

Dell's been teasing us with its beautiful Adamo laptop for the past two months, and finally the thin and stylish laptop is revealed in all its glory. This 13-inch notebook rolls out in the U.S. and 24 other countries on March 26th, and its price of a buck shy of $2000 might scare away bargain hunters, but not the style-conscious.
The first in a planned line of fancy laptops (we hear there's a nine-incher on the way), this first Adamo has mostly respectable but not astonishing specs, including a 128GB solid-state drive, 2GB of memory, integrated Intel X4500 graphics, but a weak 1.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo U9300 processor. The solidly built, slim unit weighs four pounds.
The real story is the way this baby looks and feels. We've held both the aluminum and black Adamo laptops in our hands and can tell you that these are uniquely designed and high-quality PCs, which we immediately coveted at first sight in an early-January secret demo. Slim, shiny, all solid-state — it's the laptop of the year so far. Get a good look at both models in the gallery below, and for details, read the press release after the Continue jump.
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ROUND ROCK, Texas, March 17, 2009 - Style-minded people who place a premium on precision craftsmanship and design can now add Adamo to their list of must-have items for 2009. Dell today unveiled the world's thinnest laptop as a kick off to the new Adamo by Dell brand.
Adamo, derived from the Latin word meaning "to fall in love," will serve as a flagship in a line of products created to disrupt the personal computing space with the combination of new design, aesthetics, personalization choices and sought-after technologies.
The News:
Adamo is the pinnacle of craftsmanship and design and features:
· A chassis milled from a single piece of aluminum featuring precision detailing and a scalloped backlit keyboard
· Striking high definition edge-to-edge glass display
· Fully connected with WiFi, Bluetooth(tm) and optional integrated mobile broadband* and full complement of connectivity ports with no compromises
· Cool, quiet and robust solid state drives
· Available in Onyx and Pearl colors with a broad range of complementary accessories
· Price starting at $1999
Quotes:
"Great design needs to be timeless and evoke emotion in people", said Alex Gruzen, senior vice president of Dell's consumer products. "While a premium computing experience was assumed for Adamo, the intent was for people to see, touch and explore Adamo and be rewarded by the select materials and craftsmanship you would expect in a fine watch."
"Dell continues to signal a commitment to design and personalization across its entire product line and has made significant strides forward in the past year," said Rob Enderle, Principal Analyst, Enderle Group. "The Adamo laptop is a showcase for this commitment and a flagship product that will draw buyers to the brand."
People who choose Adamo will be offered a unique color matched collection of Adamo by Dell branded peripherals and accessories including, in the U.S. an exclusive line of bags from TUMI. Choices will include:
· External storage option with 250GB** or 500GB** external hard drive.
· External DVD+/-RW or Blu-ray disc drive.
· 8GB** USB drive.
· Connectors and cables including DisplayPort to HDMI, DVI, and VGA.
· Adamo Premium Service (US Only):
· 24/7 access to Dell's best trained technicians
· Consistent communication with a dedicated personal team
The Adamo by Dell brand is being supported by innovative and new approaches to marketing and promotion for Dell. Designed to challenge people's perceptions of what a computer is, the Adamo by Dell brand was inspired by fashion, luxury brands and timeless design.
Dell has looked beyond traditional approaches to reaching computer shoppers and launched a provocative campaign featuring:
· A stylish worldwide print campaign shot by acclaimed British-based photographer Nadav Kandar and featuring high-fashion models that reinforces the "fall in love" positioning. Kander, whose work is celebrated in galleries worldwide, also shot the moving portfolio, "Obama's People," which appeared in The New York Times Magazine earlier this year.
· AdamoByDell.com, the centerpiece of the campaign and a highly stylized site where viewers can learn about Adamo, register for updates and, beginning today, place orders. Since its launch last month, AdamoByDell.com has attracted nearly 800,000 unique visitors from around the world and more than 1 million page views.
· Artful packaging in which the product arrives "floating" in a clear box with minimal clutter - a beautiful experience for a sophisticated product.
Product Specifications:
· Intel® Core 2 Duo processors with Intel® Centrino ® technology
· DDR3 system memory
· 13.4-inch 16:9 HD display
· Draft-Wireless N
· High-performance solid state drives standard
· Bluetooth 2.1
· Mobile Broadband* option
· Up to 5+ hours of battery life (preliminary)***
· 2 USB ports, 1 USB/eSATA combo port, Display Port, RJ-45 port
· Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1, 64-bit
Available for pre-order today at www.adamobydell.com and shipping worldwide starting March 26, 2009, Adamo will be available online for purchase in 24 countries including U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, U.K. France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, ANZ, China, Honk Kong, India, Korea, Malaysia/Singapore, Japan, and Indonesia.
