After subsisting on pure hype for weeks, Dell came clean with real specifications and pricing for its upcoming Adamo line of notebooks.
Measuring 0.65 inches in thickness, Dell says it's thinner than any other laptop, including the MacBook Air. The screen is a 13.9-inch 16:9 HD display. A 1.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor powers the machine, with 2GB of DDR3 RAM and a 128GB solid state drive for the basic model, which will cost $1,999.
A higher-end Adamo, priced at $2,699, includes a 1.4 GHz processor, 4GB of RAM and a 3G card, Gizmodo reports.
More importantly than the specs -- which certainly aren't ground-breaking -- is the style, which Dell is promoting above all. The aluminum laptop, available in Onyx or Pearl, arrives in a "'floating' plastic case for minimal clutter," Dell says. The name "Adamo" is derived from the Latin word meaning "to fall in love." Paper-thin models abound on the product's website, balancing the four-pound notebooks in their hands like dinner plates.
But as Larry Dignan as ZDNet notes, this approach might not be wise, given the economic climate. Dell is putting forth an admirable effort in showing its stylish side while ignoring harsh realities. Gartner predicts that notebook sales will rise this year, but most of the growth will be in netbooks, which are inherently stylish because of their cuteness. Will a $2,000 notebook be able to buck the trend, even if its specs don't quite match the price?
