Dell Adamo 13: CULV Goes Upscale

Dell Adamo 13: Conclusion

Now we reach the end of the review of what is, in my opinion, one of the best looking laptops of all time. The sheer level of detail in the industrial design of the Adamo is astounding. Dell has put design above anything and everything else about this computer. The single-mindedness with which this computer was designed is almost Apple-esque. It's about the little things - the exposed screw on the hinge, the pattern of holes laser cut out of the aluminum to create a vent for the processor, the Intel and Windows logos which were painted on the bottom so as to not ruin the finish. It's definitely got a luxury feel to it, and I can understand why Dell wanted to charge $2499 or some similarly ridiculous sum for it at first. 

At the debut price, the decision is an obvious no. Unless you're loaded and need a really powerful gaming or workstation system, nobody needs to spend more than $1500-2000 on a computer, even at the highest end. But at its current $999 pricetag, the Adamo is attainable, finally. Still, even reduced to less than half of what it was, the Adamo remains expensive compared to other similarly specced notebooks. The difference between when it debuted and now is the level of competition - CULV has taken over the low end portable market, and we've now got $600 machines with 1.3GHz dual cores, 4GB of memory, and 320GB hard drives. Like, for example, the ThinkPad Edge we reviewed not long ago. The extra $300 gets you the standard solid state drive (figure $200 if you wanted to get one from Newegg and upgrade it yourself), a brighter display, and the aluminum unibody chassis. So if you want an SSD, the Adamo’s actually in the same price range as the other systems in this performance class.

But compared to those more plebeian notebooks, the Adamo feels like so much more. Call it an unabashed fashion statement if you will, but for the people that care about style, it's easily the most elegant and classy notebook under $1000. It feels expensive, a truly premium product. And when you think about it, it is – Dell meant to sell these at well over $2000. 

It's not a perfect computer by any means. It's not a powerhouse by any means, it's not as small as the MacBook Air, it's not that light for its size, the battery life is pretty poor, there aren’t that many ports, and minor things like the keyboard and speakers are mediocre at best. The singular reason you should consider the Adamo over another CULV thin and light is because of the industrial design and styling.

If you’re not smitten by the design or you’re not someone who really cares about a laptop’s aesthetic qualities, this isn’t the laptop for you. You can use the SSD or the display to convince yourself, but the Adamo’s appeal begins and ends with the shape of the aluminum unibody. And it’s better for it, because if you look at any of the standard performance benchmarks, this system simply isn’t worth it.

But as the esteemed Ferris Bueller once said about a beautiful 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California, “It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.” The Adamo isn’t the fastest, it isn’t the smallest, it isn’t the longest lasting. But as one of the most thoroughly designed portable computers ever produced, it is definitely choice.