I mean that in the best possible way.

It really is impossibly thin. I felt like I was holding a single sheet of aluminum that was contoured into the curved shape of a laptop. I set it down, gingerly, because I didn't want to break it, since I didn't know at the moment that it was $1800. My finger slid across the latch to disengage the heat-sensitive capacitive latch.

There was no visible sign my stroke was the lucky one, so I waited a second before prying the top half upward. It wasn't entirely seamless—I had to hold the bottom half down as with a single finger as I pulled the display open and the keyboard slid forward, like a notebook out of a Pierce Brosnan-era James Bond era. The metal keys were cold. Which I kind of liked, actually.

When it's in full bloom, the entire computer is propped up, resting on the front edge of the keyboard and outer edge of the display, so from the side it looks like an L that's had its foot broken. It's one reason I think the Adamo XPS is insane—there's just nothing else like it, and that's what I love about it, all practical issues aside. Like one I suspected initially, and confirmed when I had to balance it near the window—it's going to be tricky to actually use in your lap. Do you let the overhang reset against your kneecaps? Or do you perform a balancing act, resting the slim edges on your legs, hoping you don't lean one way or the other? The design's not simply to show off your $1800 Ginsu blade by Dell, either—it's for heat dissipation.

The 1366x768 LED display is sunken, so there's a rim around it. That's because the bottom folds up into the top, with a puffy lip, holding the webcam and mic, hanging over it. I worry slightly about the camera lens getting scratched, since it's exposed whenever the Adamo XPS is closed.

I didn't get to actually use the computer much, but it's got essentially the same ultralight guts as the original Adamo, with the important distinction that it's running Windows 7, so it should be a smoother ride in theory. The 20Whr battery, however, is only rated to deliver 2 hours and 36 minutes of battery life, so it's going to be a very short ride. There's a 40Whr battery available that doubles the life, but it murders the whole point of the Adamo XPS. It has 2 USB ports, DisplayPort video out (with an optional HDMI dongle) and a dongle for ethernet.

Really, it's more a work of art and engineering than a functional computer, but honestly? That's just fine, though, because it's a pretty fantastic one.

DELL ANNOUNCES ADAMO XPS, A DAZZLING GIFT IDEA FOR STYLE-MINDED THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
· World's Thinnest Laptop is 0.4-inch thin

· Adamo XPS Reinforces Dell's Commitment to Craftsmanship and Design

· Advanced Head-Turning Design Offers Full Feature Set for On-The-Go Computing

ROUND ROCK, Texas, Nov 5, 2009 … Last spring Dell set the computing industry abuzz with the introduction of its Adamo brand, and along with it the world's thinnest laptop PC. Today, the world meets a new champion of thin: The Dell™ Adamo XPS™, measuring 9.99mm or just four-tenths of an inch. Both laptops set new standards for craftsmanship, design and engineering excellence.

Adamo XPS is a stunning laptop whose design provides a unique experience. With the swipe of a finger, the keyboard appears from under the display as the system is open. The feature set challenged engineers to build the latest technology into a compact space, including:

· 4GB* DDR3 800 memory;

· Intel Core 2 Duo (1.4Ghz) ultra-low voltage processor;

· Thin 128GB SSD for faster, cooler, quieter and more durable storage than traditional hard drives;

· A 13.4-inch high-definition display.

The attention to detail is apparent in the black, jewelry box-like packaging that is as striking as the laptop itself. A tug on a cloth loop reveals the Adamo XPS and assorted accessories that accompany the system. The Adamo XPS was recently recognized as the hottest Windows 7 product by leading technology analyst Rob Enderle with Digital Trends.

Adamo, derived from the Latin word meaning "to fall in love," is 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 Adamo by Dell brand was launched last March with the first Adamo laptop, which combined high-performance technologies in a finely-machined aluminum case only .65-inch thick.

The pencil-thin Adamo XPS weighs just over 3 pounds** and measures 13.39 x 10.71 inches. 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 $1799. More information is available at www.adamobydell.com

[Dell]

The highly abnormal machine offers some decidedly normal specs: though nothing is official just yet, the XPS will reportedly sport either 1.4 and 1.9 GHz dual-core Intel processors, 128 or 180 GB SSD, integrated X4500MHD graphics, and 4GB of DDR3 RAM, sitting under a 13.4 inch WXGA LED-backlit screen.

