Dell Wants You To Fall In Love With The Adamo XPS

Dell created a great deal of buzz in the spring of 2009 with the introduction of the Adamo brand and what was at the time Dell's thinnest laptop PC. Today, after months of leaked images, Dell introduced the all new Adamo XPS notebook. This thin-and-light notebook PC is as thin as four-tenths of an inch, yet offers extreme durability, cutting edge technology, and a completely new design for laptops.

True enough, the Adamo XPS brings the PC world a stunningly fresh laptop design intended to provide a unique experience from the first moment you touch it. With the swipe of a finger over the front edge of the notebook, the keyboard pops out from under the display as the system opens. In other words, the motherboard and other components traditionally located beneath the keyboard are now located behind the display on the Adamo XPS. You drop down the keyboard rather than raise up the display.

Adamo, derived from the Latin word meaning "to fall in love," is Dell's current flagship line of PCs created to offer customers a combination of new design aesthetics, personalization choices and the latest technologies. As previously mentioned, the "Adamo by Dell" brand was announced in January of 2009 and launched last March with the first Adamo laptop, which combined high-performance technologies in an aluminum case only .65-inch thick.

The impressively thin Adamo XPS weighs just over 3 pounds with the standard battery and, unlike many other thin-and-light notebooks currently on the market, you can replace the standard battery with a high-capacity battery if you don't mind the extra weight. Dell expects to begin taking orders and shipping the Adamo XPS with Microsoft Windows 7 pre-installed in time for the holidays. The Adamo XPS is priced starting at $1,799. More information is available at www.adamobydell.com.

Dell Adamo XPS Specs:

• Processor: 1.40GHz Intel Core 2 Duo ULV SU9400 (3MB Cache, 800MHz FSB)
• Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Display: 13.4" 720p (1366x768) HD WLED panel
• Graphics: Intel GS45 Integrated graphics with 256MB shared memory
• 4GB DDR3 RAM (2GB onboard, 2GB in SO-DIMM both running at 800MHz)
• Storage: 128GB SSD
• Network: 10/100 LAN via USB dongle, Intel 5300 Ultimate-N (802.11a/g/n) half mini-card, optional Dell Wireless 2.1 Bluetooth
• 20WHr Li-Ion battery standard (rated at 2 hours and 36 minutes) or 40WHr Li-Ion battery option (rated at 5 hours and 17 minutes)
• Dimensions (HxWxD): 0.38-0.41" x 13.39" x 10.78"
• Weight: Starting at 3.2 lbs with standard battery
• MSRP: starting at $1,799

First Impressions
At first glance, there are indeed several reasons to fall in love with the Dell Adamo XPS. This thin-and-light notebook is less than half an inch thick even at its "thickest" part (near the USB ports). The full size keyboard with aluminum keycaps feels extremely nice and should prove much more durable than typical plastic Chiclet style keyboards. Dell likewise did something right by making the battery a replaceable component. While Apple's MacBooks look cool, road warriors using MacBooks are often tethered to power outlets because they can't simply pop in a second battery or larger capacity battery while traveling.

Speaking of road warriors, the Adamo XPS includes built-in location awareness via GPS: a fantastic feature that allows you to instantly figure out where you are and where you need to go while on the road. Also, our entire editorial team agrees the capacitive latching device (a piece of memory metal that electronically "senses" when you swipe your finger across it to release the keyboard) is just plain cool.

What's not to love after reading all those glowing words of praise? A lot. For starters, the Adamo XPS only delivers about 2 and a half hours of battery life with a standard battery despite the use of an ultra low voltage Intel Core 2 Duo processor. While the 13-inch WLED display looks amazing, Dell only offers one screen resolution (1366x768) despite the fact that a higher resolution of 1600x900 would be more attractive at this price point. Speaking of price, let's face it ... $1,800 is a lot to ask for any thin-and-light notebook when many of these CULV-based machines are priced at less than $900.

