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December 18, 2008, 1:30 pm

Dell=E2=80=99s Mystery =E2=80=98Adamo=E2=80=99 = Could Be Thinner Than Air

By Ashlee=20 Vance

UPDATED 5:35 p.m.: Uptownlife.net removed its reference to = Dell=E2=80=99s=20 Adamo product and marketing material, following the publication of this = blog=20 post.

When Apple released the MacBook Air, someone viewed the sleek = notebook as an=20 opportunity to make fun of clunky, old Dell on YouTube with a parody ad. But = what if=20 Dell is about to have the last laugh in the ultralight laptop race?

A recent dig through Dell=E2=80=99s trademarks turned up a couple of = curiosities =E2=80=93=20 =E2=80=9CAdamo=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9CAdamo by Dell.=E2=80=9DAccording to = the documents, the trademarks cover=20 computer hardware, including possibly desktops and laptops.

The whole =E2=80=9CAdamo by Dell=E2=80=9D bit sounds rather fancy for = a company that lumps=20 all of its computers under just a handful of brands. But, apparently, = this=20 computer isn=E2=80=99t your regular Dell computer. It has its own Web site after all, which says the = product is=20 coming soon.

Throw Adamo and Dell into a search engine, and you get nothing. Well, = make=20 that almost nothing.

A luxury goods publication appears to have some early marketing = collateral=20 from Dell for Adamo. =E2=80=9CRumor has it that Dell is coming out with = a computer=20 called Adamo that will rival the MacBook Air,=E2=80=9D Uptownlife.net writes.

But most telling of all might have been the reaction of Michael = Tatelman,=20 Dell=E2=80=99s vice president in charge of consumer sales and marketing, = to my question=20 about whether or not Dell had an Air-like product in store. Mr. = Tatelman=E2=80=99s mouth=20 gaped open and his eyes darted away from my face.

If looks could reveal product dimensions, then I=E2=80=99d guess that = Dell=E2=80=99s going=20 even thinner and lighter than Apple.

After a couple of moments, Mr. Tatleman said, =E2=80=9CI think we = need to get some=20 iconic products out there, so people associate Dell=E2=80=99s brand with = other things.=E2=80=9D=20 Namely, that=E2=80=99s goodbye to clunky, and hello to sleek.

A Dell spokesman, Bob Kaufman, said the company would not comment on=20 speculation.

It remains to be seen whether Dell and its manufacturing partners in = Asia can=20 come up with something that rivals the aesthetics of Apple=E2=80=99s = MacBook Air. It is=20 pretty clear, though, that Dell could beat Apple on price.

=E2=80=9COne of the things they could do real differently from Apple = would be cheap,=E2=80=9D=20 said Roger Kay, president of Endpoint Technologies, an analyst firm. = =E2=80=9CThey could=20 shave $400 off the MacBook Air price pretty easily.=E2=80=9D =

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From 1 to 25 of 67 Comments

1 2=20 3=20 Next=20 =C2=BB

1. December 18, 2008 = 3:14 pm Link=20

LOL. Dell doesn=E2=80=99t have anywhere near the design expertise = to make something=20 iconic. But even if they did, it will still have to run Vista, making = it a=20 clunker by definition.
=E2=80=94 mike
2. December 18, 2008 = 3:17 pm Link=20

Analysts are funny. Roger Kay=E2=80=99s comment that Dell could = differentiate its=20 product from Apple=E2=80=99s by making it cheap ignores the fact that = Dell=E2=80=99s health is=20 poor almost entirely due to an over-reliance on cheap things, with = little=20 margin. Does Kay actually think that=E2=80=99s a good idea? Who would = pay for this=20 =E2=80=9Canalysis=E2=80=9D?
=E2=80=94 Mark U.
3. December 18, 2008 = 3:18 pm Link=20

Sounds great. Their new solid-state memory computers are already = small and=20 light. Plus, their regular computer are the industry leaders in = quality.
I=20 am NOT a Dell employee- but I am a customer, and I happily bought my = mother a=20 Dell laptop for Christmas. Quality, durability, and price are=20 unbeatable.
=E2=80=94 DR
4. December 18, 2008 = 3:26 pm Link=20

I don=E2=80=99t know about =E2=80=9Ciconic=E2=80=9D, but my [Dell] = Latitude X300 from 2004 weighs=20 just as little as the Air while offering far greater connectivity, and = I think=20 Dell has since made even lighter notebooks. Of course, I=E2=80=99m = still leaning=20 towards a MacBook for my next one- as mike says above, it=E2=80=99s an = OS question,=20 not just design.
=E2=80=94 helen
5. December 18, 2008 = 3:27 pm Link=20

Apple should shave $400 off the Air price itself. It great to have = a thin=20 computer but it is slower and does less. They would sell a lot more if = the=20 price was lower.
=E2=80=94 roz
6. December 18, 2008 = 3:28 pm Link=20

-DR, are you referring to dell when you talk about = =E2=80=9CQuality,=20 durability.=E2=80=9D

the price is definitely unbeatable. for low quality any relatively=20 affordable price is unbeatably.
=E2=80=94 -ade,ny =
7. December 18, 2008 = 3:31 pm Link=20

Dell doesn=E2=80=99t have to be iconic. They made their name by = building better=20 products other people created, and they did it better and cheaper. = Then they=20 build a decent customer service program.

