***-->The Official Dell Adamo Thread<--***

Hey guys, I'm looking to get an Adamo for my mom this mother's day (or the week after judging from the ship date), but have 2 big questions before I put in the order:

Will the 1.2 Ghz processor + 2 Gigs of Ram configuration provide good Blu-Ray performance/ playback?

And which finish do you guys suggest in terms of elegence? I was leaning towards the pearl since I know she'd appreciate the etchings, but in 3rd party vids and pics the finish looked a bit plasticky.

The onyx's finish on the other hand looks very solid but a bit boring.

Thx for your help!

 

According to one of litkaj's post, the onyx is a fingerprint magnet.

 

Thanks! I'll get the Pearl then since I know she'd realllllly hate cleaning off fingerprints.

Now I just need to know if the 1.2 Ghz processor and 2 Gigs of ram will be up to snuff for playing Blu-Rays...

 

Look at the post I just made yesterday (right before yours). The 1.2GHz will have issues with high bitrate Blu-Ray (VC-1 would probably be OK).

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=4785191&postcount=500

 

Heh, yeah is it...

 

In that case would the 1.4 Ghz/ 4G Ram eliminate those problems?

I think I might just go with a VAIO TT now...

 

I'm interested in getting the new Panasonic ZS3 (TZ7 outside US) digital camera and it can record 720p at a bitrate of 17Mbps in a new format called 'AVCHD Lite'. According to your post, I shouldn't have a problem with playback as long as I can find a program which can play it.

You might want to consider the VAIO Z.

 

Just so that you know, I blame this thread for what happened when I went back to the Dell site.

I was saying to myself "You know it's too heavy for what it is, don't you?" over and over again.

I got one in Pearl. The long wait starts.

 

Oh..no no no...Don't you be blaming *cough* this thread, Vogelbung...tsk tsk...

Congrat's!!!! on your purchase! I think that's great!!!

Did you order thru Dell home, or EPP? And, when is the expected delivery?

Are you going to feed us your specs, or just taunt us???


Cin

 

The selection decision was actually quite mentally involved.

- Direct alternative candidates again to try in place of TT: X301, R600.
- R600? No. Had R500 last year though, felt / looked cheap.
- X301? Possibly. Had X300 last year though, felt like an accountant every time I opened it.
- Look at NBR Adamo thread. Post a bit in it.
- Look thorugh litkaj's posts.
- Way too heavy for what it is.
- However, it pretty. Me like pretty.
- Cannot justify in any way against 1.3Kg TT.
- Also looks like a complete joke next to 0.8Kg external-optical R600.
- Totally too heavy for what it is.
- But I'm not picking those anyway.
- Look at NBR Adamo thread again.
- X301 with 6-cell is about 1.5Kg. Adamo has runtime equivalent.
- 1.8 - 1.5 = 0.3
- 300g = can of soda, or a 6-cell battery. That's still quite a lot.
- X301 still makes more logical sense.
- Remember accountant feel. Adamo > X301 cuz of pretty.
- But it's a 6-cell heavier.
- Yes, but it doesn't have a removable battery so why are you going on about batteries?
- Oh yeah. OK, so it's a soda can heavier.
- Do not carry soda. Problem solved.

Pearl Desire, DVD. expected delivery date waiting confirmation to my "WHAT?" email. I have a dedicated account manager.

 

Very, nice..I like your very detailed purchase justification there!
Grats again!...And, yes those dedicated account managers are awesome..I have one, his name is Josh.

Cin

 

They are?


EDIT: Yeah - basically confirmed, no queue-hopping possible. Approaching a month

 

Umm...Errm..Yes, Well, at least mine is for me..He gives me pretty good deals..so I would say so. No confusion for me.

Well, I hope that month will go by fast for you.


Cin.

 

You know, this does bring up a pet Dell peeve of mine.

To me, an account manager should be there for problems - any idiot can shift boxes at me. They're fine at giving me decent deals - including on this Adamo which is just an isolated order, I'll be paying substantially less than the web price - but it's just when there are problems (fairly rare I have to admit, but it usually happens at the worst moments) I'm pretty much left to my own devices due to the fast and furious buck-passing. Since I'm self-employed with a small staff and technically speaking we're not really an IT shop, any fulfillment issues usually comes down to me to solve. And despite our size, it's not like we're small-scale in terms of value of orders.

I primarily buy Dell for back-end / workstation duties because technically, support-wise and negotiated cost-wise, it's the most competitive package. The sales service IMO definitely needs improvement.