Batteries are slated as 20Wh or 40Wh for 2 and a half or 4 hours of life respectively, but owners will need to keep an eye on their juice, as the unique heat-sensitive opening mechanism won't work when the Adamo's batteries run out. [Engadget]

It's a heat-sensitive latch—get it? More specifically, it's a "heat-sensing strip on the lip that, when swiped with a finger, glows white and automatically opens the aluminum lid," according to a report in BusinessWeek.

When it comes to how I open super thin $2,000 laptops, I expect nothing less. [BusinessWeek via Engadget]

It's also apparent the laptop's undercarriage (which holds the keyboard) folds up into a recess where the screen is. Freaky. But I like it.

The entry-level Dell Adamo—with 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB of RAM and a 128GB solid-state drive—now costs the same $1,500 as its 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook Air counterpart—which has no 128GB SSD. The top of the line, however, has only been reduced to $2,230, with a 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 128GB SSD, 4GB RAM, and built-in 3G connectivity. That's still more expensive than Apple's $1,800 higher end, although the latter only has 2GB RAM and no 3G built-in.

Next: The Moon turning to blood, dogs cohabiting with cats, trumpets playing, hell freezing over, the dead walking among us, and George Lucas writing and directing the next Star Trek. [Dell via Electronista]

According to the the company (via the NYT), the new laptops will be most closely comparable to the Dell Adamo, MacBook Air and Voodoo Envy. They'll be a bit thicker, but still under an inch; they'll have slower processors, but not Atoms; they'll be light, but not feather-light. This concerted effort of "buts" means that these almost ultrathin (semiultrathin? kindathin?) laptops will ship in at less than half the price of their expensive cousins, some even dipping below the $600 threshold.

This wouldn't be a revolutionary category, but it would be an attractive one: ultrathin laptops, as recently exemplified by the Adamo, are already rife with compromise, as they're slow, they don't have optical drives, contain wimpy video hardware and they're not very expandable. They just represent the wrong kind: a compromise with a singular, obsessed focus on weight and size, with no regard for price. A re-balancing of the formula, like the one Intel is predicting, would be more than welcome. [NYT]

[core77 via BBG]

The Adamo seems pretty well built, using actual metal hinges to attach the screen to the rest of the laptop, however the lack of an integrated DVI and un-replaceable RAM seem lamentable. But check it out for yourself, and be sure to grab more images over at [TechRepublic].

The Adamo is both a compliment and an insult to Dell engineering. It's possibly the most beautiful computer Dell has ever manufactured, but I'm not sure that Dell has caught up to competitors in either aesthetics or power. There have been lots of qualitative Adamo reviews out there, but we got the first of the units that will actually ship to customers, so it's time for real benchmarks. As it happens, performance is really what's at stake here.

Design

On one hand, the Adamo is a laptop built from as many parts aluminum as testosterone. It's decorated with three different finishes of black metal, including a classy matte grain that makes up a majority of the case, but then Dell tops all that blackness off with two more touches of black plastic (keyboard and mouse buttons) and tempered glass (in front and behind the screen) to add a bit of gloss to the mix.

The resulting cacophony of darkness tugs at my heart strings, activating long dormant man-DNA. Add a Batman logo, and I could see the Dark Knight shaping parts of this machine by hand, cave condensation dripping on the keyboard.

But batarangs lack polish. The Adamo has a utilitarian geometry—it's a block with four rounded edges, which is fine, but that block features a bottom panel with a disconcerting gap in metal...leading to nightmares of the lithium polymer battery leaking all over my lap. (Note: Dell uses two of these gaps for service/repair tool access.)

And the 13.4-inch, 720p (1366x768) screen is so difficult to fold open that it feels like you're bending a car door the wrong way. Its picture is quite pretty though—you'll notice sharpness is better on this screen than on the MacBook Air's.

The trackpad feels smaller than it should on a device with this footprint, and its multitouch gesture shortcuts, like pinch zooming, were often activating when I didn't want them to. (If you find the gestures useless, as I did, you can just disable them.)

The backlit keyboard is alright—the concave keys are a bit soft for my taste but perfectly passable. And the touch controls above the keyboard, while pleasant on the eyes, aren't really integral enough or pretty enough to justify their existence. Wouldn't it be neat if Dell used this space for a superfluously beautiful battery gauge or something? Why not? I really don't need more buttons to skip through my music.

And while the Adamo is athletically trim (a crazy .66 inches), at 4 pounds, it's half a pound heavier than the Voodoo Envy, and a full pound heavier than the Lenovo X301 and the MacBook Air, not to mention most netbooks. (Apparently it's no coincidence that the Adamo drew inspiration from luxury products like Bentleys.)

