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DSi is getting two new, shine-resistant colors
Nintendo is rolling out two new colors for the DSi in North America: matte red and matte blue. The new colors could hit retailers "as early as this week," Nintendo of America tweeted today.What a way to roll out the welcome matte, Nintendo. Sorry, that sounded better in our head than it red. Yeah, we totally blue this one. Apologies.
Daily iPhone App: Light Byte provides frenetic color-matching fun
Light Byte is one of the most invention takes on "falling block" games I've seen in a while. In fact, there are a few genres mixed in here, including Snood's kind of color matching gameplay, as well as some excellent combo action. The game starts out with blocks slowly falling toward you on the screen, and it's your job to fire stars (by touching the various block columns) back up at the blocks, hitting the same colors in a row. Blocks that match the color you just hit fall off the screen, and (in the endless mode, anyway) you've got to keep the screen clear for as long as possible. It's really fun, and the title's groovy out-of-this-world soundtrack really contributes to the feeling that you're building up mega-combos when you can line up the same color all in a row. There are powerups that show up in the various colors as you move along, more colors that appear as you level up, and eventually the blocks also start to grow transparent over time, so you also have to try and remember which colors were where. It sounds frenetic, and it is, but the game presents these things to you in such a smooth manner that it's still good fun. Light Byte is a 99 cent download. It's definitely worth the price, and with quite a few options to play even outside the main endless mode, you'll probably be matching colored blocks for a long time to come.
A different shade of Galaxy S III spotted in Germany (video)
While Europeans earnestly wait for their pre-ordered pebble blue superphones to appear, a hands-on video from Germany is purportedly showing us a darker, grayer version of Samsung's Galaxy S III. While the skeptic in us would say it's just a lighting issue, the back cover looks perceptibly different to the blue-hued slab we spent time with during its big reveal. It looks almost monochromatic -- and even shinier, if that's possible. The color borders on gun-metal gray and we have to admit, we're already a little smitten. Samsung's had issues bringing the blueish hue to the masses, so this could turn out to be the new non-white color option. Black and white is a bit played out, so our fingers are crossed that we'll get to have our pebble-colored cake and eat it. Check out the possible new look in a hands-on video after the break -- and bring on the hot pink option.
Nintendo prepares to kill off Aqua Blue 3DS, dump it in a watery grave
Anyone that bought Nintendo's 3D portable early on may have laid their hands on an endangered species. The original Aqua Blue model will cease production soon, according to Nintendo Japan's official site. In a full list of the 3DS's ever-increasing color options, the original has been tagged (above, top left), stating that it'll no longer be made, although there's no official date for the literal end of the line. Its turquoise coat didn't cost all that much, right?
LG's 5-inch Optimus Vu shipping soon in white (in Korea, at least)
Just under two months after LG's Optimus Vu got priced for the hometown market, in flies news that another hue will soon be on those very same shelves. The 5-inch, 4:3 ratio'd Android smartphone will soon hit South Korea in white, purportedly targeting the "younger" market -- you know, folks who like "cool" things (a translation for "refreshing," we're told). Folks can look for the device -- which should remain unchanged outside of the external color -- to hit SK Telecom as early as next week, but there's no word on when (or if) it'll spread to other markets.
