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Colorware takes you back to grade school with the Apple Number 2 Pencil
Colorware has painted a lot of items over the years going back to the iPhone 3G and beyond, but its latest product is particularly clever.
Engadget Giveaway: win one of three SOL Republic Tracks headphones, courtesy of ColorWare!
The giveaways don't stop coming, and why should they? Everyone loves the chance to win free stuff. This week we have three pairs of custom-designed SOL Republic Tracks HD headphones up for grabs, thanks to our friends over at ColorWare! These guys are all about coming up with cool designs, as you can probably tell just by scoping out the units we're giving away (seen above), and they can add their touch to plenty more than just headphones: laptops, phones and gaming consoles are a few examples. So check out the rules below, and leave a comment to get entered!
Colorware spills its inks on your iPhone 4S, charges dearly for it
You didn't think the latest iPhone would be saved from Colorware's paint-dipped hands, did you? Lo and behold, the company's swatches are currently ready for application on the 4S. Similar to its iPhone 4 treatments, you'll be able to spice up your device -- and its earbuds -- with a mixture of glossy, metallic and soft-touch coatings (excluding mainly the front face, which remains stock black or white). Colorware'll gladly sell you a fresh 16 or 64GB model for a whopping $1,500 or $1,700, respectively, or you can mail yours in to get a Benetton-esque makeover for just $250.
Leica D-Lux 5 gets the deluxe Colorware treatment
At $800, Leica's D-Lux 5 is one of the company's more affordable cameras, and it boasts the same trademark, understated style that you'd expect from some of its considerably pricier offerings. Colorware's new custom D-Lux 5, on the other hand, costs $1,200 (or $400 if you send your own camera in), and it can range from somewhat subtle in appearance to downright garish depending on your color choices. Of course, there is also a happy, stylish medium, but you'll have to decide for yourself if that's worth the $400 premium -- heck, that's almost enough to buy a Colorware'd Dyson Air Multiplier.
Colorware now painting iPad 2s
Our friends at Engadget report that the fine folks at ColorWare are now ready to color your iPad 2 however you'd like. ColorWare's skinning process is super-high quality, and you can basically customize your iPad 2 however you want: coloring the Apple logo, back panel, or even front home button with any shade from their extensive palettes. Just like the other ColorWare customization, this is a polymer-based coating that looks great and stays on firmly. But it'll cost you. You can either buy an iPad 2 straight from the company all dressed up for US$900 (or more than $1000 if you want to go for the 3G version), or send them the one you already own and pay $400 and up for just the coloring process. That ain't cheap, but then again, this is pretty much the best color customization company around. Don't have an iPad 2 but still want a colored iPad? The company is still accepting "send-in" orders on Apple's previous tablet, but they won't be able to sell you one anymore. The price is slightly cheaper, though -- only $350.
ColorWare hits a lurid low with Dyson Air Multiplier
When it comes to ColorWare, the surprise is never the choice of colors, it's the price you'll pay for exclusivity on a lime-green and suicide-orange paint job. This time its the already overpriced $300 Dyson Air Multiplier getting the $450 ColorWare treatment. For that absurd price you'll be treated to a brand new "bladeless fan" personalized with the airfoil, base, and control colors of your choosing from a healthy palette of gloss and sofTouch finishes. Of course, there's always the $150 option to send in your existing product for ColorWarezation, assuming you can go three weeks without habitually demonstrating the concepts of inducement and entrainment to baffled pets and family.
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.