While the Dell Adamo XPS indeed has an innovative design, the biggest potential reason that style-conscious road warriors might decide to pass on this notebook is ... the innovative design. This is the first thin-and-light notebook we've ever seen that isn't designed to be a "laptop." Since the elevated keyboard drops down out of the display bezel on the Adamo XPS this makes it next to impossible to use on your lap. Granted, most frequent travelers use their notebooks on airline tray tables or hotel desks, but you can forget about comfortably using this PC on your lap in a crowded airport or while sitting on your couch ... unless you like using a partially folded notebook that looks like this:

In short, the Adamo XPS might actually be considered a thin-and-light "desktop replacement" since its design isn't conducive to use on your lap. Still, we reserve our final judgment until we're able to get a final production-level Adamo XPS in our office for review.

Be sure to check back with NotebookReview.com for more coverage of the Dell Adamo XPS, and be sure to take a look at the discussions in our forums to see what other people think about this innovative new design.

Related Articles:

• Exclusive hands on with the Dell Adamo

 

I am sorry to continue bothering on this things...
This thin-and-light notebook PC is an thin as four-tenths of an inch, yet offers extreme durability, cutting edge technology, and a completely new design for laptops.
Should be corrected.

^^ considering the Adamo was SO customizable...lol

Isnt this a bit contradictory?

So this laptop is actually out for sale? Nice...

 

Corrected the first typo.

The reference to the other thickness is a reference to the thickness of the original Adamo.

The original Adamo was 0.65" thick and the Adamo XPS is 0.41" thick.

The Adamo XPS is not currently for sale, but Dell promises it will be soon ... at least "in time for the holidays" according to Dell's reps.

 

OOOHH now that makes sense now!! Thanks for the heads up.

Although it looks nice and very appealing, the non-lap design is a deal breaker for me and the steep price. Now I wonder, is this just a halo product?

 

It sounds like the case is opened by capacitive touch, which requires electricity. What happens if something shorts out, you don't have battery, the sensor just fails, is the lid locked shut?

 

That's an interesting question!

The Adamo XPS "might" indeed be a halo product (a product whose primary purpose isn't to be sold but rather to promote a brand and create positive consumer associations or buzz).

I suspect Dell would love to sell many, many Adamo XPS notebooks this holiday season, but the primary purpose of the Adamo by Dell brand is probably to showcase new technology and design and make Dell look good ... thus improving sales of other (more affordable) Dell notebooks.

 

You are correct. The capacitive latch uses a strip of memory metal that expands/contracts via an electrical charge when you swipe your finger over the latch area.

As you mentioned, if there is absolutely no power going to the Adamo XPS (no battery and no AC adapter) then you won't be able to open it.

Of course, you can make the argument that you'll never need to open the notebook if the battery isn't inside or the AC adapter isn't plugged into a power outlet.

As far as sensor failure goes, I suppose it's also equally likely that a mechanical latch could fail ... preventing you from opening/closing a traditional laptop. Like Serg suggests, I think the Adamo XPS is primarily designed to showcase the newest, coolest stuff Dell can do ... so it makes sense that they would use a fancy capacitive latch rather than an old-fashioned mechanical latch.

 

While it costs far too much for me to buy, even with the means to buy it I wouldn't. That hinge thing that sticks out looks like it would make it unwieldy on a lap. Minus that sticking out hinge, it might be a decent luxury laptop.

 

Now something else that has me thinking.
This capacitive thingy to open the latch.
If it needs current to be on, that means that even when the laptop is off, it is consuming electricity in order to keep that sensor working for whenever you need/want to open it.

If you ask me that is a terrible design flaw (a.k.a. FAIL!). If you carry the laptop and that thing is consuming, on the long rung, you wont have any battery life left! Then what is the point?

If you ask me, this is just a "bragging" laptop from Dell. Just to show us what they are capable of doing, how thin, powerful (relative), and advanced they can be. Other than that, the functionality of this, sorry, the ergonomics on this design are far from being optimal.

 

The only thing I like about it is the 128GB SSD, other than that it is all show no go.

 

How does this thing not tip over!? If you look at the side view it should just fall over, especially consider all the business parts are in the screen.

 

There is tension to the hinge of the keyboard (similar to how current notebook screen hinges have tension). As long as you're using the Adamo XPS on a firm desk-like surface, or have the screen pushed back, it will stay in its open position ... assuming you don't push down too firmly when pressing the keys and cause the notebook to start to close.

