David Flynn20 October 2009, 6:34 AM
At 9.99mm thin, and on sale this week for US$2,000, Dell’s anorexic Adamo XPS takes it to Apple in the “world’s thinnest notebook” stakes.
Dell’s techo-tease of its second-gen Adamo laptop continues with the overnight announcement of a launch date – this Thursday, October 22nd in the US – and a price: a cool US$1,999.
We’ll let you know on Aussie dates and dollars as soon as we hear ‘em from Dell, but there’s no doubt the Adamo XPS will be a show pony for Windows 7 and will take pride of place in the new Microsoft Stores beginning to appear in the US.
The Adamo XPS in profile: the price tag is thicker than the notebook itself.
After all, the Adamo XPS is the closest thing that the Windows ecosystem gets to a MacBook Air. It’s a mere 9.99mm thin, and that alone is guaranteed to attract ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ from the mainstream and the high-style set (those who aren’t already Apple converts, of course).
Will you even be allowed to carry a notebook this thin and sharp on an airplane?
Despite the launch being mere days away Dell hasn’t released any specs, although we can assume it’s packing Intel’s ULV silicon and an solid state drive. Dell is playing a coy but frustrating game intended to sell more the idea of the notebook rather than the notebook itself.
“This isn't going to be a high-volume product for us” admits Ronald Garriques, head of Dell’s consumer division, in an interview with
Business Week. “It's going to be a product that (makes people say) ‘Wow! Dell did that. What else does Dell have?’ ”.
(The
Business Week article on “Dell‘s Extreme Makeover” makes a fascinating read, and includes snippets such as how the company at one stage planned “to copy Apple by opening more than a dozen Dell-owned stores”).
Like the original Adamo, the XPS variant intends to let the company showcase its design chops – a statement and a conversation-starter rather than a best-seller.
This also allows for some innovative touches such as a heat-sensing strip on the lip that, when swiped with a finger, glows white and automatically opens the laptop’s aluminium lid.