Dell's New Notebooks Take Design Seriously

Dell's New Notebooks Take Design Seriously



LAS VEGAS -- Dell doesn't have a booth here at CES, but the company staked out a floor at the trendy Palms casino to make several product announcements -- and to try to win a few style points.

The stodgy PC maker from Round Rock, Texas has been known for years for its workhorse PCs and notebooks -- functional, economical, generally reliable, and butt-ugly. But in the last year, the company has been working hard to change that perception. For instance, its compact Studio Hybrid PC has a sleek look and can be modded with replaceable outer sleeves, so you can color it (red, black, bamboo) to suit your decor. And its line of Studio laptops, which can be customized with any one of more than 100 different artistic designs, has been selling well.

This week, the company rolled out two new laptops, the Studio XPS 16 (shown above with Dell's head design guy, Ed Boyd) and the Studio XPS 13, that continue the trend of wrapping computers in cutting-edge cases made out of interesting materials. And the company announced a mysterious "luxury brand" called Adamo, which so far seems to be little more than a slim black notebook (or the chassis of a notebook) in the hands of a supermodel.

The XPS 16 and XPS 13 are notebooks with, respectively, 16-inch and 13-inch screens. Both have distinctive multi-toned exteriors in differing shades of black, gray, and charcoal gray, and both include leather trim along the back (hinge) edge of the top lid. While tastes may differ -- and some may find the inclusion of animal skin a bit abhorrent -- these notebooks have a classy, refined look that's a world away from Dell's earlier work.

Both laptops are available now, starting at $1,200.

As for Adamo, very little is known. Dell hired a model to show off the notebook, but no one was allowed to touch it and Dell representatives didn't turn it on. They also did not release any specifications. So for now, Adamo is little more than a pipe dream.