Dell Adamo Unveiled

by Jarred Walton on January 9, 2009 12:00 PM EST

Dell Adamo Unveiled


Today Dell officially confirmed that they will be releasing a new ultrathin laptop called the Adamo. The Adamo is a sleek laptop with an aluminum chassis, with a strikingly similar appearance the HP Voodoo Envy 133. Dell has not revealed any final specifications, and we are unable to discuss what we saw in the current version, but we did get a chance to handle and use the current Adamo prototype.

Dell has been rumored to be working on the Adamo for a while now, and they've been refining the design during that time. Since the launch of Apple's new MacBook lineup, a lot of people have been impressed by the quality of the aluminum construction, and the Adamo we used definitely looks and feels like a high quality notebook. As a side note, we asked about the possibility of using this sort of chassis Dell's other notebooks. Dell indicated that the amount of time and energy required to produce such a chassis is simply too long to do on a mass scale (not to mention the cost), so it will likely remain in smaller volume products. Dell simply ships far too many laptops to be able to produce that many chassis in a timely fashion.

Dell was kind enough to let us take some photographs of the current Adamo prototype; again, keep in mind that things could change slightly before the product actually ships. The current plans are for two base models, one black and the other white/silver. While they both look incredibly stylish, we have to admit that we are partial to the white notebook, since Black has a nasty habit of showing every single fingerprint/smudge, even with a brushed aluminum surface.

While this appears to be an upper end product, Dell has always done exceptionally well in the realm of mass production, so there's a reasonable chance that the Adamo could end up being more affordable than the competition. We hope so, as there's a lot of demand for a light ultrathin notebook that can still pack more power than the current netbooks. Final pricing and details will have to wait until Dell is closer to shipping the Adamo, which should be sometime later this spring.

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  • crimson117 - Friday, January 9, 2009 - link

    I like how it has a big magnet on the bottom so you can stick it on your refrigerator.

    http://www.anandtech.com/GalleryImage.aspx?id=5261">http://www.anandtech.com/GalleryImage.aspx?id=5261
  • tonytopper - Friday, January 9, 2009 - link

    What's the guess on the native resolution?

    I hope it's at least WSXGA.
  • legoman666 - Friday, January 9, 2009 - link

    Looks like a mac.
  • tim851 - Friday, January 9, 2009 - link

    I think it looks very much NOT like a Mac. There are just so many ways a (practical) notebook can look and as they come, this one looks relatively unique. Nice to see some non Apple vendors finally putting in the effort to go all the way and make an altogether sexy laptop.

    But although I will never use one of these, I have to say that I HATE it when they put some extra keys flush next to the regular "edge" of the keyfield, that is next to the Backspace and Return keys.
  • Bluestealth - Friday, January 9, 2009 - link

    It does sort of, but isn't that the point? See this is why I am glad that Apple exists to get PC Manufacturers thinking of how to improve the aesthetics of their machines, since it spurs innovation. That said I am not in favor of Steve Job's war on buttons and glad I don't use a mac because of it. I am glad someone is willing to spend money on hardware that makes the rest of the industry actually get off their asses and design a better and not just cheaper machine.
  • Solandri - Friday, January 9, 2009 - link

    I really don't like the look of Apple's latest gen notebooks. They look like someone took them off the manufacturing line too early. I keep wanting to mount it on a mill to bevel the edges some more. Is it just me?
  • ltcommanderdata - Friday, January 9, 2009 - link

    Is that a MagSafe connector to the left of the 2 USB ports in the middle? It certainly looks like it to me. If that's the case, I guess the Unibody construction isn't the only thing from Apple Dell is trying to replicate.

    The one of the right looks like a eSATA, and the circular port looks like a headphone jack.
  • crimson117 - Friday, January 9, 2009 - link

    Looks like it uses a regular AC adapter:

    http://www.anandtech.com/GalleryImage.aspx?id=5271">http://www.anandtech.com/GalleryImage.aspx?id=5271
  • mmntech - Saturday, January 10, 2009 - link

    It's a smaller one than usual, like the old Gameboy AC adaptor plugs. It would be nice though if PC manufacturers embraced Magsafe, given how easy it is to damage the power ports and connectors with the conventional ones.

    The other two ports are definitely eSATA and DisplayPort. Too bad hardly anything uses DisplayPort. It's more of a PITA than anything else at this point because adaptors for it are so expensive.
  • Zoomer - Saturday, January 24, 2009 - link

    Magsafe isn't necessary, at least not if dumb stuff like using the power cord as a tripwire isn't done.

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