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Thu, 19 Mar 2009 Dell's Adamo looks like a MacBook, but isn't a MacBook

I'm convinced the Adamo will never become an Apple-like cultural icon

Paul Boutin The Industry Standard

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It's slim, sleek, and sexy. Dell's new Adamo notebook is thinner by one-tenth of an inch than the fat end of a MacBook Air. It's a bit pricier, but unlike the MacBook you can get mobile broadband built in. It's definitely one of the sharpest-looking laptops ever.

Too bad it runs Vista.

Apple's public image is almost entirely built upon the company's unique ability not only to design eye-pleasing products, but to build, ship, and sell them. Most PC makers can't bring their hot-looking prototypes to production, any more than Ford or Cadillac could mass produce their over-the-top concept cars.

But focusing on Apple's industrial design skills overlooks the company's other strength: Software. Apple's operating system, Mac OS X, is simply more robust and less confusing than any version of Windows. It's a sure thing the geeks will have Adamo booting Linux in no time.

But even Linux is ugly and childlike in appearance compared to OS X's subtle grayscale colours, and its rounded edges on windows, scrollbars and other onscreen components.

Photographer Brian Solis has posted a series of Adamo photos that show the product off better than Dell's own shots. The Adamo's reflective metal skin looks great when the machine is turned off.

But booting Windows will splash a user interface onto its screen that clashes with the casing and keyboard. Vista - or for that matter Windows XP - just doesn't have the low-key seductiveness of OS X.

And for IT professionals - the programmers and system administrators who live on their laptops - Mac OS X is a Unix operating system at its core, or more technically, its kernel.

That means it's easier to work under the hood than Windows. A Unix expert can find lost files, edit configurations, and obtain data on hard drives and peripherals in ways not possible even with the latest Windows Vista.

I predict moderate success for the Adamo. More notebook users run Windows than OS X, and aren't in a position where they can switch. Many are stuck with whatever version of Windows their office IT guys support.

And to be fair, Windows wins on some areas, such as Microsoft Outlook's tight integration with Microsoft's Exchange email and calendar server. Apple's iCal is still buggy and limited by comparison. For Windows-bound business users, an Adamo makes a snazzy status symbol.

Yet pretty and skinny as it is, I'm convinced the Adamo will never become an Apple-like cultural icon. It'll always be "the Windows machine that's sort of like a MacBook."

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Comments received


What? said on Thu, 19 Mar 2009

What a space filler this article is. Never read so much rubbish on one page.

"And for IT professionals - the programmers and system administrators who live on their laptops" - I have worked over 15 years as an IT professional and contractor in blue chip companies and only one had a FEW mac's.

The adverts are taking over this site again. Time to install Firefox and Ad-Blockers.

Ben said on Thu, 19 Mar 2009

Actually I do kind of agree - the hardware looks very nice (although don't like the two tone top), but as soon as you fire up Windows I guess it kind of crashes back to reality there... Oh.

MacWorld Reader said on Thu, 19 Mar 2009

The thing I don't like about the Dell site advertising the machine is the same thing that I don't like about car manufacturer sites - there's all these angled and cropped shots that it takes an age to find out what the laptop actually looks like as a whole entity. Same with its tech specs. Takes a ridiculous amount of clicks to arrive at the information most people want to know immediately - i.e. how does it compare to other machines and is it worth the money. Not interested in all the lifestyle fluff and nonsense about living the Dell Dream.

Macworld Staff said on Thu, 19 Mar 2009

@Macworld Reader. We love you. And your comments. But we just want to give you a gentle prod:

macworldexpo.ning.com/profiles/blogs/youre-spelling-it-wrong

bmovie said on Thu, 19 Mar 2009

Fashionistas with brains? The two don't seem to go together. With outsides looking like over-sized cigarette cases from the 90's, one questions if the box is better closed than opened, but I must admit, that once open, it is a very nice looking machine with an edge-to-edge glass screen. Had Dell launched this line during better Economic times when low-cost netbooks were not the "IT" girls of the week, the Apple Air would look over its shoulder and notice. Sorry, but Dell's poorly timed entry is "A damned '0'".

