Odelia Lee writes with a full review of Dell's new Adamo slimtop over at Gizmodo. While it may have an sleek exterior there are definite gaps (both literal and figurative) in their engineering. "The Adamo is both a compliment and an insult to Dell engineering. It's possibly the most beautiful computer Dell has ever manufactured, but I'm not sure that Dell has caught up to competitors in either aesthetics or power. There have been lots of qualitative Adamo reviews out there, but we got the first of the units that will actually ship to customers, so it's time for real benchmarks. As it happens, performance is really what's at stake here."
That commercial would have been perfect, if only Ricardo Montalban [youtube.com] were still with us to tout the "Rich Corinthian Leather" of the Adamo (and hey, they DO talk about leather around 2:17 in the Adamo video).
The parent was referring to when Mr. Dell said that that's what he would do if he was in charge of Apple a few years ago. Since then, they have skyrocketed...
The Adamo is a bit of a strange beast. It's not as feathery as the Lenovo X301 or the MacBook Air, and even with that extra pound of heft, it's (overall) not as powerful as the MacBook Airâ"a computer that's incidentally cheaper than the Adamo in its base configuration.
Bigger, heavier, louder (which, to me, is half the point of something like the air), integrated battery (just like the air), bad performance, higher price... what's the point?
It's nice looking, but it sounds like an Air is a much better all around computer. The only thing in it's favor is the higher max RAM (Apple will probably change that) and the integrated 3G option (I'd expect Apple to change that too). Gizmodo is also right that nVidia's next chipset for netbooks will outperform this, at 1/5th the price. It has eSata too though, which is a plus.
Nice try Dell. It is certainly very nice visually. But you need some substance to go with that, or at least a cheaper price point.
The only thing in it's favor is the higher max RAM (Apple will probably change that) and the integrated 3G option (I'd expect Apple to change that too).
Why?
I can almost see a case being made for 3 GB of RAM instead of 2 (for folks to run a VM with Windows, perhaps), but if you want higher performing graphics, you're going to see either an increase in weight or a decrease in battery life, neither of which is acceptable in that form factor product.
I suspect that Dell didn't get the memo, which is why theirs is heavier and louder.
I think part of the point of the Air is that making memory user installable costs weight and size. They went to extremes to minimize both (further extremes that Dell, apparently), and in the process fixed the RAM configuration.
Bigger, heavier, louder (which, to me, is half the point of something like the air), integrated battery (just like the air), bad performance, higher price... what's the point?
And despite this, the anti-Mac fanatics will continue to claim that a Mac is always more expensive than a PC with comparable specs.
how unfairly some fictional 'anti-Mac fanatics' will respond
Fictional? GMAFB. Read any/. story that can possibly, in any way, be interpreted as having something to do with Apple, and you'll see plenty of this fanaticism on display.
Bigger, heavier, louder (which, to me, is half the point of something like the air), integrated battery (just like the air), bad performance, higher price... what's the point?
It's not a notebook for you and me, who want the best bang for the buck. It's aimed at mid-to-upper level managers and sales staff, who need something that feels sturdy and looks classy, yet is capable of non-intensive tasks like displaying powerpoint presentations, send an e-mail saying you'll be late for tee-off, and watch pr0n^Wlight entertainment from the hotel room.
How it performs is irrelevant -- the intended user group wouldn't be able to take advantage of the performance anyhow.
I predict it's going to sell well to its target group -- especially in the numerous companies where Dell is one of a few approved manufacturers to choose from, and an Apple wouldn't be paid for by the company even if it danced the jitterbug and wiped your arse.
Bigger, heavier, louder (which, to me, is half the point of something like the air), integrated battery (just like the air), bad performance, higher price... what's the point?
But, but, but... this can't be true! Lord Ballmer informed us that Apple computers are $500 more than the equivalent competition! So a computer from a budget manufacturer like Dell should be faster, lighter, and quieter than the MacBook Air for less money!
Dell Adamo [adamobydell.com], for when you want to be pretentious, but you can't afford Apple.
And yes, that website is hideous Flashturbation. I dare you to "encounter," "admire," "discover," or "commit" anything useful about the Adamo on the page. Apple gets credit here for blending marketing and tech specs. Where is the audience for Adamo? They already bought Apple or they're scratching their heads trying to find out how much RAM and CPU it has.
The Toshiba Qosmio is a far better buy than the Adamo as well.
Wow, that has got to be the ugliest laptop I have ever seen. "New eye-popping design" -- it popped my eyes, I'll give em that, now how do I stop the bleeding?
