Dell Adamo hands-on and video unboxing
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted Mar 20th 2009 5:22PM
posted Mar 20th 2009 5:22PM
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Still too expensive to buy.
I may steal one though.
Why is Engadget doing all this coverage of Dell? Are you guys in the Dell's pocket now? How much is Dell paying you guys? This place is getting worse than Gizmodo. Dell, Dell, Dell, that's all I read on this site... oh wait.
I have no idea why its so high! The E6700s are smaller, lighter, better battery life and a wee bit cheaper.
I cant even say it looks any better either...
So only Apple is allowed to charge a premium for good design and build quality now? What happened to all the Apple fanboys saying Specs weren't everything.
@Paul
Well, if you dont like Dell articles, gee why not just read past them.
I mean you must really care if you took the time out to comment.
Dell hater!!
Isnt that what you like to say?
Dopefish,
SSD standard?
Bye bye Remy.
ladies and Gentlemen... I give you the Dell tax
@
Sorry I meant the E4200 and yes it comes with SSD as standard...
In fact, both the adamo and the E4200 can ONLY have SSDs... its an interesting way to go I think..
That screen is totally f**ked up! horrib;e !!! like in old crt TV's vhat they was puted behing glass and behind glass vas actual glass screen
not good !
Actually, Dopefish asked a pretty good question. Why wouldn't you just buy the E4200?
If you look at the MacBook and MacBook Air, you pay more money for the Air, but it's far lighter, thinner, sexier, and overall, more portable.
The Dell Adamo is good because it's around the same price as a E4200, but what you get with the Adamo is a sexier, much heavier, physically larger (overall), and slower laptop (depending on configuration).
The E4200 kills the Air. The Adamo? Well......not sure.
I agree with the original poster kccboy...
They used to say, "Dude, you're getting a Dell!
After starting this computer at a cool $2K, they are going to say, "Dude, you're getting an enema!" Because this puppy with its lack of resources under the hood will clean out your bank!
so does it fit in a manila envelope?
@peto.musuta: Yeah, like the MacBook/MacBook Pro 15 and some 17. It's just a horrible idea to use glas over the screen. There are no advantages (yeah, added protection, sure... my screens never needed that) and only disadvantages. Yes, it looks better, but it makes the device unusable!
Haha it's thin and small enough to slide into a coat pocket.
Wow, the vid is beyond pixelation. Just on my end?
no. it looks worse than a youtube video.
Yeah...looks like they didn't use viddler this time. This vid was terrible quality...go back to Viddler!!!
yeah its terrible. although when he stopped moving, it got slightly better
No kidding, I wish they would use Silverlight... the yesterday video of Windows mobile 6.5 was really sharp and smooth compare to flash. Also the scrolling was way more real-time. It would encourage people to install it too.
1080P Stage6 ftw
Either they have uploaded a re-compressed version of the video or you have a serious problem with your Flash installation.
Its a pretty sexy looking computer. If I were a windows user id take a look at it.
Try doors they are much easier.
Definitely liking the sleek/clean look although it's probably going to attract some hate just due to the fact it's a Dell.
Quite the contrary
Big butts are good on girls... not computers.
i wanna hump this laptop to fairy land...
They're not good on either....
dude would you prefer no ports at all?
the thing barely can fit the 2.5mm headphone jack at just the height of the sides
@Greg
You think so? I personally hate girls with huge butts
Big boobs MUCH better than big butt. What's wrong with you?
@Game_Playa If you hate huge butts, then I hope you never get married and have kids...100% guaranteed to see 200% growth in your woman's butt, no matter who she is.
Ok, ok, there is a difference between a big, round, lushous booty and a huge, lumpy, really just extra flab booty. You guys are going to an extreme here. I believe Greg was simply trying to say that he likes his girls (like I do) with a hour glass shape. I mean triangles are nice, but hip bones are hard and hurt without padding.
Even a dog doesn't want a bone if it doesn't have a little meat on it.
Looks great - way nicer looking than my Macbook Pro. But if I'd ever buy one, I'd wait til they release one with a screen instead of a MIRROR!
You own a macbook pro.
The old ones weren't a gloss fetishist's wet dream.
This isn't in the same class as a MBP. It sits between a Macbook and a Macbook Air. More expensive than either.
Wow, something that actually makes the Macbook Air look like a bargain.
