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The Nexus One, the Google Phone, is really here. And everything you need to know about it? Right here.

What Is It?

It’s the latest, maybe greatest, Android phone. Google calls it a “superphone” that’s an “exemplar” of what you can do with Android. It was designed by Google and HTC, who designed the G1 and the Ion.

How Much Does It Cost and Where/When Can I Buy It?

At Google’s new web store, where you can shop for Android phones and do live demos of them over the internets to see if you like it. You need a regular Google account and a Google Checkout one to actually buy the phone.

You can buy it today on T-Mobile for $180 with a new 2-year contract. Or you can buy it unlocked, without any service, for $530. Shipping’s free.

Also, from the official pricing FAQ, if you’re an existing T-Mobile customer, who’s adding a data plan, it’ll run you $279. If you’re upgrading a data plan, it’s $379.

The standard plan T-Mobile is offering for $80 a month includes 500 voice minutes, unlimited messaging (SMS and MMS) and unlimited internet.

UPDATE: Reader Ryan points out that if you buy an unlocked Nexus One, you should be able to sign up for a non-contract “Even More Plus” plan from T-Mobile. This offers the same 500 voice minutes, unlimited messaging and unlimited internet as the above contract plan, saving you about $150 in the 24 month long haul.

Oh, and you can get it custom engraved.

It’s Coming to Verizon in a Few Months

Verizon’s getting it in 2010, though we don’t know for how much yet. (Probably $200.)

The web store is launching today in the US, and will be shipping to test markets: UK, Singapore and Hong Kong. The Nexus One is just the first phone Google’s selling with this new model, with more phones, operators and countries coming in the future.

Will It Work on AT&T?

Yes, but you won’t get 3G, because it only supports the bands for T-Mobile’s 3G in the US: UMTS Band 1/4/8 (2100/AWS/900) and GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz).

What’s Inside?

A really fast 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, with a 3.7-inch, 480×800 AMOLED screen. The camera’s 5 megapixels with an LED flash—it also shoots MPEG-4 video with one-click YouTube upload, which should be quick over its wireless N Wi-Fi. The trackball’s got a multicolor LED for different notifications, and of course it’s got a compass, GPS, stereo Bluetooth, 3.5mm headphone jack, two mics for “active noise suppression,” light and proximity sensors, and an accelerometer onboard. It’s got a 1400mAH battery, from which they promise 5 hours of 3G browsing and 7 hours of 3G talk time. Oh, it’s skinnier than a #2 pencil.

And did we mention Android 2.1? And Flash 10.1?

What’s Android 2.1?

It’s basically a much sexier, more polished Android 2.0, which is on the Droid. We’ve got a visual guide to Android 2.1, but some highlights: You have things like five screens for homescreen panels and Live Wallpapers, which are basically backgrounds you can interact with. There’s a revamped 3D photogallery, which pulls visual tricks like having photos zoom out when you tap an album, and load on a 3D plane when you move the phone around. And, galleries are now background-synced to Picasa.

Voice is even huger: Every text field is voice enabled, so you basically never have to type anything. Voice might turn out to be the biggest thing in Android 2.1, actually. Well, besides the fact you’ll soon be able to install apps to the SD card, at last freeing Android of the internal ROM app limit.

There’s also a new 3D framework that lets it do those fancy things like those interactive backgrounds, a new whizbang 3D photogallery app, and a refreshed, zoomier app launcher. And, we’d guess, better graphics in games. Explains a lot of the zippier, lag-free performance we noticed in our hands on, too.

Is There Multitouch in Google Apps, Since There’s No Keyboard?

No.

What’s It Like?

Like this: “If you want Android phones, this is the one to get.”

Making a delicious vegan tofu pasta salad is so simple. Start with any pasta.  I prefer whole wheat in a curly cue shape, but you can make this dish with pretty much any pasta noodles you like.

1. Boil the pasta following the instruction on the package.  Be sure to use enough water and stir the pasta occasionally as it boils.

2. When the pasta has boiled for long enough, strain out the water with a colander in the sink.

3. Now put the strained pasta in a big bowl, toss in extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper.  You can add more to the dressing, such as red wine or balsamic vinegar.

4. Refrigerate the pasta.  When it is cool toss in some of the great ingredients listed below for a nutritious dish.

Baked tofu.  Cut the tofu into small cubes.  Baked tofu comes in a wide varitey of brands and flavors.  I don’t think I have ever tried one that I didn’t like.  My current favorite is the Teriyaki baked tofu form the San Diego Soy Dairy.  Tofu is excellent for adding protein to this salad.

