Category: News

Say hello to Salma Hayek Pinault. In a revealing chat with the June issue of In Style Magazine, the Mexican-born actress and former Ugly Betty producer reveals that she has adopted the surname of her husband, French businessman Francios-Henri Pinault.

Salma, 43, says it was the couple’s 3-year-old daughter, Valentina, who inspired her to embrace the change.

“It was Valentina’s request. I didn’t think about it until she brought it up,” Salma told the mag. “We were shooting a film and she saw my chair with my name on it. She said, ‘What does it say there?’ And I said, ‘Salma Hayek.’ And she said, ‘What about Pinault? Why not Pinault?’ Because here people say ‘Madame Pinault.’ I said to myself, ‘This is who I am now. I’m starting a whole new life. I’ve never been happier. Why shouldn’t I share it with the people who have been supporting me my whole career, who have been with me since the beginning?’”

by Ashley Braun

pie4dan via Flickr Creative Commons

When the truth hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s a-mor-e.

When the pizza was cooked on an old coffin’s roof, that’s … a-pall-ing.

Even if you’ve gone to heaven, you still might be burning after you’re gone … that is, if you were buried in Naples, Italy. As it turns out, the birthplace of pizza may be stoking its wood-fired ovens with wood from, er, used caskets. “A gang might have set up a market for coffins sold to hard-hearted owners of bakeries and pizzerias looking to save money on wood,” Italian daily newspaper Il Giornale reported.

Hey, at least they’re reusing!

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Mayor of London and Top Gear slowpoke Boris Johnson is trying to make London one of the most wired cities, just in time for the Olympics. During a recent conference, Johnson announced a plan to install wifi hotspots in “every lampost and bus stop.”

The project, called “Wireless London” is part of Johnson’s attempt to make London the technological center of the world. It makes sense to do this, particularly with the 2012 Olympics coming and giving London a chance to really show off how progressive they are. Currently, there’s no word on how fast the connection will be, or how much it will cost to use. It is an idea who’s time has come, and I hope that there are more cities that run with the same idea.

[via PC World]

Television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz doesn’t claim to be a “supermarket guru” when he slams high fructose corn syrup, but he does have an M.D. That’s why it’s concerning when he puts out a column advising his fans to avoid products with high fructose corn syrup. He raises a scarecrow and warns that high fructose corn syrup could be linked to “metabolic syndrome,” while failing to mention that the study that he appears to be referencing didn’t even look at high fructose corn syrup! Published in March, the researchers gave excessively high (i.e. unrealistic) doses of pure fructose to subjects and monitored the results. This is a common misconception, but a doctor should know better. Pure fructose is just what you think—100 percent fructose. No one eats or drinks pure fructose, let alone in the quantities given in the study. High fructose corn syrup, on the other hand, is roughly half fructose and half glucose—just like table sugar. 

Dr. Oz. cleverly brushes off the wealth of research and nutritionists saying that high fructose corn syrup is nutritionally the same as refined (table) sugar. It looks like we’re not in reality anymore, Toto.

Dr. Oz’s obesity “advice” (read: scaremongering) completely misses the forest for the trees (or the road for bricks, if you will). Demonizing one ingredient isn’t going to make anybody healthier.

The American Dietetic Association—you know, the real nutrition experts—rejects the overly simplistic “good” food/“bad” food approach to diets. The ADA writes: “[T]he total diet or overall pattern of food eaten is the most important focus of a healthful eating style. All foods can fit within this pattern, if consumed in moderation with appropriate portion size and combined with regular physical activity.”

Filed under: Classics, Convertible, Performance, Auctions, Celebrities, Luxury

We have a confession to make. We’ve been smitten with this car since first stumbling across it on Fantasy Junction earlier this year. The 1953 Siata 208S you see above is one of 35 ever created, and this particular example has an unmatched ownership pedigree. Its first owner was none other than Cool himself, Steve McQueen. If that’s not enough to send your eyebrows to your hairline, have a listen to the little roadsters specs. Under the hood you’ll find a Fiat 2.3-liter V8 that has been reworked to produce around 137 horsepower at the rear wheels. There’s no word on how much the thing weighs, but we’re guessing the figure is somewhere between packing peanuts and meringue. Pure. Driving. Joy.

