In the coming weeks, Dell is expected to introduce a sleek new 15.6-inch laptop that will succeed the Adamo. It will be the first in a line (both 14-inch and 17-inch models are also reportedly on the way) of laptops designed to be the thinnest and most powerful in their respective class.

The first model (latest Intel Sandy Bridge Core i5 and Core i7 processors, high-resolution display, fashioned from "special materials," and under $1,000) may have been pictured for the first time (below), courtesy of Mobile Review. While we don't know any more details, it does have a name: the XPS 15z. This would imply that Dell plans to leverage the XPS brand for its new line of laptops (we knew it would be an existing brand, just not which one), and that the other two may be called the XPS 14z and the XPS 17z.

In January of this year, Dell started to offer steep discounts on its ultra-thin Adamo notebook. One month later, in February 2011, the inventory was depleted, and consumers looking to buy the 13-inch laptop on Dell's website were recommended the thicker but more powerful XPS 15 or 17 instead. In short, the Dell Adamo line and brand name was discontinued.

First revealed at CES in 2009, the Adamo boasted looks and portability to challenge Apple's 13-inch MacBook Air. Besides an eye-catchingly thin (0.65-inch) aluminum casing, it also offered fast storage via solid-state drives, ultra-power-efficient Intel Core 2 Duo processors, and a SIM card slot on the side of the notebook.

Dell has deemed the Adamo a failure, but it still wants a line of laptops that will succeed it. Right now it looks like that will be the XPS z series, for the lack of a better name.