3 most players were likely wondering how many more characters they could stand to see snuffed out before bursting into tears or heading down to the local pub for a stiff drink. Assuming you enjoyed all of that morbidity, I’ve got great news: The ongoing trend of making each episode darker than the last continues in Episode 4. I refuse to drop spoilers for this game, but let’s just say that no one is safe in Telltale’s version of The Walking Dead. 

Well, actually, scratch that. I will disclose one minor spoiler. That’s about to happen, so those of you who want to go into Episode 4 totally fresh might want to skip to the next paragraph. Alright, now that they’re gone I can point out one excellent early-game example of the tone of this episode: A few minutes into the game your group is trapped in the backyard of a huge house. You’re trying to get inside but the doors and windows are firmly boarded up. You discover a shovel, but this doesn’t seem to help your situation until you discover that the pet door can be unlocked by a chip in the family dog’s collar, and then notice that there happens to be a freshly dug grave next to a nearby doghouse. Being the problem solver that he is, Lee opts to dig up the dog’s corpse, and once the thing is unearthed it’s just disgusting. Imagine those dogs from Resident Evil, except without any skin at all (yet a horrible, biologically-improbable case of mange). As if that wasn’t enough, while trying to get at the dog’s collar the thing’s head falls off.

That moment I just outlined serves as a succinct description of Episode 4 as a whole. This episode is gorier than its predecessors, darker than its predecessors, yet at the same time it amplifies the humor that first became apparent in Episode 3. Granted, it’s dark humor, but it still provides a nice contrast for a game that is otherwise eternally focused on morbidity and our characters’ lonely struggle.

Mechanically speaking, Episode 4 tops its predecessors as well. Instead of recycling concepts for the various action-focused segments, Episode 4 offers completely new ones. I can’t objectively say that these new mini-games are better than what we’ve seen in past episodes, but I can say that they seem more numerous in Episode 4. If nothing else, this kind of novelty signals that the developers aren’t resting on their laurels, and want to make each episode a unique experience, despite the overarching storyline.

Conclusion

I’d like to echo a sentiment that I first described in my review of The Walking Dead: Episode 3: After witnessing the events of Episode 4, I’m genuinely concerned that the only way for Telltale to continue topping itself is for the game’s protagonists to meet a horribly bleak, depressing end. Mass suicide? Being torn apart by the undead? Starvation in a dank basement? Whatever the end result, I don’t see a rosy future for these characters.

Why is this a part of my conclusion? Because it’s the highest praise I can pay this game. Though I predict horrors for everyone involved in this virtual situation, it absolutely kills me to think about it. Over the course of these episodes I’ve grown intensely fond of these characters, and feel real, legitimate anger and sadness whenever one of them dies. Given the adventure game genre’s reliance on quality storytelling, it should be seen as a massive compliment that Telltale is able to create this level of emotional attachment between a real person and one comprised of pixels. 

Now let’s just pray that Episode 5 arrives as soon as possible. Grisly as it might be, I can’t wait to see how this story ends.

(This game was reviewed using an Xbox Live Arcade copy provided by Telltale Games.)