 

Is that maximum or average? If average, expect issues, if maximum, yeah, that shouldn't be an issue (assuming that decoding can either be hardware-accelerated or that there's a performance-oriented software decoder).

 

It's maximum.

One more quick question (for now , how warm does it get after 4-6 hours of use?

 

I've not used it for more than 2 or so at a time, but I'd assume that at that point it's about as warm as it will get.

To answer, for web surfing, I don't believe it's more than a couple degrees warmer than room temperature. For video playback, noticeably warm but not so much that you wouldn't be able to use it on your lap.

 

In case anyone is wondering, I did an upgrade from Vista Home Premium x64 to Windows 7 Ultimate RC x64 last Thursday (MSDN) and it was smooth. Everything seems to work fine and it's noticeably quicker than Vista on this system.

 

Litkaj, Some time has passed since you received your Adamo. How is your long-time satisfaction? Anything changed, any problems? Found some common task that doesn't run well on that low-voltage C2D? I am deciding whether to go for Adamo or not but was waiting for some long-time usage experience. Looking for a light portable non-overheating office machine so web browsing, HD playback and occasional old game (like, very old) is all that matters to me, and that machine is damn sexy

 

I'm no Apple fanboy - in fact, far from it but with the updates and price drop of the new MacBooks and MacBook Air, I fear that the Adamo is dead in the water. You can get the MacBook Air with SSD for less than the lowest price Adamo and run Windows under Boot Camp.

I think that sounds you heard coming from Round Rock last week was Dell execs banging their head against the wall when Apple announced the upgrades and price cuts. I just hope that Dell responds somehow and incorporates the Adamo's form factor for some other lower priced models.

 

Yes, i was pondering MBA and MBP13 as well, but it seems that both are horrible at heat management and overheat like mad. I want a cool laptop and MBA gets uncomfortably hot by mere watching of youtube. Not to mention that i'm no fan of the silver/white colour on laptops. My fridge is white, and my microwave is silver, don't want a kitchen appliance in my lap as well.

 

The Adamo is still still overpriced...
To sell = Price reduction.
That's pretty much the answer factor found on the forum..and on the net!


Cin

 

I know it is, but cash is the least of my problems. In any case, i managed to find owner of Adamo and had a chat with him about his experience. Got all answers i needed, thus put down order for 'Desire' model and the 2 week waiting for delivery begins Time to get rid of M1730.

 

Sweet! That is really great.... Grat's on your *Desire* Adamo order!

Are you going to put your 1730 up for sale?? If so, you should try and sell it on the Marketplace right here on NBR

(I had wanted the Adamo...but the pricing for me)...yeah..
Maybe someday!


Cin

 

Cheers, i feel like little child now, all impatient and hyperactive Guess it's true that men never become adult and a piece of child remains inside

And yes, i'm going to sell my XPS here, or at least try to. Will see if there's any interest at all.

 

hopefully we'll see some adamo's in the outlet

 

Oh thats so normal to feel like that I feel like that whenever I order something Ive really *wanted*...but then I learn tis better to chill and be patient!! !!!

Well, your *desire* will be to you soon! And, yes I think you should sell fairly easy here on the forum, if its priced right!!! Peeps like the 1730!!

I hope so too...tomorrow is good for me!! How bout you? :laugh:


Cin

 

I'm not quite sure I understand that you are going from a 1730 to an Adamo?

those are both at the very VERY ends of the laptop spectrum

 

Rather simple, was studying at Uni for the last couple of years, and well... student life, i don't need to explain, do I?

Now my masters degree is coming to an end and my new employment will consist of moving around, meeting with clients etc. I will have electricity on hand most of the time so not fussed about battery life, but i will be carrying laptop around a lot so i do care for weight and size, plus looks to impress clients. I don't think anyone would take me seriously if i pulled out huge glowing monster on business meeting. I'm buying a desktop for home usage for more intensive tasks and occasional game. So yes, laptops are very different, but my lifstyle is changing dramatically as well so i must change my priorities.

 

Tbh, this thing is way overpriced (and underpowered) for what it is and when compared to newer alternatives (mainly MBA). Imo, no one in their right mind would buy one (no offence guys).

Now, I'm neither an Apple nor a Dell fanboi but compare Apple's product launch vids with Dell's and you'll understand another worry of mine. The only reason i'm even comparing these two is because they're very similar in terms of design and i've considered each of them in my search for a notebook for college.

