What do you think it takes these days to differentiate yourself in the overcrowded notebook marketplace? Dell has obviously tried in the past, but exploding batteries were perhaps in hindsight the wrong strategy to catch the imagination of the consumer. More successful will be its environmental commitments outlined on World Environment Day last week, especially its pledge to build the ‘greenest PC on the planet’ and become ‘the greenest technology company on the earth’.

Lenovo is doing a little bit better though…its Formula 1 sponsorship has been hard to miss; emblazoned all over the place, from Melbourne to Monaco, making the firm apparently now fourth in terms of global brand recognition in the world’s most glamorous motor racing competition. They’re also actually already the greenest company in the IT industry, according to Greenpeace thank you very much, pipping the likes of Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and, yes, Dell. And if all that wasn’t enough, they’re about to launch the most luxurious notebook PC…in the world ever, according to the firm's senior VP Milko van Duijl. Designed to for the highest of the high-end market, and to coincide with the anniversary of its Thinkpad range, the new box will include copious amounts of leather, apparently, and come with an integrated services offering, bells, whistles, and anything else you might think of.