So is the Adamo thin? Yes. Light? No.

It's not quiet either. Even with our 128GB SSD configuration, the Adamo is rarely a silent machine. The fan, incidentally hidden behind some of the most stylish vents I've ever seen, runs almost nonstop during basic operation.

Still, there are a few points of clever design. Sticking all of the ports in the back of the system is a bit old school, but it also allows for a slimmer side profile. The two USB ports, ethernet jack and DisplayPort aren't much to speak of, but the inclusion of an eSATA/USB port means that your expansion drives can be just as fast as internals—good news, since there's no DVD drive. All this junk in the trunk is literally topped off by speakers. (Yup, they're behind the monitor.)

The only part we were unable to test was the optional integrated HSDPA 3G. You can see, however, that it's super easy to pop an AT&T SIM into the side of the computer—a solution that's far more elegant than using a USB stick, and makes use of a larger integrated antenna.

Performance

Our test system was a beefed-up, $2600 Adamo, featuring a 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor (3MB L2 cache), 4GB RAM (800MHz), 128GB SSD and integrated 3G. $2000 only buys you a 1.2GHz processor and 2GB of RAM, but you still get the 128GB SSD.

On paper, the MacBook Air is faster (faster processor, faster front side bus, and double the L2 cache). We ran GeekBench to test the theory. (It proved true.)

But these differences are really somewhat minor performance nitpicks. The biggest mistake Dell made with this system, by far, was the inclusion of Intel's GMA X4500HD GPU. Nvidia's GeForce 9400M (which you see in MacBooks etc) would have made a better fit. Nvidia claims their integrated GPUs dominate Intel's. Here's a comparison of the two GPUs that pretty much proves that Nvidia is right:



And here we see those principles applied in 3DMark testing. (Note, the 301 and Adamo have the Intel GPU, the MacBook Air has the Nvidia GPU):

I don't know that the X4500HD GPU is a complete dealbreaker for the Adamo...actually scratch that, it is a dealbreaker. Because if you're looking to work on graphics intensive programs or do light gaming, this simply cannot be the system for you. Also, keep in mind that Nvidia's upcoming Ion platform is pretty much an just Intel Atom processor with a 9400M. In other words, $400 netbooks will soon be outperforming this $2,000+ machine in 3D tasks if Dell doesn't tweak their platform.

However, if you're only looking to email, use programs like Excel and surf the web, the Adamo's support for up to 4GB of RAM may be a bigger benefit than the 9400M. (Since the MacBook Air supports a max of 2GB of RAM, it's a point to keep in mind if you're comparison shopping.)

Battery Life

Dell will tell you that the Adamo has a "5+ hour battery life," achieved through a non-removable lithium polymer battery. I tested the system with power saving (lower performance), medium screen brightness, wi-fi on and Bluetooth off. And I was able to play back a high-def WMV for just over half Dell's claim.

Total Run Time: 2 hours, 40 minutes

I find that, in real world use, it's very common for laptops to achieve only half their battery rating. The Adamo is clearly no exception. At least the laptop can make it through a full-length movie.

The Dark Knight Returns

The Adamo is a bit of a strange beast. It's not as feathery as the Lenovo X301 or the MacBook Air, and even with that extra pound of heft, it's (overall) not as powerful as the MacBook Air—a computer that's incidentally cheaper than the Adamo in its base configuration.

The Adamo has a few fantastic features: Integrated 3G, eSATA, and a butt that just won't quit. And its aluminum body, especially in black, simply looks sharp.

Just don't dare buy this computer until Dell comes to their senses and realizes that $2000+ is absurd for a 4-pound laptop with no graphics muscle. Show some restraint and wait for the sequel. If it's anything like the Batman franchise, there will be many. [Adamo]

Unique, stylish design

Very thin

Nice selection of ports and extras

It's the heaviest system in its class by a pound

Mediocre battery life

Weak GPU

[Additional benchmarking sources here, here, here, here, here, and here]

References to an Adamo 9 and a Studio One 22 were found in Dell's support documents, right next to the Adamo 13 and the Studio 1909 respectively. So in case the only thing stopping you from drooling over either of these offerings was the size, more choices may appear in the very near future. [Engadget]

At .65-inches, the Adamo is one of the thinnest laptops ever, sitting five-hundredths of an inch closer to the ground than the Envy (.7"). But at 4 pounds, it's heavier than both the Air (3 pounds) and the Envy (3.4 pounds). Its machined, one-piece aluminum chassis and glass display round out the premium features found on the Adamo.

