The industry is all a buzz with the latest entry in the “I’m the thinnest laptop” competition. The latest Dell Adamo is definitely a strong contender, at 9.99 mm at some points. Of course, that’s just the official figure. I would have tested it myself but I forgot my calipers.
The Adamo definately does the sleek, simplistic look well. About two inches bigger in both directions than a sheet of paper and only 3.2 lbs, you could almost forget you were carrying this thing around. Although forgetting you have $1800 in your arms might not be the most desirable…
Dell replaced the usual manual cover latch with a heat-sensitive capacitor. Just swipe your finger across the front edge and the lock disengages. When you open the Adamo, the screen doesn’t so much fold up as the keyboard folds down. It rests in the crazy position you see below. And it’s not just for looks, kids. The open space under the unit allows for more effective airflow, meaning no more burning laps while you work. The keyboard has full sized, metal keys, and the angle didn’t interfere with my typing at all. The touchpad on the other hand, is a little on the small size. This thing has multitouch support, but even my small hands found trouble getting multiple fingers on there. Another thing I didn’t like was that when you adjust the angle of the screen, it moves the angle of the keyboard as well.
Now I’m sure the question you’re all wondering is how in the world does this thing sit on your lap? Its actually pretty comfortable, and you can type without fear of knocking it off your lap with each keystroke. However, it does only have two points of contact so its not as secure against people bumping into you as other laptops.
As for the device’s internals, nothing jumps out at the eye. The screen is 13.4″. Powered by a 1.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with integrated graphics and 4 GB of DDR3 RAM. You get 128 GB of SSD, no word on whether that is upgradable yet. Wireless comes in two flavors, 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1. The only ports on the laptop are 2 USB 2.0 jacks, audio, and a DisplayPort out. Ethernet, HDMI, and the like can connect through the use of an external dongle.
Another cool feature is the replaceable battery. But you’ll have to be replacing it every 2 and a half hours. Not very long for a laptop that is designed for maximum mobility, but at that size? Can’t beat it.
You can expect the Adamo sometime this holiday season. Windows 7 comes standard as well as the diamond-etched logo on the cover. If you’re into that sort of thing.
i would take this sexy ass dell over that piece of garbage air anyday….
That would surely hurt your wrists after awhile from typing at such an absurd angle? What about placing it onto your lap? Is that even realistically possible? Does it fall over easy? It sure looks like it would.
This entire design is a giant fail. It sacrifices everything in the name of being the thinnest. Even Apple wouldn’t go this far, well, especially since it’s pretty ugly. I mean really, it IS pretty ugly. It’s just thin, that’s all.
that heat sensitive latch will keep the vampires from opening my laptop with their chilly chilly fingers of death.
Dell actually told me when I demoed the unit that vampires were the primary focus behind that latch. These guys… Always thinking ahead…
Design FAIL!
Horrible design, slow notebook, ugly, not my type.
I prefer MacBook Air, which is simple, well designed, cheaper and with a much better OS.
;)
Maybe because you can’t afford it victor?Crapbook air sucks.
To apple’s credit they did replace it, but my buddy’s macbook air’s hinge cracked in the first month of owning it. I would have to go out on a limb and say that it was not well designed. Maybe the second revision, but certainly not the launch units.
The macbook air does look quite a bit more sexy than this though. That F’d up angle kills the adamo for me.
Why are many of the pictures that weird brown color?
Looks nice. I think that is the first good thing I’ve said about a Dell computer in many many many years.