Direct2Dell

I've had my fair share of problems and disappointments with not only both of my Dells but the customer service as well.
I've spent thousands of dollars on my two laptops and although the second wasn't really what I'd expected from Dell, I have no problem recommending them to others.

There is something out there for everybody and I'm sure the Adamo will find it's niche in the consumer market.

At first glance it seemed perfect and came just in time for my next laptop purchase but once I saw the specs I hate to say that I'm hesitating. It seems more like something I'd have to try before buying although it's something I'll definitely make a point to look into more.

Honestly, I'm very disappointed with the specs included in the ADAMO.  If Dell used an NVIDIA M9400 graphics solution and a 1.86 GHz C2D processor many people could get over the price point.  People don't mind paying for a quality exterior but the specs have to meet a certain level or all the glitz is lost.  The ADAMO is like buying a Lamborghini with a golf cart motor in it.  I know Dell wasn't trying to build a powerhouse notebook but they could have at least made it a step above a netbook spec wise.  All in all I don't see the ADAMO being more than a niche market for those with disposable income in a recession.  At least Apple offers a quality operating system, decent specs and excellent media tools in their system for the money.

First off let me say that the Adamo is stunning.  I am a long time Dell owner although I'm typing this from a unibody Macbook Pro.  I've been waiting for a PC manufacturer to introduce something at the quality level of the Adamo for some time.  Honestly, I can understand why the Adamo costs as much as it does.  The materials and design that went into the machine seem quite high and I can appreciate that.  That doesn't even factor in the cost of the advertisement blitz that Dell has put together for the product.  Quality costs money just ask Apple.  Some people call it the "Apple Tax"  so today I will coin the phrase "Adamo Tax".  

It's not all rosy for you guys.  I'm not letting you off the hook so easily.  To be honest I'm a bit disappointed for "what's in the box" for the two price points.  More than anything I am a bit let down by the anemic 2 GBs of RAM on the lower priced model.  If I opt for the more expensive model to get the extra RAM I get a minor bump in CPU speed and a WWAN card.  That's $700 hundred extra dollars for what amounts to a little over $100 dollars your cost (probably less than that) in components.  That's shameful and even Apple has to be laughing about that price point.  Come on, you could have added a few more gigs to the SSD with that $700.  The only excuse I can think of is that the $1999 model is a loss leader, and you're hoping most people opt for the more expensive machine to get something more functional. Now lets spend a moment talking about the CPU.  Yeah, sure the neutered CPUs will provide a bit more battery life, but the Air has great battery life (similar capacity battery), and Apple is using CPUs that will run circles around the Adamos.  You can't fall back on the thermal packaging excuse since the Air has a similar package size but faster CPUs.  I won't fault you for what amounts to some of the thermal/power usage issues you must account for that Apple doesn't since you must rely on Windows archaic at best power management features.  

I am torn.  The Adamo is totally drool worthy...I'll admit that.  My finger is itching to hit the Accept Order button so I can get in cue with the other salivating computer dweebs.  The only thing giving me pause is the feeling that Dell could have done better, and offered a machine commensurate with the hype issued by the advertising department.  Overall, I must commend Dell the company for engineering and producing such a beautiful machine.  I hope you're able to please the bean counters so that you can continue to produce Adamo quality machines.  Next time when it comes to finalizing the specs forget to send the meeting notice to the bean counters.  OK?

Actually, I am a Linux user. But yes, I have tried Windows 7. And I am not ashamed to say they've done some nice work.

Although I mostly just consider it a source of 'healthy' competition for linux...

As a  long time "fan" of Dell, so to speak, I am very excited about the launch of the Adamo, even though I'll probably never be ina  position to buy one. Why? I see it as a departure from the much-over-done "PC is cheaper" track that usually is the only divider from, say, the Mac. Sure, a roughly equivelent PC has always been cheaper than it's Mac counterpart. But I think most of us felt (even though we would never admit it) that the Mac was still technically superior. Something about it made it different. CPU freqs and GBs of memory aren't all there is to a computer, you know.

In my opinion, Dell is taking the battle to Apple's home ground, by no longer limiting their products to "lower-cost rough equivelents to the Mac you really wany" (Mac Mini vs Studio Hybrid, Macbook vs XPS, etc), but instead challenging Apple's claim to technical superiority.  Now we have Dell machines that don't compete against the Mac by a lower price, but by being a truly better, higher quality product.

That's a high bar to jump, as Apple has been the standard of high quality computer hardware for sometime. But with products like the Adamo, I think a clear message has been sent to companies like Apple; the days of "PC's are cheap, low quality wannabees" are over.

Now if we could just find a decent operating system...

Lionel, I keep visiting this blog because you're not afraid to have that frank conversation, and in this case to give us more insight into the Adamo thought process. Dell did a great job with the ID, love the glossy display, I would have no issue paying a premium for such a product. However, the deal killer for me is the display resolution. Personally,1440x900 like the Thinkpad X301 would have been terrific. The other items, such as a slower cpu, I can try to deal with but the resolution is a must. I know that 1366 is close, but it's still not quite there. Huge thumbs up for the effort though. If this new emphasis on ID continues (even if it's only on the higher end), Dell will have me back as a customer eventually. Keep up the great work blogging.

I couldn't figure out for the life of me why Dell was so quiet about what was inside the Adamo, now I understand, I think we all do. While the design is extremely beautiful, the components that actually drive the system are extremely weak for the price paid.

Dell can try to sugar coat it all they want, but in today's economy, bringing a $2000 notebook to the market is just crazy in my opinion.

In the brilliant words of Paul Thurrott, "[Dell is] so busy copying what they see as cool and hip that they've lost sight of the fact that they should be doing their own thing. Any product that is essentially a copy of something else (Linux, Zune, there are a million of them), there's something inherently less interesting about them. Because the companies that make them don't lead, they follow."

I couldn't agree more with that statement.