The 13.4-inch Adamo has a 720p, 16:9 screen, 2-gigabytes of DDR3 RAM (max 4GB), 802.11n wi-fi, Bluetooth 2.1, and is currently rated for 5+ hours of battery life. It also has 2 USB ports+USB/eSATA combo port, and connects to DisplayPort, HDMI, VGA and DVI with optional cables. The laptop runs on the Intel Mobile 965 Express chipset, making use of GMX4500 integrated graphics for its visual juice.

The use of the Core 2 Duo means that the Adamo runs Windows Home Premium (64-bit, to be exact), and will come in either white or black colorways. The $2000 configuration comes fitted with the above specs while a $2700 config comes with a 1.4 GHz processor, 4 GB RAM and an AT&T 3G WWAN card. Pre-orders will begin starting today, and the first units will ship on March 26.

DELL INTRODUCES ADAMO BRAND WITH LAUNCH OF THE WORLD'S THINNEST LAPTOP

· Adamo is first product under new Adamo by Dell brand

· Premium craftsmanship and design inspires new aesthetic across Dell family of products

· Adamo by Dell created to disrupt people's perceptions of what personal computing is today

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™ 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 fromTUMI. 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):

o 24/7 access to Dell's best trained technicians

o 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.

Links:

www.AdamoByDell.com

www.dell.com

www.dell.com/designstudio

www.flickr.com/photos/dellphotos

We know that this particular "most anticipated brand and product launches" is about Adamo because it uses the same "Fall in Love" business that Dell's used w/r/t the skinny laptop before (adamo means "to fall in love with" in Latin).

We've also been noticing a few hints at hands-on playtime with Adamo from a few journos on Facebook, lending more cred to some official specs and pricing coming soon.

Still, not sure if any public details will leak out along with this, which appears to be an internal event. If they do, they will almost certainly be steamrollered by tomorrow's iPhone news, which is unfortunate. But we'll be here to scrape them off the pavement if they drop. [Thanks, tipster!]

The white is marred by a supremely tacky lid—in and of itself, and for the style that it's trying to evoke, the essence of the rapidly fading (if not already dead) monogram bag.

But! Like I said, the form factor itself, exposed more crisply than ever by Brian Solis, is gorgeous, and I kind of want to take the black one on a date where we'd eat foie gras and chocolate truffles. To make the body of the laptop itself thinner than the Air, Dell gave it a meaty ass, which is where it stuffed all the ports—two USB, DisplayPort, Ethernet, power. The keyboard looks like it'll fantastic to type on as well.

Performance is still a remaining question, but it really only matters insofar as it doesn't spoil the experience, kind of like going out with a model. [Brian Solis via Electronista]

They're so tight lipped with details, they wouldn't even answer a question asking what class of laptops this falls under (see: luxury product). We don't know much about the laptop so far, but the Model had no problem holding it up with one hand, so I'd assume it's pretty light. Dell also said something about using high quality materials in the design, and I'm guessing this thing is going to be super expensive. Anyways, here it is, the first look at the Adamo, Dell's Answer to the Macbook Air and Voodoo Envy 133.

We already knew the Adamo was slated to run significantly cheaper than the expensive Air, and a leak this Thursday suggested a base price of around $1500. The Google cache suggests the Adamo will be packing DisplayPort for video out and eSATA for storage, and that Dell plans to release a host of peripherals alongside the sleek machine. The peripherals visible in the cache are a 2x Blu-Ray combo drive and a selection of external 2.5" hard drives, ranging up to 500GB capacity. This kind of peripheral use would allow for a very slim body, but at the expense of easy portability. We'll have to see how Dell plans to reconcile the issue.

The Adamo is still expected to be officially unveiled at this year's CES, but no shipping date (or really any confirmed information) has been released. Regardless, it's a fair bet that these few morsels of info are correct. [Electronista]

The NYT visually quotes Tatelman, Dell's VP of consumer sales of marketing, with a reaction of his "mouth [gaping] open and his eyes [darting] away." Tatelman followed with:

I think we need to get some iconic products out there, so people associate Dell’s brand with other things.” Namely, that’s goodbye to clunky, and hello to sleek.

And an analyst says that Dell could "shave $400 off the MacBook Air price pretty easily." And a Hackintosh Adamo? We're excited. Sign us up for duty, Admiral. [NYTimes]

Engadget also has further details on the Adamo, saying it will be marketed as the world's thinnest laptop some time around February, featuring a black and silver color scheme. [Engadget]