Colorware ships its first original product: the $300 Grip for iPad (hands-on)
Colorware's been making the products you buy look better (or worse, if you'd like) for years on end, but up until now, it has never actually created a product from scratch. Enter the Grip for iPad, a simplistic new iPad holster that's less of a case and more of a handle. It's a metal frame that you bolt around the edges of your tablet, and as you can tell, it adds a major grabbing point to the side. But here's the rub: it's $300. Yeah, three Benjamins. We get that it's manufactured in Minnesota using that high-priced American labor, but seriously? The major problem is just how awkward that $300 price tag looks beside the $499 MSRP of the device it's supposed to hold; imagine buying a $13,000 set of tires for your $17,000 vehicle. It just doesn't sit well in the cranium. And then there's the problem of using it. %Gallery-104030% You see, as nice as it is to have a handle on your tablet at all times, it makes actually using the iPad in portrait mode practically impossible. You're constantly trying to figure out how to work around that bulge that's now there on the left side. Furthermore, it does essentially nothing for protection. The back is still wide open and susceptible to drops / scratches, and the front isn't recessed in the least. Adding insult to multiple injuries, there's not enough room to have a case wrapped around your iPad while it's inside of the Grip. Oh, and did we mention that the slightest bump against a rough surface will rip the paint right off of the device? We'd love to love the Grip -- it's mighty pretty and it's built like a tank -- but it simply makes no sense whatsoever at $300. Even at $100, you've got way better options when it comes to actually protecting your iPad. %Gallery-104033%
BlackBerry Torch 9800 gets the Colorware treatment, sees value increase infinitely
So look -- RIM's BlackBerry Torch 9800 isn't exactly the barnburner-of-a-smartphone that we were hoping it'd be, but at least it looks snazzy, right? Right? Regardless of your answer to that, it's a bona fide fact that Colorware has outdone itself on this one. Usually, it's most fun to toy around with the company's endless array of hues in order to create the most hideous version of your favorite gadget before pretending to hit the order button, but for whatever reason, the first handset to ship with BlackBerry OS 6 actually looks dapper in red and white. Or maybe that's just the Wolfpack in us talking. Either way, it's available to customize now in the source link for $250 (send your own) or $1,050 (buy new sans a contract). Video's after the break, should you need one.
ColorWare's Magic Trackpad magically eliminates 145 magic dollars from your magic bank account
Look: if you want an all-red Magic Trackpad, we can't and won't judge you. We can, however, judge you for spending $145 for the privilege of getting it. Like clockwork, custom paint job guru ColorWare has just flipped the switch on Magic Trackpad orders, letting you choose separate colors (in flat, metallic, or pearlescent paint) for the case and the pad itself. If you've already got a unit handy, you can send it in for $75, meaning you'll save a full dollar over the "buy new" option. It'll go great with your baby blue iMac and orange / black Magic Mouse, won't it? Peep ColorWare's promo video after the break.
Colorware freshens up BlackBerry Pearl 3G and Flip UltraHD with bodacious new paintjobs
Say, are you finding your 3G-equipped BlackBerry isn't looking quite so Pearlescent now that the Curve has also gone 3G and BlackBerry 6 seems to have moved things along (a bit)? Maybe it's time you gave that zany bunch at Colorware a call, as they've just started taking orders for repainting Pearl 3G (aka 9100) handsets into whatever shade of awesome you desire. Prices are still ludicrous, starting out at $165 for a respray or $640 for a brand new phone, though if you want some more affordable customization, you can opt to send in your Flip UltraHD for a $50 change of hue (or grab a new one for $260). Sure, none of it makes much fiscal sense, but then blinging out your gear was never about rationality anyway.
Colorware finally points the rainbow gun at Flip Ultra, UltraHD up next
It sure took 'em long enough, but Colorware has finally added the Flip Ultra pocket camcorder to its assortment of wares available to be doused in a rainbow's worth of hues. It's a fitting addition, of course, and those who'd prefer the HD version will be treated in the near future. For now, it'll cost you a Ulysses S. Grant (or more) to colorize your existing Flip Ultra, or $210+ to snag a minty fresh unit direct from Colorware. Best of all, you'll be able to paint the top, ring, bottom, back, cursor and button a different shade if you've got the cash, so hit that source link (or hop on past the break) if you're imagination is already whirring. %Gallery-99062%
Mac Mini suffers chromatic maltreatment at hands of Colorware
You didn't seriously think the Mac Mini would be spared, did you? The maniacal customizers over at Colorware have added Apple's latest bit of desktop furniture to their stable of "have it your way" electronics, with a $250 price tag for the paintjob by itself and a $1,000 levy if you want them to procure the hardware as well. Hey, we know that's expensive, but somebody's got to be buying all these crazy-hued gadgets for the company to keep going, right? Anyone willing to own up to it?
