Featuring a brushed metal case and scalloped keytops, the Adamo offers rather ordinary notebook specifications: a 1.2GHz Intel Core2duo U9300 processor, integrated Intel X4500 graphics, 2GB memory, a 128GB SSD drive, a 13-inch screen, two USB ports, a USB/eSATA port and an external display port, all in a 13.03-inch by 9.5-inch by 0.65-inch package that weighs in at a surprisingly heavy four pounds.
Aside from the big expensive SSD drive, the only thing remotely spectacular about Dell's Adamo notebook is the price, $1,999 for the base model, with a second, higher-spec model priced at $2,699 due to be released on March 26.
Apparently priced to compete with base models of Apple's Macbook Air and HP's Voodoo Envy notebooks in the $1,800 (Air) to $2,100 (Envy) price range, Dell's Adamo is neither as light as either one of those nor does it match their 1.6GHz-1.8GHz processor speeds or the bleeding edge Nvidia 9400 graphics chipset of the Macbook Air.
There's also the glaring fact that Dell's fancy new Adamo notebook prices are massively undercut by similar notebooks sold by... Dell itself. A quick browse at Dell's own website reveals a broad selection of 13-inch and larger Dell Inspiron, Studio and XPS notebooks priced starting from $399 through $1,199. Those are price differences of $800 to $1,600, but without closely comparing specifications it's not clear that Dell's Adamo notebook offers more features, performance or value than some of its better lower cost models.
The Adamo surfaces after a seemingly endless marketing tease by Dell that culminated at the CES show in January, where Dell hired a booth babe to show off a prototype but didn't reveal specifications, turn it on or allow anyone to touch it. Or her.
It was an obvious try at guerrilla marketing as the Round Rock, Texas company attempted to generate buzz for its purportedly super-cool, fashionable laptop.
Having noticed the premium prices Apple and others could command for their sleek, hip notebooks, Dell apparently decided to break out of the lacklustre but functional image that its ubiquitous black plastic laptops had earned over the years. It's recently started offering notebooks in bright colors and even floral designs, but that hasn't transformed its image towards anything approaching the Gen-X hip chicness of Apple's sleek laptops.
Dell's Adamo notebook was supposed to change that, but forget Gen-X: this is more Gen-Why oh why?
However, in an unfortunate coincidence of rather tragic market timing, Dell has managed to announce its Adamo notebook straight into the teeth of the worst global recession - if not depression - in more than two generations. That fact alone will make it quite unlikely that Dell is going to sell a lot of its fancy new Adamo notebooks this year or maybe next.
The rich elites and ridiculously overpaid hipsters will likely keep buying their electronic status symbols from Apple, while a suddenly more price-conscious middle class looks to value for money, and the recently laid-off, foreclosed-upon and insecure keep whatever computers they've already got and worry more about rent and buying groceries.