Tomatoes.  This really only works with cherry tomatoes, as regular tomatoes fall apart when you cut them up and mix them in.

Broccoli.  Little florets add a lot of vitamins and flavor to the salad.  A bit tough to pick out, and some don’t like this, so keep on the side if you might serve this to those who don’t appreciate broccoli.

Parsley.  Dice up a little and add it to the salad, parsley gives everything a fresh green flavor.

Olives.  When possible I prefer pitted Kalamata olives, but all olives are good.  I’ll even use diced black olives from a can if I don’t have anything in a jar or fresh from an “olive bar”.

Pickles.  Cut into little pieces.  I used to be a huge fan of the pickles sold chilled in jars, but lately I’ve been slumming it with jars of “pickle chips” (not sold chilled) like you would put on a veggie burger.  Either would work just fine.  You could even add both types of pickles.

Frozen peas.  Is it just me, or do the frozen peas totally make a noodle salad?  Sure, you could eat it without the peas, but why?

Chickpeas or garbanzo beans.  Adds a nice texture along with a good dose of protein.

Three bean salad.  Just delicious when added to this dish.  I probably wouldn’t do this and also the chickpeas, as three bean salad usually has chickpeas in it.

Chow mein noodles.  This adds such a wonderful crunch.  These must be served on the side, because if you mix them right into the salad the chow mein noodles will get soggy and loose all their crunch.

Jalapeno or pepperoncini peppers.  Just to state the obvious, only add these spicy little guys if you want things hot.  These are something else you might want to keep on the side.

More noodles.  Sounds weird, but try adding even more pasta with a different shape and flavor.  For example, if you are using a bag of whole wheat curly cue shaped pasta for the base, why not try a half bag of rice wagon wheels to add a contrasting noodle.

. . . and anything else you like.  Almost any fresh or cooked vegetable or fruit (celery, peppers, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, blueberries, sun dried tomatoes, etc) could be added to this salad!

So there you have it, easy as pie!  This is a nice dish to make for a potluck, picnic, or to have for lunch all week long if you make a big batch on a Sunday evening.

Please check out more great resources for Vegans I have at my website, www. VeganUSofA. com.

For great info on vegan vitamins, vegetarian supplements and nutrition, visit www.vegetarianvitaminsguide.com today!

Vegan Dessert Cookbook ~ Pie Brownies Dairy-free Ices

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How to make a Delicious and Easy Vegan Tofu Pasta Salad is a post from the Vegetarian Vitamins Guide blog where you can find suggestions and advice from vegetarians and vegans on vegetarian diets, supplements, vitamins and overall nutrition.

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Well we know where Redmond’s inheritance is going — straight the nearest dope pusher…..

Redmond O’Neal has been arrested on drug charges for the millionth time.

The only son of Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O’Neal was taken into custody Dec. 29 on a felony charge for allegedly scoring heroin while on a 24-hour pass from rehab, RadarOnline revealed on Tuesday.

O’Neal began rehab at the Impact Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center in Pasadena in September. He was ordered to undergo treatment at the facility for one year after a January 2008 drug arrest and a probation violation in September 2009.

Redmond is being held without bail at the Los Angeles Men’s Central Jail and is scheduled to appear in court this afternoon. He faces up to six years behind bars.

Filed under: Truck, Nissan

If you want to be a full-line automaker here in the United States, your dealership lots must be stocked with fullsize pickup trucks. Apparently, despite meager sales of its current Titan pickup, Nissan is committed to doing battle on a level playing field with Ford, General Motors, Chrysler and Toyota. That means remaining in the truck business here in our pickup-loving country, which in turn means a replacement for the stagnant Titan is sorely needed.

Unfortunately for the Japanese automaker, Chrysler’s bankruptcy proceedings allowed the company to divorce itself from its previous agreement to provide Nissan with a Ram-based truck platform for the next-gen Titan. As such, Nissan spokesman Scott Vazin tells USA Today that the automaker is “pretty much going it alone” on its fullsize truck replacement.

Until that next-gen truck is ready – at the moment, no production date has been announced – Nissan will continue to build the current Titan at its factory in Canton, Mississippi.

[Source: USA Today]

Report: Nissan doggedly pursuing Titan replacement, “pretty much going it alone” originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Starting this spring, you won’t need to gather the whole family around a 15-inch laptop screen to talk with cousin Joe on the other side of the country. As a matter of fact, you won’t even need to get up off the sofa after the evening news, because Skype is coming to the big screen – the big TV screen, that is.

