Dell Designs Weaker, Heavier, Slower MacBook Air

[Vincent Ferrari]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://i.gizmodo.com/5205524/dell-adamo-full-review-macho-outside-sissy-inside?skyline=true&s=i' target='_blank'>http://i.gizmodo.com/5205524/dell-a...kyline=true&s=i</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"The Adamo is a bit of a strange beast. It's not as feathery as the Lenovo X301 or the MacBook Air, and even with that extra pound of heft, it's (overall) not as powerful as the MacBook Air&mdash;a computer that's incidentally cheaper than the Adamo in its base configuration. The Adamo has a few fantastic features: Integrated 3G, eSATA, and a butt that just won't quit. And its aluminum body, especially in black, simply looks sharp. Just don't dare buy this computer until Dell comes to their senses and realizes that $2000+ is absurd for a 4-pound laptop with no graphics muscle. Show some restraint and wait for the sequel. If it's anything like the Batman franchise, there will be many."</em></p><p><img height="354" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/at/auto/1239898960.usr18053.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" width="529" /></p><p>It always amazes me how everyone jumps on Apple for their design choices, then someone comes along and imitates them, poorly, and the imitator gets a pass.&nbsp; The Adamo was supposed to be "the answer" to the MacBook Air.&nbsp; Instead, it's a heavier, slower, graphically inept, external optical drive having (the same thing the Air was knocked for), unremovable internal battery having (another thing the Air was knocked for) weakling that costs more and weighs more.</p><p>Gizmodo didn't seem particularly enamored with it, and frankly they aren't exactly a bunch of Apple parrots over there.&nbsp; This is squarely targeted at the "anything but Apple" crowd and that's about it.&nbsp;</p>

[ptyork]

and the imitator gets a pass.

Confusing. Seems like they got slammed for being overpriced, overweight, and underpowered. Same story everywhere I've looked. Hardly a pass in my book...

[Vincent Ferrari]

Confusing. Seems like they got slammed for being overpriced, overweight, and underpowered. Same story everywhere I've looked. Hardly a pass in my book...

I'm talking more about volume than sentiment.

[Macguy59]

Between this and their handset being rejected by US carriers Dell definitely has some butt to it . . . the butt of jokes.

[emuelle1]

It seems to me that companies only get a pass when they imitate Apple poorly and come out cheaper. People will take a crappy knock-off for 3/4 of the price or less. When it comes out more, you can safely ignore anybody, especially a tech journalist, who gives them a pass. That hypothetical person or outlet would be stupid.

I don't know what it's like to live long term in the Apple world. Personally, I wouldn't buy an MP3/MP4 player from anybody else. I know if I need to listen to podcasts or carry videos with me, Apple is simply the best and nobody comes close. Now that I have an iPhone, I doubt I'm going to buy a phone from anybody else either unless there is a serious revolution in smartphones.

In the world of computers, like most people I'm often running to the lower-priced vendor, which is usually a Windows PC. I know, I'm trying to quit, but when you've got bills to pay and mouths to feed, a $999 MacBook loses out to a $298 Acer when it comes to needing a new laptop. Next time, I'm going to just get the MacBook.

[Jason Dunn]

The Adamo had a lot of promise - from a design perspective, it's quite striking - but the hardware was a real letdown.