There is also a reasonable amount of weight in the keyboard section and most of the weight behind/below the screen is located at the bottom of the notebook ... so it won't tip backward when the screen is pushed back like this:

 

There is some conflicting information with this site and NBR

The underlined part. That is what I meant. It needs power constantly, so eventually, even if not being used, your battery will run out. Now THAT is a flaw.

 

hmmmm may not be too bad as most memory metals I am familiar with use such an extremely low amount of power

 

As far as the dimensions go, all I can tell you is that the official information I have from Dell says the thickness is 0.38-0.41" ... meaning the thickest part is 0.41"

Until I receive the full technical briefing or a review unit from Dell I can only base my comments about the location awareness and capacitive latch on what little hands-on time we had with a prototype and the preliminary press materials.

 

You are getting one for trial?
NICE! Now I want your job! hahahaha

Keep us posted on this laptop. I am really interested in this laptops specs, since, knowing Dell, some of them will leak to their actual consumer laptops. (perhaps the memory metal from the AXPS and the wireless charging of the Z?)

 

Can't say for sure yet. We get many Dell notebooks for review, but not EVERY notebook.

I agree that sooner or later we will see some of the features from the Adamo XPS in other Dell notebooks.

 

BTW, have you gotten the Z600? I'd love to know how the wireless charger works on that, since I had thought of that idea a loooong time ago (and my friends laughed at me since it sounded stupid) and a year later Dell comes out with this...

 

Ah i see. The tension being there goes without saying ofcourse but yeah, they've probably had to do some weighing down and distributing weight carefully to give it it's balance. Sucks you can only comfortably use it on a desk or flat surface.

 

Very pretty, but the specs stink for that price. Not for me.

 

Interesting design but a few quibbles... Is there a backlit keyboard? Was I just reading too quickly or does a laptop this expensive not possess a backlit keyboard? As someone who just purchased and is slightly underwhelmed but still impressed with his Envy 15, I don't think there's any reason to omit backlit keyboards on these super-high end laptops.

In addition, I'd love to see Dell create a "MacBook Pro" competitor instead of a MacBook Air one. It seems that so many of these companies are going for what I see as a much smaller market - people who don't really care about power but are willing to pay for style to an exorbitant premium, compared to those that want both style, great build quality, and power. The Adamo line seems underwheming as there's no true discrete graphics model, the Sony Z is incredibly expensive but only moderately powerful and a bit out of date, and the HP/Voodoo Envy seems to be the only model that's striving for both power and luxury.

I'm glad that more OEMs are branching into the high end made of good materials with quality industrial design, but I'd like to see those same aspects in notebooks designed for power users and gamers.

 

I really don't get what's the big deal about thinness??? Beside cutting a little weight, I see no other good for it. And a laptop is too thin easily get damaged. Are we all so weak that we can't carry 1-2 lbs more?

 

As I said above, I am thinking this laptop, and the Z600, are only halo models from Dell (models that are not actually meant to be sold, but to highlight Dell as innovative and the engineering they can do so that people speak better of them and buy their actual consumer products). It is known that many companies use halo models, and Dell has done this before, with the Adamo. Now the AXPS is out, and it is, like the Z, a thing never seen before, with strange technologies, at high prices. They are not really meant to be sold widely, but to a niche very small.

 

This is a 'niche' laptop. It's meant for people who are more into status and aesthetics. The Adamo was created to match head to head with the MacAir but somehow evolved into something totally different. The Adamo is more akin to an upscale designer line of Dell products unlike Toyota/Lexus and Nissan/Infiniti.

 

Nice system, but strange that the display axle raises the notebook that much by opening it. Doesn't that pretty much kill using it in a crowded airplane seat? It's all about the height.

 

I wonder about the vertical viewing angle. Plus you can't adjust the angle very well for when glare is a possible issue because of the way the Adamo XPS is designed to sit. Laptops shouldn't be designed as such because it presents that inherit problem.

 

The way I read it was that it needs power to open the laptop. This however does not mean that its constantly drawing power. It only draws power when you swipe your finger.

How we advance in technology comes from the development of such things like the Adamo.