Skype announced today that they have been working with LG and Panasonic to embed Skype in Internet-connected widescreen HDTVs.

Sponsor

Skype claims it is listening to its customers who (gasp!) want to get away from their computers once in a while.

“We know that Skype users are increasingly interested in conducting video calls away from their computers,” said Skype CEO Josh Silverman in a press release. “With Skype, consumers […] will now be able to participate in rich, real-time video conversations from the comfort of their couch.”

According to Skype, up to 5 million Skype-enabled TVs will be delivered during 2010, but the TV alone will not do it. In addition to a high-speed connection, users will need to purchase a specially designed web cam, which Skype spokesperson Jennifer Caukin told us would run about $150. Caukin said the web cam is designed to pick up audio from a greater distance, so Skype TV users will be able to remain seated instead of huddling around a microphone. It will also provide high-definition video capabilities.

Skype will be embedded on LG’s NetCast series and Panasonic’s VIERA CAST series of HDTVs.

Discuss

Google’s Nexus One announcement went smoothly as planned — Nexus One confirmed, Android 2.1 detailed and T-Mobile as the launch partner confirmed. All done, all good, except for the little bombshell that was presented at the end. The Nexus One will be hitting both Verizon Wireless and Vodafone this Spring! All you folks who eschewed the Eris and waited on the DROID will get you just reward in a few months. Any DROID or Eris owners out there just throw their handset through the window in disgust?

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Potentially some good news for those T-Mobile fans out there. T-Mobile has completed a scheduled 3G upgrade to its entire network, an upgrade which boosts HSPA speeds from 3.6 Mbps to 7.2 Mbps. T-Mobile had initially promised the speed bump by the end of 2009, but hey, better late than never when it comes to bandwidth. T-Mobile is also promising another upgrade is in 2010 to HSPA+ with peak speeds of 21 Mbps; a trial is already underway in Philadelphia. In our own, very rudimentary, tests here in Boston, we aren’t seeing the 7.2 Mbps type speeds we were hoping, 1990 Kbps down and 200 Kbps up, but we’re keeping our hopes up. Any T-Mo users out there that can report faster 3G speeds?

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Android 2.0 is very much looking like it was just a beta for Android 2.1, which seems, quite frankly, awesome. Let’s take a look at everything it has to offer.

A few non-visual things to know about Android 2.1. Everybody will get access to it when it goes open source in a few days (hurray!). There’s still no multitouch in Google apps. But! The internal storage limit on applications will be going away soon with an upgrade Google mentioned.

It’s on the Nexus One, which Google’s selling right now, first.

The big question: Will your Android phone get it? The official response is that they intend to upgrade every device to the best software version they can support. Not all phones and chips can support all software revisions, like not all old computers can run Windows Vista or Windows 7.

We know every phone that was slated to get Android 2.0, like the HTC Hero, is going direct to 2.1, though.

Green Energy Reporter’s ranking of the top ten players in green energy for the month of December is out! Not surprisingly this month’s ranking focuses on Copenhagen and the disappointing outcome of the much-anticipated UN Climate Change Conference.

New inductees include the dead-on-arrival French carbon tax and the promising but challenging quest to develop utility-scale geothermal power. Not returning this month, after two showings, each justified by his company’s substantial green investments and his controversial pro-carbon tax position, is Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson– (number five in the November ranking and number four in October).

As you know this GER ranking is based on the players’ influence over green energy policy and their ability to move the debate. Other factors that we take into account in making our monthly selection include industry and popular support for their positions, access to capital to fund innovation and the success of their ventures.

5: EnvironmentGuardian.com, the Guardian newspaper

From the start, the Guardian’s environment beat reporters, led by editors John Vidal and James Randerson, got the pulse of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, providing readers coverage that went way beyond the bureaucratic UN press releases. A case in point was the paper’s scoop during the first week of the conference, when it got its hand on a controversial draft binding agreement whose content angered developing nations because it walked away from key Kyoto principles, including the notion that rich nations bear the primary responsibility for cutting emissions. At a time when the newspaper industry is going through a deep existential crisis, the Guardian’s environmental pages and its combination of opinionated features and traditional, hard-boiled reporting from Copenhagen demonstrated that good [environmental] journalism remains a necessity.

4: U.S. Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.)

The Oklahoma Republican has never once, in his whole entire life, said anything correct about climate change. His opposition to science, reason and the country’s best interest when it comes to green energy is infuriating. But…

His views represent a large number (though by no means a majority) of Americans, who are distrustful of government-created carbon markets and, well, science. If nothing else, his obstructionist tactics, such as going to Copenhagen with a “truth squad” to protest the U.N. climate summit, provide an excellent foil for the more reasonable voices out there. And as long as he’s out there making noise and getting on Fox News, he’s a player.

