So much for
Business Week's "confirmed" October 22nd launch date from over the weekend, eh? We just spoke with Dell's PR who told us that the company has yet to confirm a launch date for its slender
Adamo XPS, and still won't, except to say that it's not reaching the unwashed masses at any point today. That doesn't mean today was all bad for the vigilant in waiting, as we finally got our first public showing of the front of the laptop, proving once and for all that the
most recent press photo isn't crooked. So there you have it, a chiclet keyboard and touchpad that likes to curl up close with the screen -- mystery's over, folks, now we play the waiting game.
Update:
Laptop Mag notes a removable battery and what's likely to be an Intel ULV processor -- it's definitely not Atom.
posted Oct 22nd 2009 2:49PM
Can you say fugly?
Looked interesting from the side, but the cake is a LIE!
fugly
It actually looks like the original adamo tilt upside down
This design isn't HORRIBLE....I mean with the purported Core2Duo cpu and if we're lucky, discrete graphics, the heat would be unbearable if it was on your lap. Propping it up off your lap and on the back end of the screen is both good for keeping the heat away from you and dispersing the heat with fans because the fan vents won't ever be covered by your legs. Interesting approach to heat issues, but it may not work because of ergonomics, two points sitting on you (the keyboard part and bottom of the screen) might be uncomfortable, but it weighs very little, so it may be a non-issue.
I'm glad someone other than Apple designed something *NEW*...maybe not revolutionary but it's the first time we've seen something like it.*
Disclaimer*:I am not a fanboy of Apple or Microsoft.
Ok.... so what if I don't like my monitor at that angle? Can you adjust that? If so, how much can you move the monitor before it loses any semblance of stability or decides to close on you? Not sure this is all that practical of a design. Reminds me of a prototype car you see at the auto show that hardly resembles the final production model.
seems like it would never stay on your lap.
@Teerim
There is NO way this thing is getting discrete graphics.
Bad picture so cant say of the looks, but it looks sturdy.
The maiin failure points are hinges and screen. With this when closed the hinges are protected and screens protected too.
It looks like it's got backache.
That's an old Dell Latitude screen with a blown up iphone cover around it and a keyboard made by Acer...
That looks disgusting...
Unless that's a touchscrenn... (drools)
I'd agree with your first impression... even if it is a touch screen.... FUGLY!
That colour looks ugly....I want one with brushed grey aluminium please.
It IS aluminum. The lighting is just really bad.
yeah, its the lighting.
That computer might be thin, but it's quite possibly one of the most backwards, ugly designs I've ever seen. They just put the computer behind the monitor instead of under the keyboard.
Oh no.. Keep in mind - this design not for everybody so think different. You can turn it up and print on the touchscreen and stare at the keyboard. Then all the babes in the Starbucks will be yours!!
Man that is one ugly baby.
It looks like it's going to fall over.
Set them up like dominoes and let them fall... I think if it were black or brown aluminum it would look good!
Woah, is that really cream and brown? That's some seriously 1980s stuff right there. I guess everything old IS new again.
And yet it somehow calls to me, in a nostalgia-inducing way.
Black and silver. Look at the most recent PR shots. This thing is clearly not brown and cream as you suspect.
Ah, well, I'll take your word for it. That's some seriously crappy lighting and/or camera color balance issues, then, because it looks like, well, a blast from the past. ;)
I would have to think typing at that type of incline would cause wrists issues or carpel tunnel. That is not ergonomic at all. They shouldn't have sacrificed size for comfort here.
I dunno, virtually all desktop keyboards are inclined and people seem to type fine on those.
@maneki: Which is better depends on your arm position. The better ergonomic position for a keyboard below desk-level is actually a negative tilt. The Microsoft natural 4000 keyboard, for example, comes with a front riser that tilts it back.
design innovation. You're doing it wrong.
weird, it looks like the keyboard should be where the screen is, and the screen where the keyboard is
The keyboard should detach and let you use just the screen as a tablet (if it was touchscreen).
I was thinking the SAME EXACT thing. Infact there is a grip are below the keyboard.. i would not be surprised if the next trick they show us is the keyboard detaching.
i said the same thing when the first press shots leaked. As it stands, this kind of ugly, but if the keyboard it detachable to be able to use it as a tablet, that would be pretty cool
If the keyboard is automated like they said before, a Compaq Concerto-style detachable seems off the cards.
I agree that the upside down design should really be explored, and not only for touchscreens. It's easier on the desk space - and that is a bigger problem than vertical height.
Many larger laptops now spend a lot of time on desks, where the keyboard takes up a lot of space all the time, and it cannot be folded up like a Vaio or removed like an iMac. This design would make sense for something were the keyboard is rarely used on a lap. In my old, cramped apartment I never had enough space for writing in a notebook and a laptop. This is better. You'd just keep the main machine vertical all the time and just get the keyboard when you need it.
The problem is, as noted above, changing the screen's angle, especially since TN screens (in almost all laptops) have bad vertical viewing angles.
WOW when first heard news on the Engadget Podcast that the pic of the Dell Adamo XPS was the correct way and not upside down i really thought it was not right but i guess it was right.
im scratching my head on how this would lay on my lap.
I was thinking the same thing. What a let down
Someone at Dell's design firm is getting fired for this.
it had potential until they turned it upside down.. that is the most terrible looking thing ever
cat hiss at adamo
That looks like a pain to use especially in a car, train, plain with those dimentions
That is without a doubt the ugliest laptop I have ever seen. I like how the 1st adamo was a cool manly design with machined metal everywhere and this one is... I don't know what to call it except to echo Ben Carroll and Bronzus, fugly, disgusting... dell, come on! we all know your tech support sucks and is only getting worse, but... for a moment... I had a slight glimmer of hope that you might start creating beautiful computers that would make me want to put up with your abysmal customer service, but now...
It's moves like this that continue to eat away at your market share dell.
no way that hinge isnt going to break asap
Can't say much for the color, but that is a slick design. I wonder if they will offer it with Ubuntu not that I would be unhappy with Win7?
Wow, talk about ass-backwards. What's the point in this design? The only justification could be that the keyboard detaches for use as a tablet, but somehow I'm doubting this is the case. As a note, the screen must be extremely light not to tip over sitting like that.
They invest so much money and this is what comes out ???
I think they should have just increase the specs in Adamo G1 instead
it doesnt look comfortable putting that thing with sharp back on a lap
why is it upside down?
How is that thing going to stand still without falling?? FUGLY!
So so so disappointing...
It's all wrong.
The screen part should be flat on the table, and the keyboard should be there instead, and the screen should be where the keyboard is.
Oh well