 

wow that is huge for a 13 inch laptop. 2 inches more depth than the 13 in Macbook and about 1 inch wider. It's thinner but it's almost like they flattened it like a pancake

 

I wonder what the internals of this notebook look like. Also, I have my doubts regarding the keyboard's feel, the thin design might compromise the key travel/tactile feedback.

I was skeptical about the thin trend as well until I actually purchased an ultra-thin notebook. I bought an 0.93" thin HP ProBook 5310m, and wow, the form factor is amazing. The difference is quite profound after using 15/15.4" notebooks for years and a very welcome one. Thinness/lightness may seem like a bunch of fluff but it makes more of a difference than the numbers suggest. It's something you have to try.

 

I'm all for thin and light - that's because they tend to be more mobile, and thus more practical. That laptop appears to be anything but practical. It doesn't strike me as a PC you would want to use for any length of time. That hinge jutting out is a real liability against using it in an actual mobile environment, which is what thin and lights excel at.

 

Anyone know if it is possible to use this machine without the lid being fully tilted back? If not, it just occurred to me that makes it useless in an airplane (coach, anyway).

 

Definitely thumbs up.

I moved from a dell 1520 to a 13" MBP, and man its a world of a difference. I don't think I'd ever buy laptops thicker than 1" again!

I was unaware of the HP probook, that is one hot machine. Decently priced too.

 

It's not that I haven't tried any thin notebook before making that statement. But those so called ultra thin that I had my hands on feel too fragile and so "weak." I can bend the chassis, bend the lid, keyboard flexes...all kinds of stuff. I carry a backpack with 10lbs of books and 9lbs of laptop of equipments so give or take a few lbs doesn't make a difference to me. Sure thinness is good with its form factor. But the downside is that you have to trade off a lot just that one little thin factor. I don't know why but psychologically thin appears "sexier" to eyes for some reason.

 

i don't like the design. i think the previous adamo looks better.

 

I dont see that possible without compromising the stability and rigidity of the structure. I mean, if you put the screen in a more vertical position, so is the chin thing, and the keyboard would be raised, and the center of gravity would move towards the back, instead of being centered.

It appears to me that this thing has only one position, due to the design.

Well thinness has it advantages. If you have a tightly packed laptop with a good infrastructure, you have a more solid laptop than a bigger-more-hollow one...you wouldnt be able to flex it because there is nowhere to be flexed...at least that is the case as laptops such as the UL30A

 

CNET.com has a video of the new Adamo. Looks cool but it is an unusual design. Will I buy it? nah.

 

That's a trick question.

People that buy the Adamo XPS wouldn't be caught dead in coach.

 

Well, if I was given one I would not complain, but I would probable sell it.

 

If you have this laptop. WHY ARE YOU IN COACH?!?! lol

 

Some videos to have some fun:
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Is the pricing really that bad?128Gb SSD and the processor alone are like 800 dollars. Considering the volume dell intends to sell and the research, I wouldnt doubt if these are sold at a loss in the end.

 

I actually think the pricing of the Adamo XPS is not that bad.

 

I don't like the design. Looks ugly to me.

 

Amen to that!

 

Dell totally ruined the design with the way it opens, it's ugly and not practical. With the back end scraping along the table/surface constantly like that, I wonder if it will end up all scratched up after a few years.

 

Erm ... I am still not sure about this thing in terms of solidity ... I have an Asus UL30A-A2 and I very much like the "compacted look", but the creature feels sturdy. It just looks WAY too easy to accidentally break....

 

Chaz, what exactly feels so much better in the thinner notebooks ? Is it just the weight ? The footpprint is the same.

 

In this case the footprint is even bigger compared to the HP dm3.

 

if there is one thing i dont like this ultraportable is its size, while its thin, the surface is almost as big as a regular 15.4", especailly with its width close to 11", and 3.2lbs is quite a disppointment.
i think im gonna wait for rumored apple tablet or next version of adamo xps.
unlike dell m1730 or dell studio 16, adamo lines are downright failures.

 

Thin was a buying factor for me since my bag is completely filled. Getting a half-inch more space in there vs. my previous notebook is very welcome.
There isn't a scientific way to explain how thin feels so I'll just go out and say that a thin notebook is just plain cooler to use. It's one of those 'try before you buy' things.