The Siata was restored over eight years from 1991 to 1999, and the then-owner even went so far as to get FIA papers in order to participate in the Mille Miglia. As far as we can tell, the car never participated in the competition.

Now, here’s the real kicker. The gorgeous little roadster is up for bid on eBay as you read this, complete with the cool Buy it Now price of $1.3 million. We can already hear the comments balking at the price tag, so let us put it you like this: Sure, you could buy a Bugatti Veyron for that price, but where’s the class? Where’s the style? If we had the cash, we’d have the Italian in a heartbeat, and we’d drive the doors off of it in honor of the man who knew life was for the living.

[Source: eBay Motors]

eBay Find of the Day: Ex-McQueen 1958 Siata 208S is gorgeous originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 18 May 2010 18:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tea Party-supported candidate Rand Paul has captured the Republican nomination for the Kentucky Senate race, while state Attorney General Jack Conway (D) currently leads in his party’s primary.

The Associated Press called the race for Paul but has yet to make a projection in the Democratic race. As of 8:41 p.m., Paul led state Secretary of State Trey Grayson 59-36 percent, while Conway led Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo 47-41 percent.

Conway’s lead represents a significant change from recent polls, which all showed Mongiardo leading. The most recent poll, from Daily Kos/Research 2000, showed Mongiardo leading 39-36. It should be noted that this result did show momentum on Conway’s side, as Mongiardo had previously led 47-31. All recent polls of the Republican primary showed Paul with a significant lead over Grayson.

While the Republican primary result is clear, there is still drama playing out between the Paul and Grayson campaigns. Grayson has accused Paul’s people of conducting a voter intimidation drive at polling places, citing a Paul campaign document that directs his supporters to witness the vote tallying and make get out the vote calls. At least one arrest has occurred in connection with vote buying, as Hazard City police nabbed a local businessman accused of buying a vote for $20. The state’s election fraud hot line had received 106 calls as of 5 p.m., which included charges of vote buying and selling, many of which involved the GOP primary.

Paul’s campaign manager, David Adams, told The Lexington Herald-Leader the charges were “ridiculous” and that the problems were “much ado about nothing.”

On the House side, there is no drama whatsoever – all six incumbents went uncontested for re-nomination, as did the challengers in three districts. Air Force veteran Todd Lally (R) will challenge Rep. John Yarmuth (D), while attorney Andy Barr (R) will take on Rep. Ben Chandler (D). EMS pilot Jim Holbert (D) led by 6 points in his race to challenge Rep. Hal Rogers (R).

Updated at 8:41 p.m. on May 18.

A Utah teenager who was arrested after rapping his order at a McDonald’s drive-through was found not guilty of disorderly conduct,after a judge ruled that his behavior was not threatening and didn’t create any unreasonable noise. The judge didn’t rule on the skills of the teen, who was attempting to imitate the YouTube classic “Fast Food Freestyle” (aka “The McDonald’s Drive Thru Rap”).

The teen, Spencer Dewaulder, attempted to place his order for (of course) a “double cheeseburger and hold the lettuce” and was told to order normally or leave.

During the ponderous two-hour trial Tuesday, attorneys presented evidence including surveillance footage at the restaurant, cell phone recordings of the rap, testimony from the officer who cited them and from McDonald’s employees.

The restaurant manager told police that as the teens drove away that night, Dewaulder yelled at her, “I hate this (expletive) McDonald’s anyway.” Prosecutors said he “acted in an angry, threatening, tumultuous manner” and sped recklessly out of the parking lot.

Dewaulder denied using profanity. Defense attorney Ann Boyle said singing an order, whether profanity was used or not, is speech that is protected by both federal and Utah constitutions.

Now that the legal right to sing one’s order has been affirmed, we look forward to hearing voices break out in song at retailers far and wide. We’re already working on our own version of the Picard Song, though we have no idea where we might actually be able to use it.

Rapping order at American Fork McDonald’s not a crime, judge rules [Deseret News]

by Kristin Eberhard

Some commentators have mistakenly concluded that if Sens. John Kerry and Joe Lieberman’s American Power Act passes, it will make California’s Global Warming Solution Act (AB 32) moot. This is wrong. The American Power Act preserves nearly all of California’s clean energy and carbon reduction policy tools. It would take away only one tool: the authority for a state—or regional—level cap-and-trade program. Although cap-and-trade is one important tool, the fact is that 80 percent of the carbon pollution reductions required by AB 32 are expected to result from other clean energy and carbon control polices implemented under that law. Whether or not the American Power Act is enacted this year, California can and should move full speed ahead with those measures.