I think they should drop it and release a new line up, separate from the Studios, focusing less on making a fashion statement (w/ price tag to match) and more on usability. They can keep the original in their if need be, I just want a proper competitor to the MB. I don't think that's too much to ask.

This is more of what I had in mind.

Edit: I've just read that Dell is making room for further Adamo-branded products. Is this true??

 

It's not underpowered, at least not for what it is meant to be used. It was never meant to be a machine for gaming, video editing or complex modelling. It's an executive machine to do light office work, browse internet, do occasional presentation and perhaps a movie. That's about it. Of course you can argue that a cheap netbook does exactly same. But honestly, would you turn up with a $300 netbook at the meeting of top management where people are wearing expensive suits and have large german sedans with drivers waiting for them in front of the building? I don't know about you, but i can tell you that i wouldn't. And for the exact same reason i would never turn up to such meeting with a laptop that has white glowing fruit on the lid, unless i wanted to make everyone else laugh. Don't take me wrong, Apple does some nice stuff, but it belongs more to the "coffee shop-hippie-student-art designer-whatever" category.

And mentioning MBA, i think Dell really nailed it with Adamo, they managed to create something that Apple should have done long time ago. They made a thin laptop without sacrificing all connectivity, which for some reason Apple ignored despite there being enough space for at least 1 extra USB port. But mainly, they fixed the biggest issue i have with MBA - overheating. Everyone is arguing that MBA is more powerful yadayadayada. Yes it is, but at what cost. That notebook runs so hot that it's very uncomfortable to touch it after a short session. Now, MBA is more powerful than Adamo, yet it still sucks for any serious work. It has low amount of RAM, it has sucky graphics and CPU isn't exactly lightning-fast. So you end up with computer that can't cope with professional work, and computer which is overpowered for basic tasks to such extent that it overheats. Now take Adamo, it doesn't blindly try to pretend that it's a professional machine like MBA, Dell decided to use ULV processor which copes just fine with basic tasks for which both Adamo and MBA are meant, and it runs comfortably cool even under load after a long session, and still sports 4GB of ram for those multitasking occasions. Sure Dell could have bundled it with 2.0GHz C2D but i'm rather sure it would be overheating like crazy, Apple proves that. Take a look at Apple forums, all i read is that they are discouraging most people form buying MBA, and rather suggesting MBP 13 or 15. Don't you think it's rather disturbing when even rock-solid Apple fanboys are discouraging potential buyers from MBA? MBA was on my list, but after experiencing it in action and reading through bunch of forums, i know i would regret buying it. Seems to be a big bag of hurt with its own issues, and the young hip image isn't helping.

Adamo will find its customers, there is always market for expensive low volume products. And if you have to complain about its cost, then you can be sure that you were not meant to be a target customer. Take a look at Vertu - luxury mobile phones of large size with ancient software and almost no functions. In the same way you can ask "who in his right mind would buy one", yet they still sell. And not only that, even other manufacturers decided to introduce similar products to market (Tagheuer Meriidist anyone?), despite having a chance to go with small, light smartphones. But no, they went with simple item and put everything into design and name. It pays off. You are meeting with wealthy clients and are buying a car - are you going to look only at performance and buy cheap Subaru Impreza STi, or rather going to make a statement and buy Mercedes S-Classe which is a heavy car with heavy engine (even though powerful one) which can never keep up with Impreza STi on real roads, yet it is more suitable for your work, because your clients will see that you are not a teenage racer but rather a mature businessman.

Adamo has its purpose, and it is coping fine. And yes, there are rumours of new Adamo line, seems like 9-10" netbook/ultraportable.

 

Touche. Wasn't expecting such a long reply, but it was worth the read. Agreed, it serves its purpose quite well (basic tasks) and outdoes the MBA in certain ways whilst appearing just as sleek, if not more so.

But it would still be nice if Dell were to release a more viable Adamo for the general consumer base.

 

Well yes, and i would say that it's safe to assume that we will see a cheaper Adamo soon. Intel is offering 1.6GHz CULV as well, so once that gets implemented by Dell (or rather if), we should see a price drop of lower models, as i can't imagine the price being pumped up even higher, that would be a nonsense on Dell's part. Also new Intel platform is coming soon so that might mix the cards once details are announced. The whole line is quite fresh, so i wouldn't be surprised if some coupons pop up in few months and Dell Outlet is also there. And then there's the rumoured 9-10" Adamo. Still plenty of time and opportunities to push the price down But generally i agree that it's perhaps slightly overpriced, yet at the same time it could have been worse. Could have been equipped with Intel Atom and 1GB ram so....

