Yes, the teasing is finally nearing an end as Dell formally announces the Adamo XPS notebook – the industry’s “thinnest laptop PC ever” measuring a mere 9.99mm (or approximately 0.4 inch) thick. Some of the features and specs to the Adamo XPS include:

• Capacitive latching device – one finger swipe opens the latch
• Built-in location awareness to provide real time local maps to show people where they are
• Replaceable battery with optional higher-capacity battery available
• Full-sized keyboard with aluminum keycaps
• Touchpad with gesture support
• Intel Core 2 Duo ULV processor clocked at 1.4GHz
• 4GB DDR3 800 MHz memory
• 128GB Solid State Drive
• 720p 13.4 inch WLED display
• Built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi
• 2 USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet via included dongle
• Windows 7 64 bit edition
• Measures 13.39 x 10.71 inches and weighs just over 3 pounds

Looks and sounds pretty sweet huh? Well thin and light it is.. but cheap thin and light it is not. Starting prices for the Dell Adamo XPS begins at $1799. Yeah.. pricey.

As for when the Adamo XPS will come out – the company expects to begin taking orders and shipping the Adamo XPS in time for this holiday season.

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Technorati Tags: Dell Adamo XPS

Looking to address the needs of vertical markets that require rugged systems, Dell announces the industry’s smallest 12.1 inch rugged convertible tablet PC complete with multi-touch display – the Latitude XT2 XFR.

Designed to withstand “changing mission requirements” and to “withstand harsh environments”, the Latitude XT2 XFR shares common images and components with the Latitude XT2 and features:

• Intel Core 2 Duo processors
• Up to 5GB of DDR3 1066MHz RAM
• QuadCool Thermal Management System enables excellent performance, even in extreme temperatures from minus 10 degrees to 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
• 4, 6, and 9 cell battery options
• Impact resistant, sunlight viewable, 12.1-inch wide LED display with capacitive multi-touch gestures-enabled or optional resistive touch screen
• Optional hot-swappable modules including GPS (in the coming weeks) and webcam.
• Wireless LAN 802.11 a/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 and mobile broadband
• Optional expansion sliver provides camera/light, serial, and RJ11 inputs.
• Thickness of a mere 1.5 inches
• Weight of 5.4 pounds with four cell battery and solid state drive
• Meets MIL-810G standards for operations in harsh environments (certification to follow in the coming weeks)
• Compression-sealed and rugged I/O doors, LCD, and keyboard

The XT2 XFR is ideal for markets such as defense, law enforcement, homeland security communities, field service departments, and utility companies – places where touch-screen computers excel but could use more ruggedness.

The Latitude XT2 XFR is available in the U.S., Canada, France, Spain, UK, Germany, and Italy with a starting price of $3599.

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Technorati Tags: Dell, Latitude XT2 XFR, rugged Tablet PC

Photos and limited details of a second Dell-branded Android device called the “Dell Streak” have managed to leak out onto the Internet via sites Tinhte and SlashGear. Here’s what we know thus far:

• 5 inch WVGA (800 x 480) resolution display
• Android 2.0 Donut MID
• Built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 3G wireless
• 5 megapixel camera with dual-LED flash
• microSD slot
• 1300 mAh battery

No word on when it might become available.. but it’s certainly an interesting device – especially if it comes with built-in 3G connectivity.

[Check it out via SlashGear]

Technorati Tags: Dell Streak, Android MID

Really now.. does Dell really need to tease us so? The company released two more pictures of their upcoming super-thin Adamo XPS laptop and boy.. this system’s making us drool. No word on specs, pricing or availability but you can sign up for more info when it arrives by going to www.dell.com/AdamoXPS. Judging from the looks of the pictures, the Adamo XPS is one sweet looking system – whether it’s closed or open (below).

Technorati Tags: Dell Adamo XPS

Now here are personalized laptop designs I can truly appreciate!

Thanks to a new partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB), customers can now customize Dell laptops with their favorite MLB team logos. All 30 MLB teams will be available via Dell’s Design Studio with three choices of specially-created designs available for each team (the designs are categorized as Fan, Classic, and Die-hard designs for each MLB team).

These MLB customizations will be available for Dell consumer systems including the Inspiron Mini, Inspiron, and Studio laptops. Now if only I was in need of a new Dell laptop..

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Dell, Major League Baseball, Dell Design Studio

Lionel Menchaca of Direct2Dell has additional information on the Latitude ON feature found on the newly announced Latitude Z600 business notebook. As Lionel puts it, Latitude ON is “basically a system on a system” thanks to the dedicated low-voltage TI OMAP 3430 processor (an ARM core) found inside the notebook. Couple the low-power processor with a slimmed down version of Linux and you have a quick booting system providing business information as well as access to the Internet via a Firefox-based web browser (without Flash support).

Features of Latitude ON include:

• Instant access (approximately 2 seconds) to business info such as e-mail, calendar, contacts, web browser, and Citrix Receiver client
• MS Exchange or POP email access
• Always-on/connected – module rules regardless of the state of the main OS
• View Office documents and PDF documents
• 17 hours of battery life on a 6 cell battery
• Flash upgradeable

On the connectivity side of the equation, Latitude ON connects to the Internet via Wi-Fi or embedded mobile broadband. Check out additional video footage provided by Dell via YouTube.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Dell, Dell Latitude ON

Dell rewrites what it means to be a business laptop with the introduction of the new Dell Latitude Z600. Measuring a mere 0.55 inches thick and weighing only 4.5 pounds, the Z600 features a beautiful 16 inch widescreen display, brushed aluminum metals, and a ULV Intel Core 2 Duo processor on the inside. While it’s certainly thin and light, the Z600 is full on features. Here’s a list of some of them:

