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Nokia announces pink N8 with Symbian Anna, neglects to give us a release date
It must be hard for Nokia to keep consumer interest in Symbian going while simultaneously developing a whole new ecosystem, so we'll forgive the unimaginative move to just do a pink version of the N8. That handset already benefited from the widest set of color options among any smartphone flagships, and will soon be adding a very T-Mobile-friendly shade of light red to its anodized aluminum case. Judging by those curvy icons on its 3.5-inch AMOLED screen, the pink N8 will also feature the latest version of Symbian, dubbed Anna, though Nokia unfortunately fails to tell us when we may expect this mildly refreshed phone to arrive. Then again, we suspect it'll be pretty hard to miss whenever it does show up.
Sony Ericsson breaks out white Xperia Play, makes it an O2 exclusive in the UK
We'll confess, we did see Sony Ericsson execs flashing white Xperia Play handsets during the company's MWC 2011 press event, but curiously enough none of those made their way to the demo areas. Now we've finally got ourselves some fully fleshed out press shots, along with the news that O2 will be the sole carrier for this alabaster gaming smartphone in the UK. Other markets have yet to announce availability of the white Xperia Play, but you'll know more just as soon as we do. Skip past the break to see how the front end looks. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
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%
Nexus S emerges in white attire, but it only covers its rear
Staying true to its Galaxy S forefather, the Nexus S has shown up with a new white shell, which, just as with the Galaxy S, only extends to its rear portions, leaving the front end a familiar shade of noir. Just what's keeping manufacturers from blanching their phones' visage, we don't know, but at least it's looking like there'll be some variation in the Nexus S' palette. We did notice a "Silver Black" Nexus S sprouting up in European retailers' listings a couple of weeks ago, which this could well be -- it all depends on how loosely these companies define the word "silver." There's no knowledge on when or where this chromatically altered S will be on sale, but you'll know more as soon as we do. Update: First picture from the wilderness of the white back is now embedded after the break. The Next Web suggests Vodafone may be the European carrier for this particular version of the handset.
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.
Motorola Droid 2 Global now available at Verizon for $199
Never mind that November 11 rumor, the Droid 2 Global is available to buy from Verizon right now. The dual-mode CDMA/GSM handset from Moto -- equipped with a 1.2GHz processor, don't forget -- is ready to be yours today for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate and subject to the usual two-year contractual commitment. If you still need convincing, this new SKU also comes in a sparkling white option... can you really resist a white globetrotting Droid? See more of it after the break. [Thanks, Anthony]
HP Labs and mobile phones: coloring people beautiful
Mobiles can do just about anything these days -- and oh! do we love it -- but fashion and color choice advice was apparently lacking. HP Lab's new software "Color Match mobile service" has come to the rescue armed with color wheels and image processing software, to save society from the perils of mismatched make-up. Users of the system simply snap a photo of themselves holding a special color chart up to their face, fire it off as an MMS to an image processing server that will clean up the pic and reply by SMS with some color choices that will suit their skin tone. Pretty handy business all around and if you are a color-challenged fella, there is hope this idea will be extended to help you pick out just the right tie for that troublesome outfit.
