Dell Adamo

Tired of seeing one professed Apple MacBook Air killer after another—the Lenovo Thinkpad X301, Voodoo Envy 133, and Sony VAIO VGN-Z590, to name a few—Dell decided to offer its own take on what a luxury brand should look like. The Dell Adamo (derived from the Latin word that means "to fall in love with"), is elegant in its thin profile and luxuriously intoxicating to look at. Despite its good looks, the Adamo is not going to "kill" anything, though it isn't without merit. The glass screen, excellent typing experience, and extensive wireless options are all pluses. And the reason for its seemingly expensive price is the standard 128GB solid state drive (SSD). Once prices come down for SSDs, we'll soon see the Adamo's price drop, especially given Dell's reputation for slashing prices. The Adamo's real Achilles' heel is the lackluster performance of its parts and its battery life. Aside from these issues, the design lives up to its name.

• Price as Tested: $2,000.00 Direct
• Type: Media, Ultraportable
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
• Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo U9300
• Processor Speed: 1.2 GHz
• RAM: 2 GB
• Weight: 4 lb
• Screen Size: 13.4 inches
• Screen Size Type: widescreen
• Graphics Card: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
• Storage Capacity: 128 GB
• Networking Options: 802.11n, Bluetooth
• Primary Optical Drive: External