Dell has ALWAYS copied innovation and crushed the innovator. And = thank=20 goodness for them. They=E2=80=99re in a rut, took their eyes off the = ball and are now=20 taking direct aim at the industry innovator=E2=80=A6.. I just hope = they load the thing=20 with XP or, as Mike noted, it would still suck.
=E2=80=94 = Alan Meltzer=20
8. December 18, 2008 = 3:32 pm Link=20

someone mentioned vista? that right there is a good enough reason = to not=20 buy a Dell. Now, I do like Dell, but when it comes to Vista crashing, = the=20 computer crashing and the various complaints my friends have about = their=20 computers, I just smile and pull out my = Macbook=E2=80=A6=E2=80=A6which, after having it for a=20 year, has only frozen up once.
=E2=80=94 misunderstood = teen
9. December 18, 2008 = 3:33 pm Link=20

-MIKE
Dell does have the design expertise to make something=20 iconic.
expertise, you or anyone can buy, but the question is = =E2=80=9Cwill you pay=20 for it ?=E2=80=9D, the expertise, that is. with dell it is against = their policy. they=20 are the wal-mart of hardware.
=E2=80=94 -ade,ny
10. = December 18, 2008 = 3:42 pm Link=20

The air is stupid because it has no CD / DVD drive and only one usb = port.=20 but it seems to me apple fan boys like style more than functionality, = you=20 either have the choice to use an external cd drive or a mouse not = both. of=20 course you could get a usb splitter=E2=80=A6

but then agian i think dells are cheap like the mcdonalds of=20 computers
=E2=80=94 stoneytarks
11. = December 18, 2008 = 3:49 pm Link=20

Dell is the mother of all products=E2=80=A6the bed rock of quality = and=20 efficiency.
=E2=80=94 paul goni
12. = December 18, 2008 = 3:51 pm Link=20

As someone who buys lots of Macs and Dells every week and for 15 = years: I=20 can tell you that both Apple and Dell regularly make great laptops = (plus=20 several clunker models). Apple=E2=80=99s laptops always cost more than = Dells and Apple=20 discontinue models very quickly =E2=80=94 too quickly. Some folks dont = realize that=20 almost all Windows laptops and ALL current apple laptops are Intel = inside. So,=20 the internal differences are quite minor between current generation = laptops.=20 All of the rest is marketing hype and retail consumers really fall for = marketing hype. Apple generates _great_ market hype but you know = folks, it=20 really is mostly hype. Most laptops at a similar weight are very = similar to=20 each other.
=E2=80=94 B Menderson
13. = December 18, 2008 = 3:54 pm Link=20

I think a few of you have forgotten that a good number of dell = desktops and=20 notebooks are now available with Ubuntu pre-installed, or a = Windows-Ubuntu=20 dual boot scenario. If Ubuntu is available on this new ultralight, it = could be=20 an attractive option.

I=E2=80=99m still as skeptical as always about the quality of = Dell=E2=80=99s products.=20 Replacing 6 motherboards in 3 years was a little excessive. Thank god = for=20 warranties.
=E2=80=94 Eric
14. = December 18, 2008 = 3:56 pm Link=20

Fun to speculate from the name what this will be. Adam 0, the first = of its=20 kind?

A web based Spanish translator came up with =E2=80=9CI become = effeminate=E2=80=9D. (small=20 and petite)?
=E2=80=94 Rich
15. = December 18, 2008 = 3:59 pm Link=20

I think I=E2=80=99d be a lot more likely to join in all the = drooling over the Air=20 if it had a CD/DVD drive, but paying extra for an external superdrive = is=20 ludicrous when it costs so much.

- Mac owner
=E2=80=94 Byron
16. = December 18, 2008 = 4:01 pm Link=20

According to their website, you can order the Dell Inspiron Mini 12 = with=20 Ubuntu Linux or Windows XP.
=E2=80=94 Al Cyone
17. = December 18, 2008 = 4:03 pm Link=20

I=E2=80=99ve had a Dell laptop with Vista for close to 6 months = now. Based on all=20 the gloom and doom about Vista, I half-expected it to implode on = itself within=20 the first few weeks. I=E2=80=99ve never had an issue with the computer = or its OS and=20 now I=E2=80=99m left wondering what all the hype was = about.
=E2=80=94 Will IV=20
18. = December 18, 2008 = 4:10 pm Link=20

I cannot fathom how anyone would purchase anything other than a = Mac. They=20 are far superior in design, function, security.

