Dell Intros New XPS Laptops; Kills Off Adamo Line
Dell's got some new laptops and a whole new marketing strategy.
It's been a while since we've seen any new XPS laptops but Dell has mixed things up a little with the launch of three new notebooks. Not only that, but the company is killing off the Adamo line and focusing on just three brands: Alienware, Inspiron and XPS.
First things first, let's talk about these new laptops, shall we? Dell is targeting the multimedia crowd and families with these new machines. Available in 14-, 15.6- and 17-inch flavors, each of the notebooks packs Intel's Core i5 460M CPU, as well as 1GB NVIDIA 420M graphics (with Optimus and 3D Play) a 500GB (7200rpm) HDD, 4GB or RAM, Intel WiDi, Blu-ray, and a Skype-certified HD webcam. Starting prices for these guys are $899 for the XPS 14; $849 for the XPS 15; and $949 for the XPS 17. Of course, customization (like swapping out that Core i5 for an i7) is going to cost you.
The news comes just as Dell has decided to do away with its Adamo line. Dell is about to embark on multi-million dollar marketing campaign (Reuters reports "hundreds of millions" but who's counting?) to shed its reputation of being a manufacturer of cheaper computers. The company is hoping to further emphasize its premium line in a bid to better compete with the likes of Apple, a company that is definitely not afraid of putting high prices on its products.
"We're going to stop mentioning price as the single important aspect," Paul-Henri Ferrand, chief marketing officer for Dell's global consumer, and small and medium business division, told Reuters.
However, a monster marketing campaign isn't the only thing Dell is doing. Executives yesterday confirmed to Engadget that they're reorganizing things and will focus on three core brands going forward. The Inspiron line will represent casual computing, Alienware will be the gaming line, and the XPS brand will represent the new premium line of Dell computers.
Now, if you're a fan of those super-thin Adamos (and boys, those were some sexy computers) don’t fret. Though their brand is being killed off, they're not disappearing for good. Dell VP Ed Boyd told Engadget that we could expect some super-skinny XPS machines early next year. Fingers crossed for a sneaky-peeky at CES, eh?

It has a lot to be hyped. It is the thinnest laptop ever made. Even the new Macbook air is thicker than the Adamo.
I agree that it deserved the hype as they are gorgeous machines (I was looking into buying one yesterday, actually). I also don't think they needed to ditch the brand completely; they just needed to rename it Adama.
Why has Steve Jobs not been told of this!
Why is this such a hard concept?
That would increase the price.
pocketdrummer wrote :
"If they really want to recover from their tarnished reputation, they need to give an option to ship the system without bloatware. "
That would increase the price."
Hmmmm i work for dell on the business lines, so lat/vostro/precision and you can dump the bloatware during the order on them. I honestly dont know if you can do it on the consumer ones. frankly they are nicer machines quality wise anyway baring the alienwares if you can tolerate less "oh shiney".
Plus remember dell doesnt ship "restore" discs with the machines when you order discs, you get a real windows disc so in 30 minutes you can have that clean os...........now only if the driver discs werent completely miserable. I really wish ours were like asus's driver discs.
Well is that such a bad thing for a "better" computer?
You're not thinking like a typical consumer. Cheaper is better.
In my opinion no but if you look at all the bashing of Apple products on this site due to their high prices and comments such as "I can get just a Dell just as powerful for half the price" style comments, most people on here don't value design quality, materials used or looks high at all.
The problem for Dell is that people that do care about those things are going to be hard pushed to consider buying a Dell over an Apple at a similar price point with similar amounts of money spent on those factors.
God forbid they have to rely on clever workmanship and choice of parts to keep the price down. They can't compete with more expensive brands and still retain the junk that forced users away in the first place.
I was thinking the same thing. LOL