Mists of Pandaria Beta: Male pandaren hairstyles gallery
Want to know what's going to be available in the hairstyle department before you roll your brand new pandaren? Have I got the gallery for you! Featuring a bunch of hairstyles now easily accessed on the new character creation screen as well as some of the fur colors available for male pandaren, this gallery is your one-stop shop for locks of pandaren love. Take a look. My personal favorite pandaren haircuts are the wild ones that make every pandaren dude look like a guy you went to college with. You know him. You know him. %Gallery-151793% It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
Daily iPhone App: Beatstream
Beatstream is the latest app from the folks at Smule (who recently acquired Khush, another music-loving developer, and I can kind of see their influence here as well). Usually, Smule's apps are based around creation of music, but Beatstream is a little more targeted towards listening to your music (at least at first). The idea is that you can pull any music from your iTunes library, and Beatstream will turn it into a game, the game-iest game that I've ever seen Smule make. You basically control an arrow running along a path, and you can tap on the screen to flip it through two different colors, which match barriers running along the path in front of you. The goal is to make sure that when your little arrow crosses the barriers, it's the same color. Matching colors and going through levels you up, and missing the colors brings you back down. It's fun, and even on the easiest setting, the barriers show up on the screen quickly enough that there is a little bit of a challenge trying to make sure the arrow is flipped the right way before going through them. There are also badges to earn, and unlike standard achievements, these actually change the gameplay a little bit, or even trip up the way the music sounds, like making it go faster or play in some crazy fashion. The one caveat with the music in Beatstream is that, like all other apps that pull music from your library, it won't work with DRM-protected songs, so if there's anything on your device from before 2009, you might not be able to play it. Same deal with long songs -- I had a few really long songs that just didn't work. But I was able to get a shorter song working without a problem, and while you could tell the song was matched with an algorithm (rather than by hand, like a Rock Band or Guitar Hero song), it still played well along with the music anyway. Beatstream is a cool way to experience your music while tapping along with that little arrow. I don't think it'll be a tentpole release for Smule -- it doesn't quite have that music creation streak that has led them to so much success with apps like Ocarina and Magic Piano. But it's a quality addition to their library for sure -- it's 99 cents on the App Store right now.
Samsung confirms pink Galaxy Note coming soon, we go hands-on (video)
Sure, you can personalize your Galaxy Note by sketching with the 5.3-inch phablet's S Pen, but there's no better way to express your mobile-obsessed self than by dressing your device in a flashy new color. Pink is the flavor of the month over at Samsung, which just gave us a sneak peek at its rosy Android hybrid at its CeBIT booth in beautiful Hannover, Germany. The sample on hand is of the shell-only variety, in that it doesn't include any internals, but looks pretty juicy even in its static state. The device is virtually identical to its blue and white counterparts, though its backplate is textured like that of the blue model, rather than the glossy rear you'll see on the white. There's not much more to say about pinky here, considering that the sample device won't even power on, but jump past the break for our hands-on video if you'd care to take a closer look. And keep an eye out for the pink Note in a store near you -- it's expected to land (in Germany, at least) within the next two months.%Gallery-149444%
Nokia Lumia 800 likes to taste the rainbow, wants to try a splash of white and yellow?
Cyan and Magenta were a good start, but Nokia hasn't finished plucking eye-catching colors for its smartphone flagship. Alongside a not-exactly-unexpected white model, these leaked renders suggest that our favorite polycarbonate Windows Phone will net a zesty yellow (possibly lime green) wardrobe at some point in the future. According to MonWindowsPhone, details on timeframes and launch regions remain foggy and will depend on customer demand. If the phone fares well in certain locales, Nokia will likely be more willing to offer up some spicier colors.
Coloring inside the lines: An interview with PlanetSide 2's Tramell Isaac
I think we're all allowed our moments of pure geek squeeing when we bump into the people responsible for some of our favorite video games of yesteryear. So I had to apologize to Tramell Isaac in advance for gushing over his work on the first two Fallout titles, games that are among my all-time favorites. He didn't seem to mind, and he spent a few minutes shooting the breeze about his favorite designs in the game -- designing Robobrain and the Vault Boy cards that accompanied the player perks. MMO fans will probably best know Isaac from his work on the original PlanetSide, a project that is near and dear to his heart. Sony Online Entertainment brought him back on board to be the senior art director for PlanetSide 2. This makes sense -- after all, who else would best know how to evolve the series' design than the guy who started it? Isaac was kind enough to sit down on the phone with me to talk about how PlanetSide 2's visuals are shaping up, following his own blog post on the subject. Hit the jump to find out why each faction is going with a very specific color scheme, how microtransactions will affect how awesome you look, and just what Batman has to do with any of it.