Joe Pearce said on Thu, 19 Mar 2009

"More notebook users run Windows than OS X, and aren't in a position where they can switch. Many are stuck with whatever version of Windows their office IT guys support." Large companies do not want OS X or Mac's. "IT guys" don't make the decisions, it is all business led, they want an OS that has a road-map, is not locked-in to hardware and they want hardware that can be easily upgraded and supported by local support teams.

I own Mac's, and they are good at what they do, but would never have them in the business. Not the way Apple currently sells them.

zpok said on Thu, 19 Mar 2009

The author makes sweeping statements that are simply beyond objective analysis. I am an Apple user since 1984 and have seen enough PC guys sensitive to good hardware and even good looks. If you live and breath Linux or Windows, you might still go for a good quality laptop - even a good looking one. This Dell thingy is meant to be a niche product and as such could be very successful if it delivers. The fact that it doesn't run OS X means dick for the target audience. I wonder how the author explains Windows users prefering Mac hardware since the intel switch. In short, while I personally agree that OS X is a great OS and that - depending on your metrics and needs - it might very well be the best one out there, I don't want to go as far as the author and claim the world is flat and everybody will ignore this laptop because it runs Vista, Linux or XP.

chris kede said on Thu, 19 Mar 2009

actually users like yourself are why mac’s are not used in most businesses. Funny that MBA’s ever think they now a single thing about anything IT related. Most business are run poorly and the choice of picking windows is a perfect reflection of that. See at NASA we use mostly mac’s and solaris, and I can bet you we are allot more mission critical than your business. To be honest if I told my directors at NASA that I wanted to use windows to launch the shuttle or to gather minute by minute satellite data, I would be lauph at.

JC said on Thu, 19 Mar 2009

Dell screws up AGAIN, trying to price notebooks to match Apple's market (MacBook Pro), but offers insultingly pathetic product specs...
Adamo prices: start at $2,000-$2,700. MacBook Pro prices: start at $2,000-2,799.

Adamo CPU: 1.2GHz-1.4GHz. Macbook Pro: 2.4GHz - 2.66GHz
Adamo Screen Size: 13". MacBook Pro: 15.4"-17"
Adamo Memory: 2-4GB DDR3 (800MHz). MacBook Pro: 2-4GB 1066 MHz.
Adamo: ONLY RUNS WINDOWS. MacBook Pro: Runs BOTH MAC OS X & WINDOWS XP/VISTA
Adamo: 128GB sold-state. MacBook Pro: up to 320GB hard disk, solid state option
Adamo ports: USB 2.0 fastest. MacBook Pro: Firewire 800 (up to 2x faster).
Adamo: Crap graphics. MacBook Pro: 2 graphics chips, one for energy efficiency and the other (512MB video memory) for performance.

Even if Dell are gunning for the consumer MacBook market with this dumb offering, Apple's MacBooks offer better value for money for way under $2,000. And, in comparison to Apple's MacBook Pros, the "Adamo" falls short too.

@chris kede said on Fri, 20 Mar 2009

At NASA you probably have the money attached to whatever black project is currently being pushed through, but in the real world where money is an object and workstation hardware can be swapped without a tin can falling out of the sky.

The initial cost, the hardware-software tie in, overpriced software and limited development resources, very high support costs, high maintenance costs. It has all been priced up objectively many times and laughed at by the board.

Tony F

@JC said on Fri, 20 Mar 2009

Who is saying this laptop is aimed at the Macbook owners? Only the mac press.

Utter rubbish people write in support of their tardboxes.

JC said on Fri, 20 Mar 2009

"Who is saying this laptop is aimed at the Macbook owners?"

Are you suggesting that, while Mac users may moan about Dell's pricing, PC users would be quite happy to get ripped off? My complaint is not in "defence" of Macs, but rather a complaint about rip-off pricing for ANY prospective customer.

I guess as a PC user (which you clearly sound like) you're quite happy to buy Dell's Adamo and get a poor spec machine for an outrageous price? This may say more about the naivety of Windows users than even I could imagine...

AdamJackson said on Sat, 21 Mar 2009

Dude, you are such a fucking tool its not even funny.

Handsome B. Wonderful said on Mon, 23 Mar 2009

You had so many actual good points you could've made. The Adamo has a higher price tag and weaker hardware to boot. Instead you wasted it of promotional pap that boils down to:"It's just as pretty but I like OS X better." Blah. I haven't seen such shamelessness since the days of "Dr." Derek Smart.

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