The rumors were true, at least partially. In the coming weeks, Dell will introduce a sleek new 15.6-inch laptop that will succeed the Adamo. Dell has released a video of the new ultrathin laptop, expected to ship later this month (see it embedded below).
The rumors say this one will feature the latest Intel Sandy Bridge Core i5 and Core i7 processors, a high-resolution display, will be fashioned from "special materials," and will cost under $1,000. It will be the first in a line of laptops (both 14-inch and 17-inch models are also reportedly on the way) designed to be the thinnest and most powerful in their respective class.
While we don't know any more details, the name appears to be 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, 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.