Canon takes a cue from Pentax, starts selling the T3 in assorted colors
Well, looky here, Canon just let its hair down. The company was clearly in an experimental mood, and got the harebrained idea that consumers just might snap up red and brown DSLRs the way they do its candy-colored point-and-shoots. The outfit's now selling its beginner-friendly EOS Rebel T3 in red, brown, and metallic gray -- all in addition to your garden-variety black, of course. Sure, that's tame by Pentax's wacky standards, but for Canon it's pretty... outlandish. Since the camera went on sale this spring, its price has dropped from $599 to a promotional $549 for the kit, which includes an EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom II lens. As for the body, if you'll recall, it has a 12.2 megapixel sensor that records 720p video (a rarity for an entry-level model), a nine-point autofocus system, ISO 100 to 6,400, and a 63-zone dual-metering system. Novices who just want to be different can, as always, hit up the source link for more info.
ColorWare takes the green from your wallet and puts it on your iPad 2 (video)
Yup, it's here -- the moment all (eight) of you have been waiting for. The Apple iPad 2 finally hit the ColorWare config tool, so you can play around with that palette and make something just as hideous as we have here. And, if you feel so inclined, you can even add the thing to your cart, hand over $910 (for the base 16GB WiFi config) and wait "about 4 weeks" for your creation to arrive in the mail. While you're at it, pick up a pair of limited edition chrome Beats. We're shocked to see that they're still in stock, given that modest $1,000 price tag.
TUAW's Daily App: Liqua Pop
EA's latest game on the App Store is called Liqua Pop. It's an original puzzle game that has you popping liquid bubbles of the same color in order to send a little toad on the side of the screen to the top. The presentation in this one is very well done -- the music is cool and clear, and the graphics are shiny and very (wait for it...) fluid. The bubbles show up quickly, and eventually bugs appear in the bubbles and add a little complication to the mix. But overall, the gameplay is pretty simple, and you get into a nice rhythm of building up bubbles and shaking the device to pop them. Unfortunately, the game's thin on content -- there's just one mode, and while there are plenty of levels to play through, it'd be nice to see a little variety to the gameplay. More of an issue is that there's no Game Center integration at all. You can share scores via Facebook, but really, especially with EA publishing, developers iChromo should have taken the time to include Game Center. Hopefully that and the other omissions will be fixed in a future update. Liqua Pop is US$1.99 on the App Store right now, and I can recommend you check it out at that price, though I wouldn't blame you for waiting for the next EA sale to see if it drops down to a buck. If you're good on games for now, that might be your best bet.
Nikon crams 36x zoom in P500, full manual controls in P300, refreshes Coolpix range with tons of color
Is it spring already? Nikon has just assaulted us with no less than nine new Coolpix models, freshening up its consumer offering with a litany of hot new shades, touchscreens and hardware updates. We'll let you dig into the press releases after the break for the full details, but the two new Performance range cameras, the P500 and P300, are worth discussing in more detail. The P500 improves on Nikon's P100 by a few orders of magnification, touting a voyeur-friendly 36x optical zoom, while also offering a 12.1 megapixel CMOS sensor, 1080 / 30p video plus stereo sound recording, max ISO of 3200, and an 1100mAh battery. The back is also adorned with a tiltable display, sized at 3 inches diagonally and fitting 920k dots. Yours on March 3rd for $400, €464 or £400, depending on your local currency. %Gallery-115978% The P300 is cheaper at $330 / €348 / £300, however it might well be the more appealing option for image quality obsessives as it boasts a lens with an aggressive F1.8 aperture and 4.2x optical zoom. It shares the same backside-illuminated sensor as you'll find in the P500, but benevolently permits its user full manual control to let him or her capture that perfect shot. Rapid-fire shooting at 8fps for up to seven frames is available, but we're loving the fact it can also do 1080 / 30p with continuous autofocus and the ability to both capture images and use its optical zoom while recording. If Nikon is to be believed, the P300 is basically the P7000 that came out last year, but shrunken down to the size of a compact. It really is a very diminutive and attractive -- it has that intentionally understated matte black finish that huskily whispers the word "prosumer" in your ear -- compact camera. It lands on March 17th. %Gallery-115979% %Gallery-115976%
iGloLEDset is now ready to rave Android-style
You remember iGloLEDset, right? How could you forget? The multicolored, WiFi-enabled strip of LEDs is basically a party waiting to happen -- assuming you're ready and willing to pony up the $300 entry fee -- but until now, they've only been controllable with iOS devices. Well, good news, Android users: your ticket to ride the light wave just arrived, and iGloLEDset's makers have celebrated with a little demo video you can see after the break. The new app's available now.