The American Power Act allows and encourages California­ to move ahead with clean energy and global warming pollution reduction strategies.

California has long been a leader on environmental policies, including promoting cleaner energy and cleaner cars. In more recent years, California’s clean energy and global warming pollution reduction policies have made the state a mecca for investments in clean technologies that will power our future. The American Power Act recognizes California’s leadership, and it respects and protects our state’s ability to:

Set its own carbon standards for vehicles, as well as other states’ option to adopt California’s standards (sec. 4141).
Establish carbon pollution limits, clean energy, and energy efficiency programs for other sources that are more stringent than federal requirements; and,
Establish overall statewide limits on global warming pollution, such as the targets in California’s AB 32.

The American Power Act preserves all of California’s carbon-curbing clean energy tools except cap-and-trade.

While the Kerry-Lieberman bill would protect most state powers to advance clean energy and curb global warming pollution, it singles out for permanent preemption one particular state authority. States would be prohibited from running cap-and-trade programs once the federal program to curb carbon pollution gets off the ground (sec. 2501, adding Clean Air Act sec. 806).

The effect of this provision on California, however, will be limited. As already noted, 80 percent of the carbon reductions expected under California’s Global Warming Solutions Act are coming from other clean energy and carbon reduction policies. Moreover, the American Power Act would provide California and other states that already have cap-and-trade programs with revenue from the federal allowance auction in place of revenue they would have raised by auctioning allowances at the state level.

Creating a national pollution limit is important so long as the national program is working well and achieving our national pollution reduction and clean technology goals. NRDC believes, however, that California and other states should retain the authority to limit carbon pollution by any cost-effective means, including cap-and-trade, if at any time the federal program and fails to achieve its goals.

The American Power Act builds on California’s leadership.

Using allowance value for the public good

While California has yet to finalize its rules statewide cap-and-trade rules, the consensus borne of three years of public dialogue among key stakeholders is that revenue from a cap-and-trade program can and should be used to help us transition towards a clean energy economy. This help can take the form of investing in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and research, development and deployment of new clean technologies, or providing refunds or rebates directly to consumers. Following California’s lead, the American Power Act recognizes this opportunity and provides for auction revenue—which will grow over time—to be invested in energy efficiency and in consumers.

Emission Performance Standard for coal plants

In 2006, California enacted legislation preventing new long-term investments in power plants that don’t meet a global warming pollution performance standard. This law sent a market signal to power developers in the West that dirty energy sources are not good long-term investments. The American Power Act picks up on this idea and establishes global warming pollution emission performance standards for new coal-fired electric power plants. It is not as aggressive as California’s but sends a signal to the national market that we need to move away from dirty energy and invest in clean energy sources.

The American Power Act unnecessarily threatens California’s coastline and marine life at risk.

For all the good it will do to curb global warming, the Kerry-Lieberman bill unwisely encourages new offshore drilling in previously protected areas. It does this by enticing east coast states with 37.5 percent of federal offshore oil and gas revenues, with absolutely no strings attached to the use of this money.

The American Power Act does give states the option to veto offshore leasing within 75 miles of their coasts (sec. 1204). However, states would face an uphill battle to achieve the veto: each state must pass a bill, and then the governor must petition the federal government, then the Interior Department must review and accept the petition, then the five-year leasing program must be revised. Meanwhile, leasing, seismic exploration, drilling, production and pipeline activities could go forward while states are jumping through hoops to get the veto. My colleague Regan Nelson has written in more detail on the offshore oil provisions.

Luckily, California is on the ball. Congressman John Garamendi sponsored the California West Coast Ocean Protection Act of 2010, a bill with 28 co-sponsors, which will stop all new offshore oil leases in federal waters on the West Coast. The bill has identical companion legislation in the Senate, sponsored by all six West Coast Senators, including California Senators Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein. Governor Schwarzenegger recently announced his opposition to new drilling off California’s coast despite the lure of as much as $100 million for the state’s coffers. However, we cannot be sure that the legislature will be able to act quickly enough nor that future governors will put the welfare of the state’s coastline and marine resources ahead of crass financial considerations. We are disappointed to see the bill encourage governors to trade off their states’ economic and environmental well-being with an activity that is so dangerous and deadly for our coasts, marine life, and fishing industry.

