Nokia Oro is covered with 18ct gold on the outside, tinged with Symbian regret inside

Nokia has just unveiled a strange new beast of a smartphone. Internally, it's your good old C7 -- 3.5-inch AMOLED screen, 720p video recording, 8 megapixel camera, a pentaband radio, and Symbian as your zombie OS -- but externally it's taken on a lick of gold paint and a rear cover made of real leather. The price for a phone built quite so luxuriously is said to be upwards of €800 ($1,126) before taxes and subsidies and launch is expected in Q3 in select countries across Europe and Asia. Russia in particular is called out as a successful market for such "premium" phones, with Nokia's Gabriel Speratti, General Manager for its operations in the country, explaining that:

"We have a large number of users who are looking for products with a build quality and superior materials that attest to their success and social standing. In some areas, possession of such premium products is the passport to being taken seriously."

We have to agree, owning a phone like this will certainly have an effect on your social life, we're just not so sure it'll be a positive one.

Nokia

MF Doom Sneaker Speakers are perfect for the supervillain rapper who has everything (video)

Back in March, Nash Money showed off a pair of Nike Air Force 1s that he had turned into desktop speakers -- pretty rad, but hardly flashy enough for a supervillain / rapper. The professional sneaker customizer has significantly stepped up his game after being commissioned by Sneaker Freaker Magazine, creating two pairs of speakers from some giant suede Pumas. Nash consulted MF Doom for the project, and the masked emcee offered up suggestions like "sci-fi and laser guns," "modern architecture and geometry," and "mad exclamation marks." The finished Sneaker Speaker Doomsday Edition (how timely is that?) Models have mic inputs and red, green, and blue lights with eight effects, like speed control and a dim function. They've got plenty of power and can can only be fired up by someone with the key -- in this case Doom and the magazine, both of whom walked away with a pair. That is, as much as someone with high-end speaker components in their shoes can walk away with anything. Click the source link for more pics or check a "making of" video after the break.

Sneaker Freaker Magazine