Kingston's DataTraveler Mini Fun USB flash drives: they're small and thrilling
Tired of lugging around that boring flash drive? Kingston feels your pain, and it's hoping to add a fair amount of "pizazz" and "spice" to your mobile storage needs. One look at the new DataTraveler Mini Fun G2 all but confirms that there's oodles of joviality brimming beneath the colorful plastic, with a trio of hues to choose from (based on model). These guys can also be connected together for kicks and giggles, with 2GB, 4GB and 8GB models available to bring smiles to the faces of those you know and love. Pricing is set for £4.58 ($7.26), £5.04 ($7.99) and £9.00 ($14) from least capacious to most, with no surcharge to be placed on your favorite color -- in other words, bonus fun is provided gratis. Beat that. %Gallery-110493%
Pantone iPhone and iPad cases thumb their noses at Apple's grayscale aesthetic
Considering the affection the design community has for Apple products and the Pantone Matching System, combining these passions seems ripe for success. At least that's Case Scenario's theory with this new line of licensed cases: they're Pantone approved, so you know the hues and ridiculous code names are legit. In total, nine different versions are available for the iPhone and four for the iPad, providing plenty of style leeway should the colorware route be out of your budget. No word on pricing or availability just yet, so for now it looks like our Capsure color identifier will have to remain holstered until more details surface. %Gallery-109303%
Hasselblad H4D-40 Stainless Steel medium format camera: limited to 100 units, priced at €13,990
Wondering just how large a premium that Ferrari badge was adding to Hasselblad's Ferrari-branded H4D? Oh, around €7,500 (if not more). Hot on the heels of the aforesaid announcement, Hasselblad has just revealed yet another variant of the famed H4D-40, with the Stainless Steel edition offering a classy, classic motif and another limited run item for collectors to snatch up. Only 100 of these will be produced, with each one selling for €13,990 ($18,497) sans lens or €14,990 ($19,809) with the HC 2.8/80 mm. If this guy's more "within reach" than the Italian-inspired alternative, hit up your local dealer as soon as humanly possible... or just before your 100 closest friends, anyway.
MacBook Air 2010 meets Colorware, births skinny rainbow children
Not feeling like enough of an individual owning the same ultrathin Apple laptop as everyone else? We feel your pain, you need something more in your status symbol hardware. This is where Colorware enters, asking for (at least) $1,850 in exchange for a MacBook Air -- made in 2010, exactly to your chromatic specifications. Come on, we can mock and we can decry the price, but if this were ever within the disposable income portion of your budget, wouldn't you jump at the opportunity? Alas, there's no option for repainting an Air if you've already bought one, so whether you want the 11.6-inch or 13-inch version, you'll have to buy it directly from Colorware. Update: It originally seemed as if the 11-inch Air wasn't available, but it is, hence the body of the post has been updated accordingly.
Dell Streak busts out a white back for Best Buy exclusive
Seems like Best Buy has developed something of a taste for snow-white exclusives, as it's now become the first retailer to offer up Dell's 5-inch Streak tabletphone with an alabaster case. We're hearing the only way to grab the new palette option is to go down to your nearest Best Buy store, though online reservation and payment is also available. Not every store has them just yet, so checking ahead of time might also be advisable. Skip past the break to see the new Streak's front end -- it actually retains a lot of the black bezel of its noir family mate.