California continues to set the pace.

The bill as introduced by Sens. Kerry and Lieberman has several important implications for our ongoing work to build a clean energy economy here in California. We don’t have time to waste and we are working hard for Congress to act this year on comprehensive climate legislation, but California can and should move forward, regardless, with clean energy and global warming pollution reduction strategies and implementation of AB 32.

California has been and should continue to be a leader in putting clean cars on the roads, in giving Californians the option to pursue the cleanest forms of transportation and powering our homes and businesses with clean energy.

Related Links:

Battle of the Carbon Titans

A new oil rush endangers the Gulf of Mexico and the planet

10 ways MMS makes FEMA look good

by Jonathan Hiskes

David Brooks writes about the ‘60s and ‘70s crime wave that scared a generation of Americans—or a
generation of white, mobile Americans—away from urban living:

[P]eople in all classes lived in fear. “Mugging was nothing
unusual. Everybody got mugged,” [John] Podhoretz writes. A serial killer nicknamed
Charlie Chop-Off menaced the Upper West Side, emasculating little boys and then
killing them, and such was the general disorder that his crimes were barely
mentioned in the city’s newspapers.

Many of the people living in cities during that era moved to the suburbs and bought cars (or second cars). Crime has since dropped
off, but the psychological understanding of cities as hotbeds of crime and
decay remains among Baby Boomers.

For those who see
cities as key testing grounds for sustainable living, the good news is that today’s
young adults don’t share the same fear. A recent Brookings study found young whites moving into urban centers in record numbers. Harvard Business Review recently advised
businesses to consider moving into cities if they want to attract bright young
workers of any race.

The challenge is that Boomers still fill the ranks of policymakers and power brokers, and during their formative years, American cities were floundering. How do we make Congress—where the median age is 58—able to see the potential gains of reinvesting in cities?

 

Related Links:

U.S. bans more Gulf fishing as oil fears grow for Florida

10 ways MMS makes FEMA look good

Big Green and little green clash over the American Power Act

Might We Suggest…

• Will Google Go After Flash Developers Next?
  We’ve learned over the last few days that Google is proactively seeking Apple developers, attempting to woo them with free phones.  Not a bad strategy if you can afford to toss a few hundred bucks at …

Canadian heartthrob Justin Bieber is being honored among some of music’s most prominent Black performers. On Tuesday, the baby-faced teen idol nabbed a Best New Artist nomination for next month’s BET Awards in Los Angeles.

The annual awards show, sponsored by Black Entertainment Television, typically honors the accomplishments of entertainers of color, but officials describe Bieber — a former YouTube sensation discovered by “Confessions” star Usher — as a crossover artist with talent that transcends color lines. His latest album, My World 2.0, debuted at No.1 on the Billboard charts in March.

“Bieber has crossed the color boundaries the same way that hip-hop has crossed the boundaries the other way for a number of years,” says Stephen Hill, BET’s President of Music Programing and Specials. “He’s had rhythm in his music. He makes the type of music our audience likes.”

The 2010 BET Awards, hosted by Queen Latifah, airs live from The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on June 27.

Jim Cramer is a gold bull!

During his STOP TRADING segment, he told Amanda Drury he likes gold bullion, the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and miner Eldorado Gold (EGO).

And on the news of the day — Germany’s attack on speculators — he said: “They think there’s a Lehman out there… A Lehman II, as some guys are calling it.”

Join the conversation about this story »

How’s this for a crazy astral event: an absolutely gigantic star about 90 times the size of our sun has been shot out of its birthplace and is currently rocketing across space at 250,000 miles per hour. Hot damn! More »

by Agence France-Presse

Photo courtesy 12fh via FlickrNEW ORLEANS—The United States Tuesday closed off a
large chunk of the Gulf of Mexico to fishing, while fears grew that a giant oil
slick could be swept to Florida’s beaches and coral reefs.

The cautionary closure,
totaling 45,728 square miles—around 19 percent of the Gulf’s federal waters—was announced as politicians in Washington raged over the apparent lax
enforcement of safety standards and grilled government officials over what went
wrong.

