Review: Dell Adamo 13

The Dell Adamo 13.

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Dell's Adamo 13 is a beautifully made, uber-thin notebook aimed squarely at the luxury market.

From its stylish clear plastic carry case to its brushed aluminium surfaces, it exudes refinement - which it should do, given its price ($2599 for the Adamo Admire and $3199 for the aptly-named Adamo Desire).

Everything about the Adamo speaks design, with its wall-to-wall glass 13.4-inch widescreen HD display, brushed-then-glossy lid, and back-lit keys made from sculpted aluminium. The attention to detail is impressive - with the exception of the headphone jack, ports are grouped at the rear to provide clean edges for the front and sides, and the whole machine is just 1.64cm thick - a clear shot across the bows of Apple's super-thin MacBook Air.

Under the bonnet, it has a 128 gigabyte solid state hard drive, and runs an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor (1.2GHz for the Admire and 1.4GHz for the Desire). Both models have 2GB of RAM, Bluetooth, fast wireless internet capability and the Desire supports mobile broadband. A 1.3 megapixel integrated camera and digital microphone are also included.

The Adamo is well-equipped with ports, with users able to back up data quickly to an external hard drive via one of its three USBs. There's also a display port for external monitors or TVs.

Being thin has its disadvantages though. The Adamo does not have an onboard DVD drive (which you can buy separately and plug in via one of the ports) and its speakers are housed behind the hinge for the screen - which looks good but affected the sound somewhat when I played a few tracks. Also, the battery is housed within the shell and you can't remove it yourself.

However it is still an impressive machine. If you're looking for a notebook that's big on style and eye-catching looks for more than $2500, and don't mind buying and attaching external equipment if needed, this could be one for you.

If, on the other hand, you're after all-in-one functionality, you might want to look at something else.

- © Fairfax NZ News