Dell Adamo battery not user-replaceable, says bearer of harsh truths
By Laura June 
posted Mar 23rd 2009 6:07PM
posted Mar 23rd 2009 6:07PM
Possibly not surprising, but certainly to be filed under "subtly disappointing" is the news that has just recently been confirmed: Adamo's battery is not able to be replaced by the user. No fun, you say? Well, it is, of course, replaceable, should the need arise, it just has to be sent into Dell for the procedure, though we don't yet know how much the company is going to charge for all that. Guess if you have to get a new juice pack for your laptop your "lifestyle" will have to be temporarily put on hold, huh?
I don't much care for this trend.
Please don't let this be the trend...its like being punished!
Roash, it IS punishment!
Your lack of user-replaceable battery disturbs me
I sense a disturbance in the trend
anyone got a third star-wars esque phrase about this stupid business move?
A non-removable battery in a laptop is a total and 100% dealbreaking problem for me. COMPLETELY dealbreaking.
Battery compartments make devices bigger. If you're going to make the battery (easily) user replaceable there's an expectation you won't open the thing up and see a PCB -- and possibly zap it with static electricity and destroy your device. In most cases it's simply a matter of taking out some screws. No big deal to replace the battery if it goes dead. The future of these smaller/thinner devices is simply an external battery that powers the device by its power connector such as the power pack's for the iPhone.
There's no shortage of laptops or phones that do have swappable batteries if you choose to go that route.
While a non replaceable battery does help a device be smaller, the core reason why a battery cannot be removed is most likely because by letting an authorized person or group carry out the work, companies can greatly increase the chances the battery will be disposed of properly.
Batteries are full of very nasty, highly toxic chemicals and most people throw them in the trash.
I'm not saying I'm in love with the new mindset companies are taking, but if the problem is that bad, I can't disagree with it.
@RoboDan
this isn't the trend you're looking for...
they copied so many design cues from apple, couldnt they rip-off the battery compartment too while they're at it?
I feel a disturbance in the workforce is this trend finds it's way to the Latitude model line.
I've got a bad feeling about this trend.
#3
Steve Jobs: Mike... I am your father
Michael Dell: Noooo!!!!!!!! NO!!!!
Steve Jobs: Join me, Mike, and we can rule the idiots who buy into planned obsolescence
Michael Dell: I'll never join you! Oh wait... I don't have a soul. Where do I sign?
#4
I'm Common sense, I'm here to rescue you!
#5
Battery!! Where could he be?
(Seriously, he said that R2 line a million times)
Will not buy or keep if given as a present/won in a contest even from the Pope himself
TravisO: "While a non replaceable battery does help a device be smaller, the core reason why a battery cannot be removed is most likely because by letting an authorized person or group carry out the work, companies can greatly increase their potential for getting you to part with more of your hard-earned cash."
There, fixed that for you.
I think companies (such as Apple) do this in the hopes that it will generate more revenue for them. I often find myself using a new toy a lot at first, then forgetting about it for a while. If I wasn't able to remove the battery, it would trickle-drain itself to death and I'd never be able to use it again. Luckily every gadget I've bought DOES have a removable battery, which I pop out when not in use. That's something that nearly every user manual warns about as well: "when not in use for an extended period of time, remove the battery."
Also, at my work we've got laptops which will get used for a month, stored for a couple months, then maybe used again, then stored, etc... If we couldn't remove the batteries, that would be a huuuuge nightmare.
Dumb, dumb, dumb, Dell. Didn't you guys learn anything from the iPhone?
seconded
Of course they did, they learned that you can do a stupid thing like making the battery non-replaceable and still have the best selling product in your category. Apple has unfortunately convinced the rest of the industry that people don't need removable batteries.
Wait, so copying apple is now a BAD thing? :-) I'm totally kidding, but non-replaceable batteries in anything are bad news; mostly for the fact that lab battery tests have little if anything to do with real world usage. Unless your device can last for ~40 hours on a full charge, it should come with a removable battery.
yeah because I'm sure you are going to carry around 10 battery packs (assuming you can get a full 4 hours of usage out of each one)... If a device can last under moderate to heavy usage for 12-15 hours, a removable battery isn't really necessary imo.
"Apple has unfortunately convinced the rest of the industry that people don't need removable batteries"
It is a complete failure of logic to say that. Apple has not convinced anyone, and they have not tried to.
What has actually happened, is that Apple's sales figures have convinced the rest of the industry. And where do Apple's sales figures come from? People.
So, to put your sentence correctly: People have convinced the rest of the industry that people don't need removable batteries.
Oh, I know, here on Engadget with its "deal-breakers" it looks like people want removable batteries. Then you remember, hey, this is a blog for tech-heads. Tech-heads do not accurately represent the wider buying public. But sales figures do. The commenters and Engadget writers can complain and whinge as much as they want, the public has spoken and they disagree - removable batteries are definitely not a deal-breaker.
