It is my belief (and feel free to correct me if you have proof otherwise);
That the USS Kelvin (NCC-0514) being more technologically advanced, and larger in size than in the "Prime Universe", is a result to influences occured during "First Contact". Those events which took place in 2063, ultimately had a great influence on the future of 2151, in large part shown in the ENT episode 'Regeneration'. Reference to dialog in First Contact was made, "Cybernetic beings from the future, coming back in time to enslave the human race", as well as the fact that they found debris from a Borg sphere on Earth (after the Enterprise-E destroyed a sphere in 2063).
The threat of the Borg (up until 2153, unknown name), is likely a major source to why Starfleet/United Earth and later the Federation, would kick into high-gear of producing more and more advanced ships. The mention of a "Warp 7 starship" as early as 2161 sort-of supports this idea. Furthermore, after the encounter with Nero in 2233, would've given Starfleet an even greater incentive to produce more technologically advanced ships.
I base my belief, in large part due to the mention of "Admiral Archer's prized beagle". Now i'm no idiot, I realize the beagle is likely not the same one as Captain Archer's "Porthos". But it's been confirmed by the writers that Admiral/Captain Archer are one in the same. Obviously, Admiral/Captain Archer could've existed in the "Prime Universe" as well, but seeing as the NX-01, later the NCC-0514, and the vastly upgraded NCC-1701, sort-of supports my idea that the entire movie takes place in the same "Alternate Reality" as the entire ENTERPRISE series.
And don't forget... We also have the ENT-era "Temporal Cold War" which could've messed up the timeline prior to Nero's arrival too
This posits an interesting theory. One that is sound and well within the "generally accepted drift" in terms of (a lack of) consistency that exists in the Prime universe. I would present a few alternatives/modifications, however:
I don't want to open another can of worms, but if anyone has read Shatner's Trek series, in them he postulates that the Mirror Universe sprang up as a result of Cochrane deciding by the flip of a coin on whether or not to go against what I'm sure was the advice of the Ent-E crew and tell the Vulcans about the Borg. In the Prime Universe, he keeps it to himself, and Picard and company were successful in restoring the timeline. In the Mirror Universe, he tells the Vulcans (and presumably all of Earth), and this accounts for the militaristic nature of things in the Mirror Universe.
I know this isn't canon, but it makes perfect sense, and it ties in well with canon.
If what you postulate is true, then perhaps the split from the Prime Universe and the Abrams Universe occurred not at First Contact, but at the moment the researchers in "Regeneration" found the sphere. That would create the schism that leads to Starfleet's hurried expansion of technology. And it would account for many of the other inconsistencies in Enterprise's story with canon (meeting the Ferengi, for example).
I mean, all of this is just our way as loyal fans of dealing with the wreck of a show that was Enterprise. I say that half-kiddingly--I actually liked Enterprise, in terms of the stories they told. I feel like they tried to be Voyager at times (indeed, some of the early episodes were just rehashes of planned-but-not-filmed Voyager scripts), but overall I enjoyed the series. The writers just took too many liberties with what was overwhelmingly accepted canon (the Borg weren't encountered until the 24th Century, as with the Ferengi, etc.).
Like the Klingon forehead ridges problem, I'd say stick with that unless some stupid writer decides to point out the difference in canon.
This was explained in a series of Enterprise Episodes. Some Klingon scientist (oxymoronic, I know) tried to create a genetically-superior Klingon warrior, but instead unleashed a highly "contagious" pathogen into the Klingon population that altered their physical appearance to match the TOS Klingons. They found a cure at the end, but it was noted that it would take several generations for the cosmetic effects to wear off (just in time for TMP). It's actually a very genius bit of writing, IMO.
If our "Enterprise-is-part-of-AbramsTrek-Universe" theory is to hold true, then if the Klingons appear in the upcoming movie, they should resemble TOS Klingons, at least in terms of how they look (not so much how they dress). Doubtful that's gonna happen.
Why did they need to drill into the middle of Vulcan before creating a black hole?
Perhaps drilling to the center of the planet means they can create a smaller black hole, thereby using less red matter. Waste not, want not, as they say.
Well the Kelvin is far larger (given the size and number of shuttles that were stored inside it) than any TOS era ship we've ever seen, not to mention the fact that it supposedly had 800 people aboard, double the amount on the original Enterprise...
This bothers me, but I can see why they would want to make the ships bigger. A modern aircraft carrier has roughly 5,000 people on board!