The chief of the
U.S. agency monitoring the spill warned that the “unprecedented and
dynamic” slick was on course to sweep along the region’s coastline.

“The
proximity of the southeast tendril of oil to the loop current indicates that
oil is increasingly likely to become entrained in the loop current if it is not
already,” Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, told a press conference. “When that occurs, oil could
reach the Florida Strait in eight to 10 days,” she said.

Experts are
analyzing at least 20 tar stains found on several beaches on Florida’s southern
Keys to determine if they were from the spill.

Sen. Bill Nelson
(D-Fla.), meanwhile, speaking before a congressional hearing on the disaster,
described the prospect of oil hitting his state of Florida and heading up the
U.S. eastern seaboard as his “worst nightmare.”

The bleak
warnings obscured BP’s positive reports Tuesday of progress in its month-long
effort to contain the leak: a tube inserted into a gushing oil pipe is now
sucking up about 40 percent of the crude, twice as much as a day earlier. The
company said its “riser insertion tube tool” is carrying about 2,000
barrels a day of oil up to the Discoverer Enterprise drill ship on the surface
via a mile-long pipe.

BP reckons about
5,000 barrels, or 210,000 gallons, of crude is spewing each day from the
wreckage of the Deepwater Horizon rig, although analysis from independent
experts suggests the flow rate could be many times that.

In Washington,
the political firestorm was raging over accounts of lax enforcement of safety
standards and other regulation for offshore drilling, with Interior Secretary
Ken Salazar pledging to revamp his agency’s Minerals and Management Service with “more tools, more resources,
more independence.” In that effort, Salazar also said there was a
“need to clean up that house,” amid scathing criticism of the body.

Worries over the
ecological impact of the huge oil spill, and even the efforts to contain it,
are growing with worries focused on the Florida Keys.

With hugely
popular tourist beaches and fragile coral reefs around the southern tip of the
peninsula, the loop current has the potential to take the economic and
environmental impact of the spill to a whole new level.

“I think
the threat to South Florida is real and we should get ready,” said Igor
Kamenkovich, a scientist at the University of Miami. “It’s hard to predict
but … if it does happen, it is bad news for us.”

There are also
concerns that huge underwater plumes of crude could be starving the Gulf of oxygen, meaning the slick is having a
far greater impact on the marine environment than previously thought.

An expert from
the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies told AFP that deepwater
spills posed greater risks due to these plumes, which some experts have warned
may be linked to dispersants that
stop the oil from rising.

“Normally,
in a shallow spill, everything pretty much shoots up to the surface and the
impacts are primarily to surface organisms like turtles, dolphins, whales, and
birds,” explained Paul Montagna. However, “under this really cold, high-pressure environment, the
oil is getting dispersed through the water column.”

Louisiana’s
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries on Tuesday requested data from BP on the
use of dispersants, with agency chief Robert Barham complaining that
“little or no substantive data has been provided … concerning the
efficacy and risks associated with deep injection of dispersants.”

Salazar, in
testimony to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said he
expected BP to attempt a “dynamic kill” to further contain the oil
spewing from the well.

“The
expectation is that this Saturday or this Sunday the triggers will be pulled
for a dynamic kill of the well,” he said, explaining this would involve
injection of fluids and other materials to stem the flow.

Salazar said the
maligned MMS would be reconfigured in order to tighten regulation and promised
to work with the White House and lawmakers on broader reforms, based on input
from a national commission probing the spill to be named by President Barack Obama.

Congressional
hearings have revealed multiple warning signs that were overlooked before the
April 20 blast on the Deepwater Horizon rig that killed 11 people and touched off the catastrophe.

Related Links:

David Brooks to old folks: cities are better now

Obama’s ocean chief dismisses loop current threat: ‘Very little tarballs!’

A new oil rush endangers the Gulf of Mexico and the planet

There’s a bit of gnashing of teeth apparently going on over the HTC Droid Incredible and its capacitive screen. Chris Tabor — aka igl007 in just about every forum there is — has been screaming from the rooftops about the Incredible’s screen and how sometimes it won’t respond unless you’re holding it. And that’s a problem, for instance, when you’re using certain car docks, which is what started this whole thing.