• 8 cell battery with up to 9 hours of power
• 1600 x 900 resolution 16 inch widescreen display
• Illuminated full sized keyboard
• Multi-touch touchpad with dedicated left and right mouse butons
• Unique zinc hinge which houses Ethernet connection
• 3 USB ports
• Media card reader
• Audio jacks
• DisplayPort
• Support for WiMAX, Bluetooth, Cellular modems, 802.11n Wi-Fi and UWB
• Supports only Solid State Drives – up to 2 of then for a maximum capacity of 512GB
• Inductive charging notebook stand – no wires necessary
• Comes with Latitude-On – a Linux OS that lets you access the Internet in mere seconds
• Choose from Intel Core 2 Duo SU9600 or SU9400
• Up to 4GB RAM

All this thin and light goodness comes at a cost of course – starting price for the Z600 is $1999 with units shipping immediately.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Dell, Dell Latitude Z600

Dell announced five new Alienware gaming rigs last week comprised of four overclocked liquid-cooled desktops and one 15 inch gaming laptop.  Jointly developed by Dell and Alienware teams, the five systems are:

Alienware M15x:

• 15.6 inch widescreen display (1600 x 900 or 1920 x 1080)
• Intel Core i7 processor (1.6Ghz – 2.0 GHz)
• Available in Nebula Red, Cosmic Black, Lunar Shadow
• Windows Vista Home Premium
• 3-8GB RAM
• 250GB 5400RPMHDD or 128/256GB SSD
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• DVD burner or Blu-ray burner
• Firewire
• Gigabit Ethernet
• 3 USB 2.0 ports
• 1 eSATA port
• VGA, DisplayPort
• 8 in 1 media card reader
• ExpressCard slot
• HD 5.1 surround sound audio
• Digital TV tuner
• 6 cell lithium-ion battery
• Measures 1.92 x 14.88 x 12.15 inches and weighs 9 lbs
• Prices start at $1499

Alienware Aurora:

• mATX motherboard
• Measures 16.77 x 24.38 x 9.84 inches and weighs 45 lbs
• 525 or 875 watt PSU
• Intel X58 Express Chipset with unlocked BIOS
• Intel Core i7 processor (2.66 – 3.6GHz)
• Liquid Cooling
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 to ATI Radeon HD 5870 graphics
• 2x PCI-e 2.0, PCI-e x16
• 2x PCI-e x1
• 3-24GB RAM
• Up to 4 SATA drives
• Windows Vista OS
• HD 7.1 Audio
• Gigabit Ethernet
• Bluetooth 2.1
• Wi-Fi
• NTSC/ATSC TV tuner card
• 8 USB 2.0, 1 Firewire, 19-in-1 media card reader
• Single or Dual optical drives
• Prices start at $1299

Alienware Aurora ALX:

• mATX motherboard
• Measures 16.77 x 24.39 x 9.84 inches and weighs 45 lbs
• 875 watt PSU
• Intel X58 Express Chipset
• Intel Core i7 processor
• Liquid Cooling
• Dual or single NVIDIA or ATI graphics cards
• 2x PCI-e 2.0, PCI-e x16
• 2x PCI-e x1
• 6-24GB RAM
• Up to 4 SATA Drives
• Windows Vista
• HD 7.1 audio
• Gigabit Ethernet
• Bluetooth 2.1
• Wi-Fi
• TV tuner
• single or dual optical drives
• eSATA port, 8x USB 2.0 ports
• Firewire
• Prices start at $2299

Alienware Area-51 and Alienware Area-51 ALX:

• Area-51 comes with Core i7 processors overclocked to 3.86GHz
• quad-GPU systems (dual NDIVIA GeForce GTX 295 graphics)
• Up to 12GB RAM
• Six easy-access, cable-free hard drive bays supporting 7200RPM and 10,000 RPM drives. solid state drives, and RAID 0, 1, 1+0 configurations
• ALX has an anodized aluminum body and motorized front panel
• ALX has Active Venting louver system, internal theater lighting, and cable-free hard drive bays
• Prices start at $1999 and will be available in the coming weeks

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Dell, Alienware, Alienware M15x, Alienware Aurora, Alienware Aurora ALX, Alienware Area-51, Alienware Area-51 ALX

If you happen to be in the vicinity of Shanghai, China, you might want to check out Dell’s new flagship “Experience Store” which launched last week. According to the Direct2Dell blog site, the “new store provides a single location where our consumers can truly discover, try and buy Dell products and enjoy the fun of self expression.”

Sounds a bit like an Apple retail store eh?

The article continues:

“The Dell Experience store showcases the entire Dell consumer product portfolio and delivers “over-the-counter personalization”, allowing customers to design every aspect of their PC.”

To accomplish this “personalization”, the Experience Store comes with a “build-to-order bar” where you’ll be able to interact with Dell sales folks who will help you customize/personalize your own system.

Oh and one more thing – gamers will love the new Alienware zone where they will be able to test out their “competitive skills” on M17x systems. Expect other Alienware systems to be on hand to try out too… gaming to the max (at least according to Dell).

The Experience Store is located on the first floor of the newly opened Buynow II electronics center at Cao Xi Road and Zhao Jia Bang Road.

Waiting for one of those stores to open up here in the US!

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Dell Experience Store, Shanghai China

A little FYI for those of you with a distaste for Dell. CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington) has launched a new website called DELLception.org which will supposedly keep a “watching eye on Dell’s dishonest business practices.” According to the CREW press release, “CREW’s goal is to bring greater public awareness to Dell’s refusal to keep its promise of “Next Day Service” to its customers.” 

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: CREW, Dell, Dellception.org