3: General Electric

Large cap companies are scrambling to get ready for the green energy future, whether by making sure they don’t take a hit from a cap and trade program or trying to get a piece of the green pie. General Electric, on the other hand, is already firmly ensconced in the green energy business and is doing quite well.

The prototypical industrial giant flexed its muscles in December with the $2 billion megadeal at the Shepherd’s Flat wind farm, for which it will provide 338, 2.5-megawatt wind turbines. The company’s presence in China is also growing by the day.

But GE’s isn’t just a story of industrial might. The company’s Energy Financial Services division is also investing in the wind farm and stands to have a staggering $6 billion invested in the sector by the end of 2010. No wonder Chief Executive Officer Jeff Immelt is pushing for a climate change law.

2: Ed Miliband, UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change

He called the Copenhagen climate change conference “a farce” and blamed the G77 developing nations, in particular China, Brazil and India, of “hijacking the conference.” Throughout the UN climate change summit, which concluded last month, the young British minister called a spade a spade, providing reporters spin-free commentary, all in an effort to get developing nations to back a binding agreement to fight climate change. On the Guardian Website, Miliband noted that despite the disappointment, Copenhangen was a first step that could lead to an eventual binding and effective global climate change agreement. He wrote: “Today many people will be feeling gloomy about the results of their efforts. But no campaign ever wholly succeeds at the first time of asking. We should take heart from the achievements and step up our efforts.” In Miliband, the climate change movement has found a young, fiery, articulate spokesman who’ll hopefully continue to push for a comprehensive climate change agreement well after his tenure at the energy and environment ministry ends.

1: China’s climate change negotiators

President Barack Obama meets with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Copenhagen.

The Copenhagen climate change summit became China’s coming-out party as one of the world’s new power brokers. In Copenhagen, China and its team of negotiators became the defacto voices of the world’s developing nations. The fact that its economy is many times larger than some of the countries it spoke for was a fact overlooked by most. If there is a winner left standing after the disappointment that was Copenhagen, it’s China. It came to Denmark not wanting a global binding agreement and left with exactly that. In reaching that goal, it even played hard ball with U.S. President Obama as it met behind his back with South Africa and India to craft their own agreement. Moving forward, China has anchored itself as THE unavoidable hurdle — ahead of other BRIC countries like India and Brazil — standing in the way of a comprehensive climate change agreement.

Photo Credit: The White House via Wikimedia

Adapted from “Dealing with a Spoiler? Negotiate Around the Problem,” by Robert C. Bordone, Clinical Professor, Harvard Law School, first published in the “Negotiation newsletter.”

At one time or another, most of us have confronted a fellow negotiator who seemed intent on blocking even our most reasonable requests and actions. This was the situation faced by Alexis, the CIO at a midsize publishing company. Phil, the company’s CEO, hired Alexis to create an online information system tailored to the needs of their largest customers. Phil promised to support Alexis as she implemented the new system and restructured the IT department. The two met on many occasions to negotiate issues related to cost, increased staff needs, impact on customers, and coordination challenges.

Despite his promises of cooperation, in almost every meeting with Alexis, Phil proved to be a barrier to her problem-solving efforts. He repeatedly denied her request to increase the size of her staff, limited her authority, and delayed making important decisions. To her frustration, Alexis faced huge project delays, rising costs, and low credibility throughout the organization. She felt stuck between two unhappy choices: accepting the status quo or starting another job search.

When interpersonal and tactical strategies fail to win over someone whose approval is essential to your goals, the negotiation may seem hopeless. Fortunately, there is an option of last resort. Consider crafting a workaround—a strategic approach to getting what you need without the involvement or support of your adversary.

Here’s one way. If your counterpart is holding out simply because the cost of doing so is low and the possible benefits are high, consider building coalitions that exploit what professor James Sebenius of Harvard Business School has termed patterns of deference, or the tendency for parties to follow influential others on a particular course. By increasing the number of players in the game, you can restructure talks in your favor.

To begin, make a list of current and potential parties who may be able to influence the spoiler on your behalf. Next, consider each party’s interests and the patterns of deference that exist among them and with the target. Map these relationships backward to your target and construct an optimal sequence of approach. Finally, make your case to these individuals. By the time you reach your target, you should find that you’ve amassed a strong coalition.