And makes it look like a crap too.
@Haikibutsu
Dude, look at the specs and PRICE of this dell.
In what way does it make an AIR look like crap?
@liquidmark
Reading comprehension. Use it.
Dang. What camera did you guys using to shoot that? Where's that 5D Mk II 1080p goodness?
-Oh, and that's the hottest $2,000 paperweight I've ever seen.
Look at the size of that bezel!
Oh, yeah! Wait, bezel?
---
Question: Is it brushed like the pictures appear? I like the look. It almost looks like a rock or wood finish.
dude that thing is HUGE. There is like and 1" border on the bottom of the screen. Look at where the start button is. As if the paper weight thing on the back wasn't a problems enough the stupidity of getting a 16:10 display bites Dell even harder on the butt.
Oh and Josh what the heck is a best in class power cord? It looks like a pretty standard plastic cord to me ...
Dude there is no way that a design like this deserves a $2000 price tag. Sure the first gen MBA had a lot of problems too but if nothing else the design was right. ( not that I'm gonna by an MBA either )
I have to say that it looks very good, but the price tag for those specs is still horrific...
I know its no justification, but there is nothing wrong with the 1.2ghz processor. Its ultra low voltage so stretches the battery life very nicely. Plus I can tell you from first hand experience that its plenty nippy enough for every day use including light photshop/illustrator work...
What is so good about the power cord? He said its great. I thought it looked pretty standard.
Lol perhaps sarcasm? I dunno, cuz it didn't really sound like it either haha.
Huge fan of the brushed metal textures though. That butt looks funky - have to see it person to decide whether I like it or not haha.
And that screens some insane mirror thing.
Perhaps it is braided instead of just being a generic solid cable.
Personally Im happy with my Dell D430. Small light (lighter than the Adamo) and only cost me £500 ($720).
Interesting *very* similar specs too, although there is the option of a faster processor in the (now depreciated) D430.
Boot time: ~1m2s
I kept track with the elapsed time.
Nice. But how fast will it boot Ubuntu and OS X?
Depends on the distro+desktop environment+extras, for Linux. I would imagine that KDE adds to the boot time as does Gnome compared to XFCE. Enabling Compiz, even more. I've never recalled any machine I've thrown Linux on booting quickly after POST.
OS X does horribly on netbooks, from what I've seen. YouTube videos with dual-boot netbooks show OS X taking longer than Vista (I've kept time with the videos, out of curiosity). This isn't a netbook but it is a less capable system and I would imagine the time would be comparable. In the end, neither of the three systems do too well as far as boot time is concerned.
Engadget should throw the Windows 7 beta on there. The actual Windows 7 release is what I would hold off for if I was seriously considering buying the Adamo. (I'm not.)
Initial boot always takes longer
@Zach
To be honest, while I think that OS X is pretty slow to boot, the only time that it is ever actually booted is when a system update has been installed that requires a restart. Rather, it is either put to Sleep or, if traveling and it needs to be "off", Deep Sleep. I really do not see the point in actually turning the whole thing off since that not only takes time to do (quitting applications, etc) but it also clears the cache so the system runs slower until they are rebuilt. Put the system to sleep and it'll "boot" in about 1-2 seconds.
A few questions for Engadget here...
Is the trackpad actually textured like that, or does it just look that way? (I'd have a lot of trouble using a trackpad that wasn't smooth)
Is the wristrest area also textured or just looks? (Again, a textured wristrest would drive me nuts)
Also, I hear the Windows COA sticker (amongst others) is hidden behind a magnetic door of some sort. Could you guys show some pics of that?
The trackpad has a crazy spiral, but it doesn't feel textured. Also, the surface of the wrist-rest is brushed aluminum. If the sticker is anywhere, it's beneath the panel on the bottom -- it's in the gallery right here: http://www.engadget.com/photos/dell-adamo-video-hands-on/1443545/
The trackpad is spun metal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_spinning
Dell should recall these following Mr. Ballmer statement earlier posted. Oh! My bad, this one doesn't come with a fruit in the back.
I know it's super thin, but the Adamo still weighs a half pound more than my new Sony Vaio Z which is a fully decked out computer with an optical drive. How is it possible that Dell still has such heavy notebooks?
The Adamo has a lot of metal (at least compared to other laptops which are predominantly plastic).
