Google set to release Nexus One phone

Gotta love January. Lots of cool tech releases including an apparent press conference from Google next week to announce details of its new Nexus One touch screen phone.

The internet is buzzing with reports it will cost $530 for an unlocked version and $180 for a standard two-year contract on T-Mobile.

That means you can get the phone and use it on any provider's GSM network, like AT&T or T-Mobile.

It looks like the phone will come with a docking station and will automatically back up data when connected to a PC as well.

Time Warner cable customers: New HD channels coming

Time Warner Cable is adding several new high-definition channels for Charlotte-area customers today (Dec. 30):

History Channel HD, RFD HD, Showtime Showcase and Showtime Extreme HD, MoreMax HD, and ThrillerMax HD.

Earlier this month, TWC added eight HD movie on demand channels and NBA TV HD.

TWC has also added a new "Whole House Movies on Demand" feature. When you order an on-demand film now, whether new release, favorite or classic choice, you can watch that show on any of the TVs in your home that have the digital cable box attached. Simply chose "All Boxes" when confirming a purchase.

Ironman 2 Trailer released. Is it smoking?

I can't wait for the videogame, but the movie looks pretty good.

Thoughts?

Click here for the trailer

AT&T cell users, is your 3G getting better?

Verizon is pounding AT&T with its commercials about superior 3G service. At least in Charlotte, AT&T says it is doing something about it.

The company released details today about expansion of its Charlotte wireless network. The company said since the start of 2007, it's invested nearly $50 million in the Charlotte area network.

Those network enhancements include (from the press release):

· Upgrades to the cell sites and switches to support higher volumes of voice and data traffic.

· The addition of more than 230 T1 lines to add more voice and data capacity between the cell site and routing switch.

· The addition of a new Radio Network Controller, a network management equipment that significantly increased network capacity.

· 20 new cell sites and eight more before the end of the year adding to the nearly 280 that already exist in Charlotte, 100% of those sites are 3G; and expanded 3G service this year to cover the I-85 corridor all the way to Greensboro and added 3G service in Hickory and Concord.

AT&T said that next year it plans to roll out faster 3G speeds in Charlotte, along with 25 other top markets, as well as a new technology, HSPA 7.2, that doubles the peak speed of today's networks.

What's all that mean to you? Hopefully fewer dropped and missed calls and faster downloads of emails and webpages.

Is anyone seeing improvement or just liked what they have now?

Our take on X-Play Games of the Year

Tonight at 6 p.m. on G4, "X-Play," a TV Show dedicated to videogames, will announce its game of the year awards.

Here's our take on the nominees:

Game of the Year

Assassin’s Creed II

Borderlands

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

inFamous

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

OUR PICK: Assassin's Creed II (Italian Renaissance game was well done and well thought out. You could interact with a huge gaming "world" with virtually anything you could see or touch. I loved it).

Best Original Game

Borderlands

Brutal Legend

Flower

Scribblenauts

Shadow Complex

OUR PICK: Flower (who knew that playing out the dreams of a flower sitting on a windowsill could be so cool?).

Best Gameplay Innovation

Borderlands (Gun Tech)

Demon’s Souls (Multiplayer)

Modern Warfare 2 (Death Perks)

Red Faction: Guerilla (New Geo-Modding)

Scribblenauts (Vocabulary)

OUR PICK: Scribblenauts (You write a word on the DS and the graphic depiction of that word, more often than not, shows up on your screen. Totally original, dude)

Best Multiplayer Game

Borderlands

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Halo 3: ODST

Left 4 Dead 2

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

OUR PICK: Halo 3 (This is my homer pick. I'd pick CofD, but I just love the Halo series. I'm sold before I play it).

Best Action/Adventure Game

Assassin’s Creed II

Batman: Arkham Asylum

inFamous

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

OUR PICK: Batman (not sure the last two movies were much cooler than this)

Best Shooter

Borderlands

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Halo 3: ODST

Killzone 2

Left 4 Dead 2

OUR PICK: Call of Duty (I didn't pick it before, so I have to pick it now)

Best New Character

Chloe (Uncharted 2: Among Thieves)

Cole (inFamous)

Claptrap (Borderlands)

Eddie (Brutal Legend)

Ezio (Assassin’s Creed II)

OUR PICK: I kind of liked Morrigan from "Dragon Age: Origins" (the dark sorcerer kind of thing), but given the choices, give me Chloe, the pretty girl you should never trust.

Best Art Direction

Assassin’s Creed II

The Beatles: Rock Band

Borderlands

Brutal Legend

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

OUR PICK: Beatles. Just amazing attention to detail. You see the band members grow up and the colors are simply amazing.

Best Animation

Assassin’s Creed II

Fight Night Round 4

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time

Street Fighter IV

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

OUR PICK: Fight Night has always been brutally realistic and the fourth version was the best of all.

Best Writing

Assassin’s Creed II

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Brutal Legend

GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

OUR PICK: Batman. See comments above.

Best Original Soundtrack

Assassin’s Creed II

Flower

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Halo 3: ODST

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

OUR PICK: How is Beatles not here? But I guess I'll have to pick Uncharted. None of the choices here excited me.

Best Sound Design

The Beatles: Rock Band

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Killzone 2

Left 4 Dead 2

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

OUR PICK: Beatles. Hands down. This is one of the best videogames ever, if you like music driven games.

Best Downloadable Game

1 vs. 100

Battlefield 1943

Flower

Shadow Complex

'Splosion Man

OUR PICK: I didn't play anything in this category other than Flower, so I couldn't vote here.

Best Role-playing Game

Demon’s Souls

Dragon Age: Origins

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor

Torchlight

OUR PICK: I'd pick against the grain here and go with the "kiddie" game. Mario was well done.

Best Music Game

The Beatles: Rock Band

DJ Hero

Guitar Hero 5

LEGO Rock Band

Rock Band Unplugged

OUR PICK: DJ Hero is a long awaited "band" type game. People who like something other than rock got represented -- well.

Best Fighting Game

Street Fighter IV

Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny

BlazBlue

OUR PICK: Street Fighter. Old school still works.

Best Handheld Game

GTA: Chinatown Wars (DS)

LittleBigPlanet Portable (PSP)

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

Rock Band Unplugged

OUR PICK: Mario. Just plain fun.

Best Sports Game

FIFA 10

Fight Night Round 4

MLB 09: The Show

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 (Wii)

Wii Sports Resort

OUR PICK: Can we write in Madden or NBA2K? No, Tiger on Wii was ground-breaking, so we'll go there.

Is an Apple tablet in our near future?

Rumors are flying that publishers are getting products ready to launch with an Apple tablet computer. Apple has been mostly mum about plans for a tablet computer, something smaller than a laptop that could be used to read books, newspapers, play games and surf the Web.

This week, Sports Illustrated released a video showing how the magazine might be read on a product like a tablet. It looks interesting. Advertisements are much more than pictures. Readers can click them and see live video. You can easily toggle pictures, even send them to friends via Facebook or e-mail. You can read articles and all content is in full-color.

It's like reading the magazine without having the paper (but also having it come alive when you want it to).

Here's the sample video.