Any more viral and the Adamo XPS would’ve given us Swine Flu. So it’s about time Dell fessed up…
Happily late last night it came clean and officially outed what has become the world’s thinnest laptop. Measuring 340 x 273.9 and just 9.9mm at its thickest point, the second generation Adamo makes the MacBook Air look positively bloated at 325 x 227 x 4-19.4mm. Interestingly though the aluminium body of the XPS weighs 1.44Kg, slightly heavier than the 1.36Kg of the Air and I’d be more interested in weight for overall portability than thickness – but that’s just me.

Other than its malnourished dimensions the other rather funky aspect to the Adamo XPS is how it opens. Firstly it has a touch sensitive strip along the front which you simply swipe with a finger to open the laptop – very bling. Furthermore when it does open the mechanism involved is like nothing we’ve ever seen with the back of the screen becoming a prop for the base and angling the XPS into a typing friendly position. Dell has also integrated the connectivity into the side of the screen rather than the body to keep things ever so svelte.
Is this all style over substance? Well yes and no. On one hand, the design is ingenious both creating a natural typing angle, enabling such slim dimensions and enabling unprecedented airflow to keep itself cool. On the other it means there is no room for adjusting the screen angle, you’ll likely soon scratch and scuff the back of the XPS in what is a very visible area when closed and it won’t be at all comfortable to use on your lap. Whether the pros outweigh the cons will ultimately be an individual decision.

Happily however amongst all this design is some grunt since Dell has kitted out the XPS far better than its meek predecessor. An Intel Core 2 Duo (1.4GHz) ULV processor is at its core, coupled with integrated (though HD capable) graphics, 4GB RAM, a 13.4in 1366 x 768 LED backlit display and large multi-touch trackpad. On top of this is WiFi, Bluetooth and even GPS. HDMI has been sacrificed in favour of the smaller DisplayPort, but an adaptor is provided into the box. You’ll also find 2x USB 2.0 and an Ethernet port (take note MacBook Air). Lastly Windows 7 is predictably the OS of choice.
So your heart is set and there’s just two things that can ruin it: battery life and price. And yes, they just might. The former is a real disappointment with the standard three cell battery lasting just two hours and the upgradable six cell only good for five hours – no better than the Air and worse than most netbooks and Lenovo’s X301. Next is price and this starts from $1,799 (£1,209) and is only likely to increase this side of the Atlantic.
Ultimately though those who are likely to buy this machine made their minds up long before reading this far. With a Christmas launch date on the cards, I’m sure you already know which camp you fall into…

By Gordon Kelly