Laptops are becoming more and more similar to the mobile phones. Not only that they keep on shrinking until they reach unbelievably small sizes, but they become to adopt the colorful trend we got used to with our handhelds. In fact, the colorful skins have stopped being a trend and transformed into a necessity. Some time ago, Dell announced that it will ship its Inspiron notebooks in a wide range of colors, while Gateway only managed to make two of its laptop series (the M and T models) available into three colors.

If Garnet Red and Pacific Blue are not just your cup of tea, Gateway has announced that the M- and T- series of notebooks it produces will be shipping in a wider range of colors. Among other interesting colors, gateway announced the availability of Merlot, Silver, and Arctic Bloom models. The M-series will become available in Merlot and Silver, while the T-series will also come in Arctic Bloom, a design that rather reminds you of flowers as stencils than of a mid-range laptop.

"Our customers responded so well to the jewel-toned colors we introduced last fall that we're expanding the line to offer customers even more choices in a PC that reflects their individuality and tastes," said Todd Titera, Gateway senior manager, notebook PCs, in a statement. "These new colors - Merlot, Silver and especially Arctic Bloom - have their own unique personality to please the fashion conscious and style-minded."

The company used a new color injection process, called InFuse, which contributes to the final, rich metallic aspect. The color is injected directly into the surface of the notebook, and then color and graphics are coated with a smooth, lustrous finish. The rainbow-like exterior hides a plethora of configuration options, based on Intel's Core 2 Duo processor. The "painted" version won't add any extra money to the base notebook; it will just add some extra fun.