SpecialEditions
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Spotted: HP's special edition Pavilion dm1 by Alexandre Herchcovitch
Sometimes we tech writers are little more than laptop pornographers, aren't we? After smiling for Bond Blog's cameras earlier this month, this special edition HP Pavilion dm1 surfaced at a media event here in the states, and naturally we couldn't resist snapping a few in-the-wild shots of our own. Decked out by Brazilian designer Alexandre Herchcovitch, it features all the specs you'd expect from a dm1z (AMD Fusion APU, 11.6-inch display, etc.) except it's been gussied up to resemble that gold frock pictured below. What might interest you even more than the couture, though, is that this is the first time HP's let one of its guest laptop designers alter the texture on the interior as well. In this case, that means even the keycaps have a rough, almost snakeskin-like texture, just like the lid and underbelly. HP also took the opportunity to clarify that this will retail for $630 exclusively through QVC. That's not exactly cheap -- the unadorned dm1z starts at just $400 with the same specs -- though that's hardly the $1,800 price we were expecting. And, the laptop comes bundled with a matching mouse and faux leather sleeve -- for whatever that little bit of color coordination is worth.
NVIDIA announces special edition GTX 560 Ti with 448 CUDA cores, available now for $289
Now that we're officially in the throes of holiday shopping season, NVIDIA's rolling out a promotion of its own, though sadly it doesn't involve any steep discounts. The outfit just announced a special edition GPU: the GTX 560 Ti with 448 CUDA cores, running at 1.46GHz, a 732MHz graphics clock and 1.25GB of GDDR5 memory charging ahead at an effective rate of 3.8GHz. Other features include support for three-way SLI, DisplayPort, HDMI and DVI. Those specs place it snugly between the current GTX 560 Ti with 384 CUDA cores, and the higher-end GTX 570, which packs 480. If this seems like a puzzling move, it is indeed the first time NVIDIA's bothered with a limited holiday edition card, though in conversations with reporters the company made it clear its new hardware is meant to dovetail with the arrival of games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Battlefield 3 and Batman: Arkham City. If you're shopping for a gamer (or, you know, yourself), it's available now for $289 in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Russia and Nordic countries through companies like ASUS, MSI and Gigabyte, among others. Update: Looks like the reviews are rolling in! We've linked a handful of 'em below.
Capcom reveals mediocre Devil May Cry 4 special edition
What lurks inside is barely adequate, but Capcom has announced the contents of the Devil May Cry 4 Collector's Edition. A far cry from the cat helmets and Big Daddies we've come to expect from these sorts of compilations, this collection's highlight will be a DVD containing the first four episodes of ADV Film's Devil May Cry: The Animated Series. A second DVD, designed to be slipped into your computer, will also be included, and will feature a "making of" video, the DMC4 soundtrack, as well as icons, screen savers, and wallpapers. Underwhelming, sure, though what we're most disappointed in is that while the powers that be at Capcom decided to include an artbook in the collection, they went the cheap route and simply stamped the eye candy digitally onto a DVD. All of this will of course come stuffed inside a metal case, and while we enjoy shiny tin boxes as much as anyone, Capcom's gall to ask $80, some $20 more than the regular edition's asking price, for this lackluster montage is enough to make even our jaded heads shake in amazement. The special edition will ship for both the PS3 and Xbox 360 alongside the regular editions on February 5, 2008.
Crysis Special Edition promises featurette, vignette and kitchenette sink
And we half expected it to include an exploding palm tree or some nanosuit cuff links. EA has announced the contents of Crysis Special Edition, a rather restrained affair compared to the delayed duffel bags and legendary helmets we've seen attached to other anticipated titles. For an extra $10 on top of your ordinary $50 Crysis, you'll get a steelbook box housing the game (nice of them to include it!) and a bonus disc featuring all manner of making-of featurettes, vignettes and fluffy materials. Go ahead and tick "art book" and "soundtrack" on your embossed, special edition checklist as well.Finally, a "unique" vehicle (in-game, mind you) await those who purchase the Special Edition or pre-order either version of Crysis before November 16th. Hey, what's another $10 on top of that DirectX 10 graphics card?