Attempting such a workaround, Alexis listed key individuals inside and outside the publishing house who might be affected by the IT department’s ability to deliver the new online system, including several department heads and the buyers for a number of chain bookstores. After assessing these parties’ interests and likely patterns of deference, Alexis concluded that Phil, the CEO, had great respect for David, the firm’s marketing director. David, in turn, was extremely sensitive to the needs of the firm’s largest customers.

Alexis approached a buyer’s rep with one of the bookstore chains, someone she had worked with in the past. She discussed the benefits of the new system to bookstores and explained that internal challenges could stall implementation. The customer was persuaded to lobby David to get the system up and running. Alexis then met with David and explained that her project was strapped for resources. To her relief, David agreed to speak with Phil. Two days later, Phil gave Alexis the green light to hire the technical staff she needed to get the job done.

A workaround based on coalition building comes with certain risks, especially when it leads you to violate traditional channels of communication within your organization. Alexis’s decision to approach an important client about sensitive internal issues could have backfired. For this reason, enlist only those you know and trust to your cause.

ESPN has long been the leader in live HDTV and the network is about to stay ahead of the curve yet again by launching its own 3D network early this summer. But this network is just a test and ESPN is only committing to it through June 2011. So if you really want your kids growing up watching live 3D events, you better support ESPN’s effort.

The initial broadcast will be a World Cup soccer match, followed later on by the Summer X Games, NBA games, and collegic football and basketball. It seems like ESPN really doesn’t know how this is going to pan out. There are apparently a lot of questions about how subscribers will get the stations, if they will have to pay a premium, and if anyone besides sport’s nerds will really watch it.

But props to ESPN and Disney for at least trying something new instead of taking a backseat while some other network potentially loses a crapton of money in 3D.

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The Nexus One event is in the books and it’s time for everyone to chime in with their impressions.  What did we learn today?  Anything new or that wasn’t already predicted/leaked?    Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Looking for a reason to register at Boise State? Just take a look at the major they’re offering safety Jeron Johnson!

Remember that awesome Philips LivingColors lamp? Well, the Yantouch might be even better—and it looks like a UFO with a disco inside it.

What makes it even more unique is the touch panel interface that you can use to cycle between colors and brightness levels. You can also set the lamp to automatically cycle through colors or illuminate only the undercarriage—resulting in a cool backlighting effect. We are not sure if the Yantouch will ever make it to the States, but it is available now in Japan for the equivalent of $160. [Yantouch via Impress via Technabob]

Filed under: Accessories, Software, iPhone, App Store

Here’s an app from among the App Store’s stranger selections. Much like the Zippo Hand Warmer, PocketHeat [iTunes link] is meant to keep your hands warm.

it works by making the iPhone max out 100% of its power processing capacity. A slider lets you adjust the temperature and illuminate the “heating elements.” According to several App Store reviews, it doesn’t work so well.

We don’t know just how hot it gets, but we imagine there are safeguards to prevent serious overheating. According to the Apple Knowledge Base, the iPhone should be operated “…in a place where the temperature is between 0º and 35º C (32º to 95º F).” Prolonged exposure to extreme heat will produce the temperature warning screen. The app got approved (somehow), so we assume it’s safe. But I’m not installing it.

We don’t know why you’d want to run your undoubtedly-still-on-contract iPhone at 100% capacity — buried inside a confined pocket — for any length of time, but that’s up to you. At the very least your battery would drain in no time. At worst, well … let’s not find out. You can get PocketHeat now for $0.99US.

Or just buy gloves.

TUAWApp warms your hands by overheating your iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Americans’ car fleet dropped by a sizeable four million vehicles in 2009, the only large decline since the Department of Transportation began keeping records in 1960, The Globe and Mail reports.

Americans bought 10 million cars but sent 14 million to the scrap yard this year, bringing the total down to 246 million nation-wide.

Analysts have come up with an eclectic list of factors that could be responsible for the drop, from high gas prices and the expansion of municipal transit systems to the popularity of networking websites that make it easier for teenagers to socialize without leaving home.

Auto sales for the month of December, however, were expected to be the second best month of the year after August, when the “cash for clunkers” rebate program temporarily revived the auto industry.

The Earth Policy Institute, an environmental think tank based in Washington, on Wednesday will issue an analysis stating that the drop in 2009 is not a recession induced fluke, but the beginning of a long-term decline that will see the U.S. fleet drop by another 25 million by 2020.

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See Also:

• Even Without Cash For Clunkers, Americans Keep Bingeing On Cars
• Cash For Clunkers May Have Altered Car-Buying Permanently