Mmm, Intel integrated graphics... That's just what I want when I overpay for a laptop.
Don't forget netbook like CPU speeds.
I wouldn't mind one of those.
This video apparently made with jailbroken iPhone.
I don't know why Josh hates on the X301, it's a very sexy laptop that isn't as expensive as he thinks (I just bought one with an ssd for 1700). Why all the hate, josh?
I don't know what computers you watch Vista boot on Joshua, but that has got to have been one of the slowest vista boots that I've ever seen.
The screen is is about 1000x too shiny for me. Otherwise should be ok. Does it not have an optical drive?
If only this thing had a Slot loaded DVD burner i would my samsung x360 for it.
dtich*
FAIL:
*ditch
sexy!!! I want it and just because it looks so damn good! I wouldnt want to use it though... or tell anyone how much I paid for an attractive paperweight...lol.
i dont care what you say. that is one of the most sexiest laptops i have ever seen.
sexiness - Yes
Expensive - yes
rip off - yes
if only it were closer to MBA price and specs.... i would but it in a sec
Well, I do really like the black anodized. I'm not crazy about the"hump" behind the hinges, nor the random holes, but the exposed torex screw top on the hinge is pretty cool.
To me, Apple is missing out by not offering black or even other anodized colors on the Mac Book Line.
@CraigJ Apple is slowly getting some competition in design but from a purists perspective the adamo is pretty pedestrian compared to any Mac laptop. Then again, the great unwashed masses probably don't care as long as it looks halfway decent, and the adamo clearly passes that hurdle with ease.
I completely agree that black anodized aluminium MacBooks would look hot. We'd even pay $200 more for it ;)
I can't get over the name.. Keeps reminding me of Adama from Battlestar Galactica.
Guess I'll wait for the Starbucko. It's hot. It kicks ass. And if it dies, it mysteriously shows back up just the way you remember it.
Bravo, sir, bravo
no matter how thin its still windows....
Nice looking machine, the deal breaker for me though would be that glare from the gloss screen. Brutal!
When will this be given out as the one of the recession gifts?
I love the desktop wallpaper. Where can I get that?
what *beep*ing wallpaper? I don't see one..
Am I the only one who thinks this laptop doesn't look that good? Are we really that excited that Dell found a way to hide all the Windows stickers?
Nope you are not alone. I think it looks OK, but nothing out of the ordinary. Just like you'd expect from Dell, really.
The really exciting news here is that Dell is successfully moving away from computers that look like garbage. Also, this design can hold its own against HP and some other PC makers. But IMO it doesn't touch Sony, and Apple has been in a league all of its own for quite some time now when it comes to design.
I thought that whole steam punk fad had run its course. Well at least it tops that "monitor in a glass table top" Dell released last year. Adamo is at least on par with Apple's G4 cube in terms of styling...
''Cough'' apple imitation ''cough''
Did that come with iTunes and Quicktime installed by default and if so, when did Dell start installing viruses on their laptops?
LOL. My 3.5 year old Dell XPS M170 with Windows XP Pro boots way faster! :-)
This thing has an ugly booty!
That is twice the size though, and probably 3 times the weight. Plus yours is running an 8 year old OS.
too bad this has such an expensive company logo attached to it.. no wait.
At full brightness how does the screen compare to the Studio 15/17 LED screen?
In many ways, the design is nicer than an Apple computer, but it's heavier and much slower than the new MacBook Air, especially when you consider the graphics differences. It's very odd for a Dell to be more attractive than the equivalent Apple computer, yet the Apple computer is more powerful. Very interesting.
As an aside, since when is a 1-minute boot fast with an SSD? I use an SSD, and I boot in about 20 seconds.
Vista boots faster after you have it running for a few days. It loads up the most useful apps into memory at start up and should go faster than out of the box performance.
However you could tell by that video is was not right out of the box because itunes was loaded on and quick time. I highly doubt it came like that.
maybe that's just as fast as it goes...
i think it looks pretty good except for the back, but that took forever to boot.
that wasnt the first time that computer had been turned on...if you noticed it didnt make them setup a user account, and it already had quicktime plus itunes on it
Looks very nice!
When you load up Windows 7 this laptop will be amazing!
It would be so humiliating for me to buy this laptop and let other people see my using it in public.
Yes because people always judge the person by the laptop that they are using...