Dell's Adamo Mystery Product: an MBA Clone?

A mystery Dell website, some trademark info, info on a fashion blog site, and a wild look of surprise on a Dell exec later, speculation is that Dell has an upcoming laptop designed to be as thin or thinner than the MacBook Air. And, as time goes on, the evidence keeps mounting.


Dell's own mystery site doesn't say much, but it does say "Adamo by Dell" and "Coming Soon." Aside from that, nothing.

However, the New York Times unearthed some trademark info on both "Adamo by Dell" and "Dell Adamo." Both appear related to computer systems.

There was also a post (since removed) at the luxury lifestyle site Uptownlife.net which said "Rumor has it that Dell is coming out with a computer called Adamo that will rival the MacBook Air."

But the look on Michael Tatelman, Dell’s vice president in charge of consumer sales and marketing when asked about it told volumes:

Mr. Tatelman’s mouth gaped open and his eyes darted away from my face. After a couple of moments, Mr. Tatleman said, "I think we need to get some iconic products out there, so people associate Dell’s brand with other things." Namely, that’s goodbye to clunky, and hello to sleek.

Since then enGadget has stated that its own separate sources have said that the Adamo is in fact real. In a post with pics of the upcoming Dell Studio XPS 13 (above), they noted an anonymous source leaked the following to them:

• Adamo was scheduled for a December release, but was pushed back until at least February.
• Dell plans to market the Adamo as the "world’s thinnest laptop"
• It’s definitely going after MacBook Air market share.
• Adamo will feature a black and silver color scheme similar to the Studio XPS 13 pictured above, but "different," whatever that means

Finally, BetaNews found some accessories in Dell's catalog, since removed, that referenced "Adamo 13" --- a 13.3" screen, perhaps? Yep, the evidence keeps piling up. Still, the delay until "at least" February has to hurt. So far notebooks such as Lenovo's Thinkpad X300 / X301 and the Voodoo Envy 133 are already out there, and the MacBook Air will have been out for a year before the Adamo reaches the market, if the dates are correct. And it's not as though the MBA competitors have managed to tarnish the gleam in the eyes of thin-and-light Mac fans' eyes. Will Dell fare any better?

Oh, and for laughs, here's a video posted soon after the MacBook Air launched, a parody of what Dell would "probably come up with" in response to the MBA.