Customer service? I don=E2=80=99t know; never had to call Apple yet = (I=E2=80=99ve owned my=20 MacBook for three years now.) Price? Paid around $1,500? $1,700? Close = to=20 $2,000. Best money ever spent.
=E2=80=94 Steve
19. = December 18, 2008 = 4:11 pm Link=20

I agree with mike. Dell does not have the design expertise and = engineers to=20 create a product such as the MacBook Air. Whenever Dell tries to catch = up with=20 Apple, Apple just throws out a new product that is ahead of the game. = Also,=20 Vista would kill the machine. Vista is just too demanding and buggy = for a=20 smaller, lighter, not as powerful computer.
=E2=80=94 = Brandon
20. = December 18, 2008 = 4:20 pm Link=20

I=E2=80=99ve been a happy Dell customer for over twelve years. = I=E2=80=99m sure Adamo will=20 make its mark. Just, PLEASE, stop using Vista as the default = OS!!!!
=E2=80=94=20 Dwight
21. = December 18, 2008 = 4:21 pm Link=20

sounds great. Every Dell I=E2=80=99ve ever had has been lightyears = ahead=20 performance wise than any Apple product I=E2=80=99ve ever used. In the = end Apple turns=20 out to be the Sarah Palin of computers. really pretty, but nothing in = there of=20 any substance. Go get em Dell!
=E2=80=94 Michael =
22. = December 18, 2008 = 4:22 pm Link=20

Steve,

Cannot fathom how anyone would buy anything other than a Mac?

How about, all the development tools I need to build my product run = only on=20 Windows because that is the only platform my chip suppliers = support?

Chose a different chip supplier, you say? Obviously, you = don=E2=80=99t work in the=20 business.

Good day.

Doug

PS: Not that I wouldn=E2=80=99t like to get away from Windows, but = that would=20 require a career change.
=E2=80=94 Doug
23. = December 18, 2008 = 4:23 pm Link=20

Dell is a good company that made laptops/desktops affordable to = many=20 families and they should be applauded for that. Many people would love = to have=20 a Mac, but when resources are tight, the Dell $500 can serve = it=E2=80=99s purpose=20 well.

I=E2=80=99ve since moved on to Apple, not because of design and = sleekness, rather=20 the UNIX based operating system that is OS X. I don=E2=80=99t doubt = that Dell make a=20 high-end product, but Vista just seems to have too much running. I = hope they=20 offer XP on this Adamo.

Both Apple and Dell can learn from each other, neither is perfect. = Hats off=20 to Dell for democratizing the computer.
=E2=80=94 g2ok =
24. = December 18, 2008 = 4:24 pm Link=20

The internal components in a Macbook Air are available to any PC=20 manufacturer, including Dell. So achieving the form factor is not a = big deal.=20 Forget =E2=80=9Ciconic=E2=80=9D =E2=80=94 all Dell needs to do to = =E2=80=9Cone-up=E2=80=9D the Air for a sizable chunk=20 of the market is to provide an easily swappable battery. That alone = would make=20 it a viable option for a lot of business users who would love an = Air-like=20 laptop with the ability to stay unplugged for a full day (even if it = requires=20 an early afternoon battery-swap break).

The OS issue is harder for Dell to get around, but given that 90% = of the US=20 retail laptop market is Windows (and even more worldwide), my guess is = Dell=20 would pick Windows even if they had a choice.
=E2=80=94 = nj
25. = December 18, 2008 = 4:31 pm Link=20

A Dell =E2=80=9CHackintosh=E2=80=9D, anyone?

If this line of products are what they are speculated to be at much = better=20 price points than Apple (which is not too hard to achieve), there will = be a=20 flurry of activity to port OS X over.

Not that I=E2=80=99m necessarily advocating such legally-ambiguous = activity of=20 course.
=E2=80=94 doppleclutch

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=E2=80=9C=20 I love how they are saying only the 30 G models are affected. Seeing = as i own=20 a 8G model that was working with no issues yesterday and is now frozen = which=20 is the exact same problem that "only affects the 30G=20 models"=E2=80=9D

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=E2=80=9C=20 I have found Microsoft's response to this issue sorely lacking. The = message on=20 their support page doesn't even describe the issue even thought it is = the same=20 for everyone with a Zune 30. I had the issue last night and had to = search the=20 support forums this morning to find out it wasn't isolated. No message = sent to=20 my Zune software no contact what so ever. Every Zune customer is = reachable=20 through their software or email which Microsoft has.=20 =E2=80=9D

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