By Kraid2011 at 9:32 AM ON 03/17/09
They just keep coming and coming. I like their products, but Microsoft really should just work on OS. Dell was a good idea, but they have other things to work on.
By BoxerFanatic at 11:25 AM ON 03/17/09
Could this be more than a delled, er, dolled-up PC version of the MacBook, or MacBook Air?
Both of those can handle a solid state drive, built-to-order, and both can run TWO operating systems, and the MacBook could probably be optioned less-expensively than this computer's staring price.
With the option to run Mac OS and Windows, even at the same time (with proper emulation software), or separately...
Why would someone buy this computer over a MacBook, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air, for similar prices?
By creelnib at 12:05 PM ON 03/17/09
I don't like it...I'd rather the Macbook Air by far. And I am ready to kill for a Mac touch-screen tablet.
By Mihos at 1:22 PM ON 03/17/09
I have a MacBook Air... it is horrible. I use it pretty much for reading the internet in the bathroom, but that is it. I really don't see how anyone "could" like the Air other than some mis-placed brand loyalty.
As for the Dell, I would have to use it for a bit to pass judgement.
By Anonymous at 4:38 PM ON 03/17/09
I feel that Dvice is pretty bias against apple. DVICE complains about about prices for apple, yet with Dell coming out with it's pretty laptops at 2k a piece, DVICE shouts it's the best laptop of the year, when all it is, is the prettiest laptop of the year. It has no bang for it's buck.
Yet when mac comes out with a laptop that is 2k a piece, yet, has superior specs to this Dell computer, they speak of how pricy it is.
By Yogurt at 5:45 PM ON 03/17/09
@Anon
It is not DVICE that is biased. It's Charlie White in particular. He has berated Apple for almost everything, and dismisses any criticism as "avid apple fans who would love cardboard as long as it's branded as apple". Even when forced by common sense he refuses.
He is also the same guy who talks about global warming and prays (probably a prayer to humans and not to God) that everything can be run by solar power. Yesterday it snowed in Seattle metro, and today it's currently raining. We need global warming to power his stupid solar devices.
By Kyp at 8:20 AM ON 03/18/09
Sounds like all style and no substance. I'll stick with my quad core Alienware. It may be big and heavy but it has the horsepower I need to get the job done.
By S31Ender at 5:13 AM ON 03/19/09
So.....once again, Microsoft takes 900 dollars worth of components and slaps it into a "pretty dress" and charges us 2 grand for it. yay.
Explain the point again to me of including DDR3 ram but only a 1.197 GHZ processor again?
Also, for 2 grand it should be coming with a full on graphics card like a 9600gt mobile. Not an integrated card designed 3 and a half years ago.
The ONLY thing making this a 900 dollar computer is the solid state drive and DDR3. Which is completely negated due to the processor and lack of real videocard. Give me the case. I'll build something in it twice as fast for 1200 bucks.
By S31Ender at 5:15 AM ON 03/19/09
Sorry, by "microsoft" I meant Dell.
Either way......
By american perv at 9:20 AM ON 03/19/09
Loosley off topic: in the context of what we are discussing, what is your collective assessment of the Macbook Pro?
By dakota151 at 9:53 AM ON 03/19/09
It sure doesn't take but a second for the Mac users to get their knickers in a bunch... Try using it or going to see the demo product in a store before you bash it! But that wouldn't be the Mac way... just like the one comment that keeps saying Microsoft instead of Dell, you just hate Windows... tell me... if it's so bad, then how come you want a laptop that does a dual boot...? Compatibility, never happen... something is always out of sync with the rest of the world but then again.... that's a Mac for ya...
By Andy at 12:40 PM ON 03/19/09
Well, this is a bit of monkey see, monkey do... but here's something to chew on...
Mac Book - Aluminum 13" unibody
2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4 Gig 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM
128 Gig solid state drive
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics
8x DVD+/-R DL, DVD+/-RW, CD-RW
Backlight keyboard
$2074
Not bad, some would say that puts the Dell to shame on feature to price comparison.
By Truthseeker013 at 12:48 PM ON 03/19/09
Looks pretty, but it has one small problem. IT'S A DELL.
By james@jamesbonney.com at 12:26 AM ON 03/20/09
Hmmm, not for my money. No built in BRD or even DVD? It looks like a coffee shop machine. Be very wary of Dells' RJ-45 port. I just bought an XPS fully loaded for my wife and its RJ-45 port was the out-dated 10/100. (Worthless - I thought those had been discontinued years ago) To be able to work on photos or videos on a network we had to buy an additional PCI-Express card for gigabit speed. Unbelievable!
james@jamesbonney.com:
Hmmm, not for my money. No built in BRD or even DVD? It looks like a coffee shop machine. Be very wary of Dells' RJ...More »