 

My hope is that at the very least Dell (or some other top tier Wintel vendor) will come out with a unibody Windows notebook at a little more reasonable pricepoint. My daughter has a new 13" MBP and quite frankly, the fit and finish, solidness and clean lines are head and shoulders above anything else available outside of Apple (with the exception of the Adamo).

 

If you read thru this thread from the beginning to point forward when the Adamo was released, you will see the excitement from most (including myself).

But, you will also read the disappointment with the pricing, etc. on the Adamo upon release. I think here on the forum only 3 peep's at most have purchased the Adamo. And, that's great that those peeps did.

But, honestly..sales are not going to increase for Dell, until the pricing is at a point where most can realistically afford it. Again, I think that will be once the Adamo hit's the Outlet.

Personal choice, personal preference..that's what it always comes down to in the end.


Cin.

 

I'd get one but the engadget hands-on turned me WAY off.

 

There's really no reason to even consider the Adamo after the MBA price drops.

Dell has had quite a few "swing... and a miss" moments since they decided to go upscale, and the Adamo is one of them. Pedestrian hardware at a boutique price, with a wal-mart brand... yeah they should've seen it coming a mile away.

 

The new question is, with the new (possibly CULV based) latitude z-series out, is the Adamo even more of an joke?

http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/15/dell-latitude-z-series-laptop-leaked-sized-up-in-pictures/

It appears to be pretty thin....

 

Agreed - the Adamo is a great niche product for the high end of the laptop market.
I am looking forward to seeing the extension of the Adamo line to the netbook/ultraportable form factor with more Halo products in the future

 

Yes Halo 3 ODST is going to be released in september, 2009. Halo Reach is going to be released in october, 2010

 

I would love it if they released an Adamo 12 with the following specs...

~1 inch thick (making it more viable to produce)
12" Edge-to-edge matte LED screen with higher contrast/illumination/viewing angles/color gamut values (to help counter reflections) w/o a thick bezel
Intel PM45 chipset
Intel 25W P-series (Penryn-3M) processor options
NVIDIA 40nm G210M graphics
Upto 8GB Dual-channel DDR3-1066 RAM (no soldering)
Slimline slot-loading optical drive
Gigabit ethernet, Intel wireless-N module, HDMI, SD card slot
Removable battery/HDD compartment (similar to the late '08 UMB seen here)

Keyboard layout, centered touchpad, precision aluminium construction, screen lid, and everything else can remain the same. But they should remove the media buttons and keep it simple (less that can go wrong) whilst redesigning the cooling system to allow better airflow.
A few things they could add are touchpad-lock, screen-off & battery-indicator buttons (all of which can come in very handy) on the upper right, whilst the power button is moved to the left.

Then they can charge me $2000+ for this and i'll gladly pay. In fact, i'll be the first to order.
------------------------
Btw, all of this is the latest power-efficient tech and you won't really get anything better till next year (Calpella for mainstream <15" notebooks) so they should implement it sooner rather than later. Also, Intel should release a dual core Clarksfield without an integrated GPU as i'm not buying Arrandale with its IGP.

 

Nice specs for your "Adamo". But the Adamo is a machine that could've been better. Then again office users (CEOs and the Executive kind ) have a knack for these kinds of machine so it will have a niche of its own, even though it's performance is just average for a notebook.

 

Has this baby a glossy or matte screen ?

 

Glossy, it's even behind glass like Apple uses on its laptops, which i'm not sure is the most practical and best solution to fight glare But it's pwetty

 

It's pretty, that's for sure..but the price tag is just way beyond the pockets for most. Plus, 2k+ budget would get you a nice gaming lappy. Of course, if you would want aluminum and laser cut square holes for heat vents then the adamo will be the way to go. If they made it out of titanium, I'd buy it.

Do we have any owners of the Adamo in the forums?

 

Yep, Litkaj had one for quite some time. I ordered one a week and something ago, EDD is 7th July, so 2 days to go

 

That's good to know. Do post some pics, benchmarks and your impressions when it gets delivered. Hope it doesn't get delayed.

 

Shouldn't be delayed, order status went from "being assembled" to "delivery" now, even got automated call from Dell to confirm time and day for delivery. So unless there's some disaster or the truck crashes and burns, it should be fine

 

These are now in the outlet

 

Yeah, I saw that e-mail but the inventory for Adamos is empty right now.