@VanillaSpyce
What has actually happened, is that Apple's sales figures have convinced the rest of the industry. And where do Apple's sales figures come from? People.
Those are the same sales figures who listen to the people who don´t want copy/paste and all those other common functions? If so please execute them right away. For me and for sure everybody else with some mass above their neck they won´t believe that the these options are what the People want. For one, those who can afford a laptop like these are in general the business people. These are the same peopl who travel and need to swap their battery once in a while. For me and for all those others who work this laptop seems really neat but for sure I won´t touch a laptop which runs out of juice mid-flight.
@JZ:
>…the people who don´t want copy/paste…
Having sold iPhones since launch, I can count (without taking off my socks) how many people have walked out of my store without buying an iPhone simply because it didn't have copy/paste.
Sure, people *WANT* copy paste. But, they don't *NEED* it. It's not a deal breaker for 99.x% of people. It's just not simply something that I've found I need to do on my iPhone. Sure, once it's available I'll find a use for it, but there's really only been one or two times where I thought "Man, I wish I could copy this, and paste it here".
Dell, trade Steve back for Micheal, please.
Aha! So now we know what all this "medical leave" is about!
I don't think Dell has 1st pick this round.
SJ wouldn't wipe his butt with something that ugly. Place the blame with mister beady eyes.
Dell the new apple...? Cept for the non-premium on black of course.
Unless that becomes standard too.
Dell always had a smell of appleness about them to me.
Michael Dell had to eat his words on what he said about Apple before. Now it looks like Dell is looking up to Apple for new and successful configuration formats proving once more how the Industry tends to follow Apple's trends. We've seen it with palm rests on laptops, hundreds of OS ergonomic and functional designs, etc etc, now with "non-removable" batteries.
The only time I've seen people having a genuine concern about a 2nd battery was in the 90's. Battery technology has advanced by leaps and bounds since then. I work in an environment where people use a good amount of laptops and I do not see anyone pissing their pants in fear over batteries. None of these highly mobile business persons carries a 2nd battery. Same goes for cell phones. Removable/non-removable battery, that's a non-issue these days.
Geez, other companies are even starting to copy the BAD things Apple does. -_-
As long as the battery life is good, I don't see how this is bad.
Yeah were screwed! I will never buy a laptop if the battery is sealed inside.
ugh I hope not, i REALLY don't want to see DAP's with authorisation chips for headphones!!!
@ Patriks7
As long as the battery life is good? I don't really think that is the issue.
Most Lithium Ion batteries will give optimum performance for 2-3 years. They slowly degrade in performance over time. Considering that every owner who uses the computer at normal levels for more than a couple years will likely have to replace the battery… is it asking too much to be able to replace it yourself? Or should you have to pay someone extra to do it for you?
@UncleCheeto
The devil, as they say, is in the detail. Do we know that you are actually having to "pay" someone to change the battery relative to the cost of a new battery? I seem to recall that the ho-hah over the MacBook Pro's battery was a fuss over nothing since the price to have the battery changed was pretty much the same as the cost of a new battery only so the only cost was the inconvenience. If Dell can change the battery quickly and at the normal cost of a new battery then does this really matter?
Frankly, the bigger concern is whether you can remove your hard drive to prevent sending personal data to Dell.
Yeah I really don't like this side of Dell. They were always the practical computer company.
Crickey! It has a battery?
well no shit, sherlock.
Im not sure how i feel about the ass on this thing...
That's what she said!
It's bad enough that Apple expect their users to take their laptops into an Apple Store to have the battery replaced but who wants to have to courier their overpriced laptop off to Dell? What a load of crap.
Now if they came to your home/office to perform the replacement I could live with that so long as it didn't cost any more.
Well, seeing as that's what they do with their XPS line I would only assume their new highest end line would get it as well.
Well at least Apple's new everlasting battery is here to save us all!
Laura, no need for that "sarcastic" tone you've put in that article. Engadget was always happy with non-replaceable batteries, in cheap, pro or stylish products from various manufacturers, keep up with what you guys think is okay, and don't make it seem wrong only because the makers of Adamo don't pay you more than the other companies, if you know what I mean.
... says the one guy who has never before noticed the rightfully snarky tone Engadget editors and commenters alike take towards companies who don't allow you to replace your own batteries.
Commenters, yes; Engadget, not so much.
Nobody pays me (or anyone else who works here) anything. 'Cept AOL. Sorry to disappoint you.
So I guess what I'm saying is: no, I don't know what you mean.
It's okay, by the time the battery stops holding a charge, there will be a newer faster model.
So in 2-3 years you would want to spend another $2000 on a laptop. I don't know about you, but I would like to use it a little longer than that.