Anyhoo, Chris did a series of tests, videoed them, and posted his results just about everywhere, and got some really good responses, some of which require an electrical engineering degree to understand. And it looks like some of you have this issue, and others don’t. And it bothers some of you way more than others.

Let’s face it: There’s not going to be a mass recall of the Incredible over in what all likelihood is some sort of technical characteristic of the screen, not unlike what we saw with the Nexus One. Our advice? First, don’t be playing with your phone while you’re driving, even if it is in a car holder. (And maybe try a different car dock.) And second: If you do have to make a call or something, just touch your thumb to the phone and poke at it with whatever finger feels the most natural.

The sky is not falling. But it might have darkened a little bit. If you’re still concerned about this, sound off in the comments or check out the thread here.

Filed under: Technology

Over two dozen school districts across the country have equipped school buses with AutoNet mobile WiFi routers allowing students to access the ‘Net on the go. The Autonet system is a basic wireless router like the ones that hundreds of millions of people use at home, but with an integrated EVDO cellular modem to keep connected on the go.

The same system has been offered as a dealer installed option by Chrysler for the last two years and General Motors recently announced that it would begin offering the units in some of its vehicles as well. The cost is relatively modest, with Chrysler charging about $500 for the unit and $30 per month for the wireless service.

Whether schools should be spending money on these types of services is debatable, but in rural districts like the Vail School District in Arizona, it could be a good way to distract students that have to ride the bus for two or more hours a day. Of course this is only helpful if the kids can actually afford a laptop or other internet-connected device.

[Source: National Public Radio]

25 School districts now offering Autonet Wifi on school buses originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 18 May 2010 18:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Relentless! The euro falls below $1.22 in evening trading. The wolfpack is clearly energized by Angela Merkel painting a big red target on Europe’s back.

Meanwhile, futures are already dipping in after-market action.

From FinViz:

Join the conversation about this story »

Beast of Eden: To a landscape loved by Steinbeck, in a silver star with wings.

Thomas Steinbeck is too quick for my note taking, so I put a tape recorder on him as well. The exclamations, the damning anecdotes, and the careening non sequiturs are firing off as if dispensed by the fuel injectors of the Mercedes SLS’s 563-hp V-8.

Keep Reading: 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG – Road Test

Related posts:

1. 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG – Preview
2. 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG – Second Drive
3. 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG – First Drive Review

What’s Good: Stunning AMOLED display, fast 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, 8 GB of built-in storage (finally), and 8.0-megapixel camera.

What’s Bad: Signal strength indicator is misleading; battery life is exceptionally poor.

Introduction

When the Nexus One came to market, critics were quick to point out the flaws in the device.  As a result, media circles have continually wondered when a revamped Android device would hit the market that fixed the problems on the Nexus One.  Despite a few issues, I’m here to tell you that the HTC DROID Incredible is just that device.  Complete with the same processor and 3.7-inch AMOLED display, the Incredible ups the ante with Sense UI, an 8.0-megapixel camera, and an optical trackpad.  Though it addresses most of the concerns that the Nexus One was plagued with, is it incredible enough to justify the name?

Design & Features

The HTC DROID Incredible ships with the battery, AC adapter, and USB cable (which doubles as the power cord).  Though it’s not included on the box, Verizon has been offering a 2 GB microSD card for free with purchase; as it stands, there’s no word on when the promotion ends.  Measuring in at 4.60 inches tall by 2.30 inches wide by 0.47 inch thick, and weighing 4.6 ounces, it’s small enough to stow in a bag, pocket, or cup holder.  The 3.7-inch AMOLED screen is is one of the most gorgeous displays I’ve ever seen on a cell phone.  Despite offering 65,536 colors, the display is crisp and vibrant.  As beautiful as it is, the downside comes when viewing it outdoors – it’s virtually impossible to see in direct sunlight.

The left side of the Incredible houses the volume rocker and microUSB charging port, while the power/lock button and 3.5mm headphone jack can be found on the top of the device.  The camera and speaker are both located on the back of the device, while the optical trackpad, home key, menu key, back button, and search button are located on the front, just under the display.  The camera has a red “ring” around it – when you remove the back cover, you’ll notice that the innards are painted red (including the battery).  It’s a neat little touch, and goes well with Verizon’s color scheme.  Though the plastic body isn’t poorly constructed by any means, I miss the metal body of the Nexus One, and have a feeling that those that have worked with both will as well.