Colorware douses iPhone 4 in double rainbow, might just solve your reception issues
Given just how much that white iPhone 4 bumper is about to cost you on eBay, it seems as if a Colorware'd alternative has never been a better bargain. The master of gadget coloration is back once more, this time promising to dress Apple's latest problem child up with just about any combination of hues that you choose. Consumers can splash paint on the frame, back, button, SIM card tray and earbuds, with the minimum price set at $250 for a sent-in device. There's no guarantee that a coat of Colorware will serve to remedy those awfully annoying reception issues, but at least you can pocket a beautiful reminder of just how happy a pair of colorful bands can make the average vacationer. And that, friends, is priceless. %Gallery-97438%
Colorware jazzes up your new Xbox 360
No need for a fanciful new HDTV? Not even a new Segway? There's some colorful home entertainment gear for you yet. The famed gadget painting company just announced that Microsoft's shiny new Xbox 360 is the next to go under the gun, with near limitless color options waiting to be splashed onto each and every panel. If you managed to already pick one up, Colorware's charging $175 for the send-in option; if you're looking to buy new, that'll cost you at least five Benjamins. But hey, that's nothing for the satisfaction of owning a game console that's part orange, part lime green and part purple, right?%Gallery-96800%
Segway i2 suffers ultimate indignity at the hands of Colorware (video)
How does a niche repainting outfit like Colorware grow? By literally growing the size of things it deals with, apparently. As of today, Colorware will adjust the hues of your Segway i2 any which way you like for an entirely unaffordable $1,500. If you didn't have the foresight to buy one of these personal transporters before, you can have a brand new one, replete with your personalized paintjob, for $7,500. And good news for non-Americans: the latter option is available internationally too! See this beautiful freak moving and grooving in scarlet red just after the break.
Colorware slings paint onto next logical object: your HDTV
Bet you never thought people would line up to pay absurd amounts of money to have their otherwise vanilla gizmos coated in some of the swankest paints known to man. Turns out, Colorware has made a living from doing just that for those with vivid imaginations, and the company is finally breaking away from handheld gadgets and heading straight for your den. Starting this week, fat-walleted consumers can ping the company with a custom television request, namely the TV model and desired hue. The outfit's not publishing any sample prices due to the sheer quantity of available HDTVs out there, and sadly, the "send in" option ain't available here -- you buy new or paint yourself, bub. Anyone care to take a poke as to what that fire-engine red masterpiece up above would cost? Nah, we thought not.
iPad gets ColorWare'd, your retinas and savings may never recover (video)
You thought $500 to start for a silly tablet was bad? How about another $410 to get the thing in some other color than raw aluminum? Yes indeed, ColorWare is at it again, this time dunking the back of iPads into giant vats of Technicolor dreams -- or nightmares, depending on what combination of hues you choose. You can make your own design, with separate colors for the back, logo, and home button, but there's no escaping that $410 service charge -- or you can pay $910 for a new, painted 16GB model. The 64GB model is a whopping $1110, but the inspirational promo video after the break is entirely free.
Nexus One succumbs to Colorware's charms
Colorware's out to conquer the whole gadget world, it seems, as it has now added Google's first own-brand phone to its roster. Joining such hero devices as the Nook, iPhone 3GS, every modern console and even the occasional ThinkPad, the Nexus One will take three weeks to undergo its makeover, at a cost of $175 if you're supplying your own or $800 for a brand new one. Whether the results end up priceless or worthless will be entirely up to you, however, so feel free to practice on their design site a bit before pulling the trigger.
Nook becomes Colorware's latest victim
Look, we know we give Colorware a hard time -- mostly because it regularly spits out miscast creations like the abominable Kindle or the unlovable DSi -- but in the case of the Nook we're a lot more ambivalent. Sure, on the one hand you can concoct clashing color schemes like the one above that only someone from Portugal can truly appreciate, but if you slide past the break you'll find tasteful color combos are possible as well. Perhaps it's the Nook's simple logo on the back and straight-line color separation, but this is one instance where we might actually be willing to shell out the $125 asking price for a fresh paintjob. Hit the source link to try your hand at designing a prettier Nook yourself. [Thanks, Kent]