Dell Adamo XPS gets priced, spec’ed

Dell has finally announced pricing and specifications for its super-thin Adamo XPS notebook after teasing the product for a couple months.

Inside the notebook, you’ll find a 1.4 GHz Intel Core Duo processor, part of Intel’s recent ultra-low voltage offerings. There’s 4 GB of RAM, a 128 GB solid state drive, wireless n and two USB ports. There’s no Ethernet jack (I’m guessing because it would be too thick), but you could theoretically plug in with a USB adapter. Most disappointing is the battery, which lasts a mere 2.5 hours.

The specs are better than I was expecting, but the Adamo XPS’s real claim to fame is a thickness of 9.99 mm, or roughly 0.39 inches. That makes it the thinnest competitor in the ultrathin wars, beating out the MacBook Air, Sony’s Vaio X and Dell’s previous Adamo models. The Adamo XPS’s svelte form is due to how the keyboard section of the notebook is stored in a recessed part of the 13.4-inch display, with the heavy internals placed on a fatter section underneath the screen.

The result is a unique shape that seems to balance ever so delicately on the front part of the keyboard and the heavier section under the screen. Dell continues to disprove my theories on how the notebook works, as Ubergizmo claims the Adamo XPS sits nicely in one’s lap, despite what I had thought based on the design. The whole package weighs in at 3 pounds.

All this elegance doesn’t come cheap, though. The Adamo XPS will sell for $1799, shipping this month. So while it’s thinner than the competition, it’s also the most expensive. Sony’s Vaio X costs $1,300 and Apple’s MacBook Air starts at $1,499.

Given that none of these models get great battery life compared to cheaper, thicker ultra-low voltage PCs (Asus is claiming 12 hours on its latest models), your paying more for bragging rights than portability with the Adamo XPS or its competitors. So if you buy one, be sure to plan a public place to use it.