Usability & Performance

The DROID Incredible ships with the same 1 GHz Snapdragon processor found in the Nexus One and HD2.  While I’ve been frustrated with lagginess in the mid-range Sense UI-equipped handsets (DROID Eris, Hero, etc.), the Incredible is incredibly snappy and smooth.  Throughout testing, I never experienced any lag, and I can’t help but think to myself “this is what Sense was meant to run on.”  What’s more, the scrolling issues that were present on the Nexus One’s screen are nonexistent on the Incredible.  Due primarily to how much space Sense UI takes up, the Incredible offers 8 GB of built-in storage, which is a welcome addition to Android handsets. 

With HTC’s Sense UI installed over Android 2.1, HTC solves one of the issues that I’ve always had with Android.  At its core, I still believe Android 2.1 is too “geeky” for mainstream adoption, particularly with webOS and iPhone OS on the market.  Like it or not, there’s a vast majority of the population that wants an operating system that’s simple and easy to use, and not something that’s highly customizable.  HTC’s Sense UI doesn’t solve every problem in this regard, but makes the overall Android experience much more user-friendly.

The Incredible offers an 8.0-megapixel camera, and in my testing, pictures came out crisp and full of color.  Editing options include the ability to modify brightness, contrast, saturation, sharpness, effects (grayscale, sepia, negative, solarize, posterize, aqua), white balance, ISO, resolution, and screen size (widescreen or standard).  Additionally, you can set a self-timer and geo-tag your photos using HTC’s Footprints application.

The DROID Incredible was tested in the Charlotte, Manhattan, Newark, and Orlando metropolitan areas, and call quality was very good across the board.  In many instances throughout testing, I had zero bars of service, but calls were crystal clear.  Callers had no problem hearing me, and call quality was clear on my end as well.  The earpiece on the Incredible is quite loud, making it easy to hear the other caller.  When testing the Incredible in a fringe area in Charlotte, I was able to hear the other caller, despite some occasional choppiness.  Speakerphone worked well, and I was able to pair my Bluetooth headset to the device without issue.

There’s a bit of a dispute over the signal strength indicator on the DROID Incredible.  Some have noticed that the device registers a lower “bar” count than other devices in the category (DROID, Devour, and the like).  I can confirm that the discrepancy exists, though I’ve experienced no dropped calls (even when the device shows no bars of service).  When I compare the dBm of the DROID Incredible to other devices, it’s nearly identical.  So when you pick up the DROID Incredible and notice that the signal strength is less than that of its peers, rest assured – it seems to be the indicator only.

The device supports 3G connectivity (EVDO Rev. A) on Verizon Wireless, and in testing, internet speeds were quite fast.  CNN’s mobile website loaded in five seconds, and the full PhoneDog homepage loaded in about 17 seconds.  Data-heavy tasks like Google Maps, Navigation, Peep, and YouTube worked flawlessly.

The Incredible sports a 1300mAh battery with a rated talk time of 5.2 hours with EVDO (3G) connectivity, and about 6 days of standby time.  There’s no doubt about it – the battery life on the DROID Incredible is a huge achilles heel.  With moderate use including calling, text messaging, browsing the internet, using apps, and use of the Android Market, I haven’t been able to make it through a single day in the three weeks I’ve been working with the unit.  I understand that widgets, background processes, and the like rapidly consume battery life, but the inability to get through a full day with moderate use is unacceptable.  Though task killing programs such as Advanced Task Killer have helped, I’m still unable to make it through a full work day.  During meetings in Manhattan last week in which I took the device off of the charger at around 8:00 AM, the Incredible would regularly power down just after 4:00 PM.  If you are a moderate user or someone who travels on a regular basis, be sure to pick up an extra battery and car charger, at the minimum.

Conclusion

This is the device that makes you sit back and think “this is everything that the Nexus One should have been.”  With a 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, 8.0-megapixel camera, 8 GB of built-in storage, and HTC’s (fantastic) Sense UI, it literally improves upon the Nexus One in every sense (no pun intended).  The phone is snappy, and applications open with fluidity and ease.  The only thing that’s not incredible about the Incredible is the battery life.  If you’re a moderate or heavy user, you’re going to need a second battery, car charger, and an additional AC adapter.