limits

It's taken awhile, but Lenovo seems to have caught onto the whole limited-edition marketing trend, especially for luxury laptops. Only a few weeks after introducing its "Cloud of Promise" laptop commemorating the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese PC maker has gone live with a Web site that cryptically teases a "ThinkPad Reserve Edition."

Electronista notes that the site implies a leather casing, speculating that it will likely include features using the latest Santa Rosa technology, but no details have been confirmed. (What's the deal with leather these days, anyway?) It will be interesting to see … Read more

To be clear, that's a Dell computer, not Michael Dell now on display in the halls of the Smithsonian.

Dell, who earlier this year was reinstalled as CEO of the company he founded, donated his employee badge, a new Dell PC, and an original computer from PC Limited (Dell's original brand) made in 1985 to the National Air and Space Museum. The collection of items opened Thursday in Washington, D.C., as part of a temporary exhibit called "Treasures of American History."

An Altair computer, first-generation IBM PC and original Apple Macintosh are already in the … Read more

Ferrari's marketing department is apparently as finicky as the legendary brand's automobiles. That, at least, is the only explanation we can assume given its fickle nature on branded mobile phones.

Just a few months after announcing a custom Motorazr Maxx V6 that bore its nameplate, Ferrari has already made a sharp turn to another manufacturer: luxury handset maker Vertu, which will produce the "Ascent Ferrari 1947 Limited Edition" to mark the automaker's 60th birthday.

As for the specs, we'll leave you with Tech Digest's summary: "To match the year, there's 1947 … Read more

Regular readers of this space know that we're given to the occasional rant against silly special or limited editions, but this is one we can get behind: a "Blaze" MP4 player from Dutch company Sweex that comes preloaded with a trailer of Mr. Bean's Holiday. The player otherwise seems fairly unremarkable, available in 1GB black and 2GB pink for about $93 and $117 respectively. But there's one more thing--if you do buy one, you could win a ticket to the premiere of the movie.

AT&T rolled out a new security portal today called Smart Limits. Designed for parents who want to monitor all aspects of their children's activities, the site provides instructions for parental controls of the Internet, cellular phones, television watching, and regular landline telephone calls. There is one catch, though: all the information is for AT&T's services, so it's not going to work on your Comcast cable box or Verizon cell phone.

There's obviously a big push for parental controls, as Windows Vista and Web services like MySpace recently have pushed out new child protection initiatives. … Read more

In technology industry's continuing obsession with special collectors' editions, even Microsoft isn't immune. The "Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Limited Numbered Signature Edition" (catching breath) bears the signature of Bill Gates himself, though Engadget rightly speculates that we shouldn't expect a real autograph for the $259 price. How much would a Gates autograph fetch on eBay anyway?

Competition is usually a healthy thing in the marketplace, except when it comes to design. Companies have gotten so desperate to distinguish themselves that they too often resort to "special" or "limited editions," whether it be an 18k gold camera or a diamond-covered Mercedes. The result is often a monument to bad taste.

LG, thankfully, is an exception--and we're especially relieved because its new offering involves one of our favorite phones, the stainless-steel "Shine." The limited edition is essentially the same phone, save for a Korean poem engraved on the back in designer … Read more

In the hypercompetitive phone market, Nokia has apparently decided to take an Uzi-style approach and shoot at any design that moves. In the last few days alone, we've seen a "Powder Pink" model with a rotating display, a "Diamond Edition" in 24k gold and, now, a limited-run Lamborghini handset.

Like many other special editions, the stainless steel version of Nokia's 8800 Sirocco involves little change from the standard line other than some cosmetic effects, such as special Lamborghini ring tones. But Nokia does make one original claim, according to luxury blog Sybarites: "This … Read more

Here we go again--another "limited edition" vanity camera. A few days ago we saw Pentax re-issue its 18k gold SLR to mark its 60th anniversary. Not to be outdone, Matsushita is coming out with its own special Lumix DMC-FX07 edition in five lacquered colors. As Fareastgizmos notes, the compact cameras--limited to 100 per color--are the same as the Panasonic model launched earlier this year, except for the finishes. Oh, and they come in boxes made from paulownia trees that are native to China and cultivated in Japan and Korea. (Who could resist anything that comes in a box … Read more