I dare you to "encounter," "admire," "discover," or "commit" anything useful about the Adamo on the page.
They're mixing two different lingo-sets. 'Commit' is a word for business people, much like paradigm, synergy, or innovate.
The word they REALLY want is 'acquire.' That will appeal much more to the hipster, pay-too-much-money crowd who believes that neither looks nor performance actually matter, but how 'deck' the person selling it is, and how he 'relates' to them. People who believe you can experience love with a laptop. And that's all that matters.
There must be someone in the world like that. Maybe
The processor speed of the Macbook Air was a lot higher than the Adamo. The Adamo easily outpaced the Lenovo with the same processor speed.
Of course processor speed isn't everything.
The video card is the key here (or so the reviewers would have your believe).
In the real world that this device was meant to operate in, I suspect Joe User would never notice the difference in video performance since its adequate for YouTube.
The base model Air is a 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor (SL9300) with a 1066MHz FSB and 6MB cache whereas the base Adamo has a 1.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (SU9300) with a 800 MHz FSB and 3MB cache. At $1799, the Air uses a 120GB SATA and the $1999 Adamo uses a 128GB SSD. The $2699 Adamo ups the CPU to 1.4 GHz and the memory to 4GB but still at 800MHz FSB.
I loved how when talking about the "minimum configuration' in respect to the MBA being "better", you only picked those attributes that the MBA was ahead in, and none of those that it was not.
Subtle. I like it.
I didn't see any mention of integrated EvDO. eSATA. I liked the little spin that implies "you can get an SSD with the Adamo, but it'll cost you", neglecting the fact that the Adamo's SSD retails for around $450, whereas the difference in price is $200 + $48 for the MBA's 120GB SATA drive (unless of
Now I have an Acer Aspire one, and I keep thinking, this only needs a keyboard that doesnt flex and an aluminium case and it would be about the same as a macbook Air, just smaller and with more USB ports. The air will still kick it's ass for graphics and general speed becuase it had better graphics and a proper SSD HDD, but Ther Acer only costs NZ$500, and an Air costs NZ$3000
Lots of these reviews for portables talk about power. I couldn't care less about power. I have a three-year-old Pentium M with 512 MB of RAM (shared with the graphics!) that was OVER-powered. All I used was the browser, some console apps, and occasionally a media player. I replaced the laptop, but only because the hinges were shot. I didn't even use half of the memory on the thing.
No, for me battery life is more important than power. "The biggest mistake Dell made with this system, by far, was the inclusion
and cheaper. 1.2Ghz dual core processor? Wtf? My 2 year old 3lb thinkpad has a 1.8Ghz dual core processor, and I bought it new for half what an Adamo costs 2 years ago. If an Adamo was a cheaper alternative to a thinkpad I could understand, but it's more expensive too! Why would anyone in their right mind buy a Adamo instead of thinkpad?
Did you miss the bit where you could fit two adamos/airs inside your think pad. The think pad is a thick 14" laptop, these are two *ultra* thin, very light 13" laptops. Where by ultra thin, we mean average 0.46" thick, compared to your thinkpad's average 1.175". And by light, we mean 3lb, not your thinkpad's 5.1lb.
Dell have created, with the Adamo, what is effectively a pocket calculator for the price you're getting. Christ, I've seen machines on sale for less than £400 (around $800 at the time) which are more powerful than this thing.
In no way is it the most beautiful machine Dell's ever made. The black (sorry, Onyx) colour isn't too bad, but both types have a Quasimodo hunch-back, which seems to serve no purpose other than to store the bits they couldn't fit in to the rest of the machine because they we
Is anyone else bothered by the fact that the slot for the ATT SIM Card (a more elegant solution than USB device by God!) kind of tilts the playing field in the direction of one vendor?
If I were to pay that much for a laptop I would want everything about it to be "general purpose" to the largest extent possible.
This is a genuine question, not a troll. I'm really interested in the answer.
What is the meaning of comparing the GHz as a major factor in evaluation of a laptop? I'm a bioinformatician. I do most of my work on an X40 Thinkpad. For small jobs, this is more than sufficient. For major calculations, one or two cores will not suffice, no matter what the GHz.
From my experience, for most of the tasks, a difference of even 10% in the speed is not an issue, and anyway, there are dozens of other factors that influence both, the real computing speed and the reactivity of the interface. To me, things like memory, disk access, networking, cacheing, usage pattern and last but not least, what software solution you have picked for your task seem to be more influencial on the overall perfomance than a difference between 1.6 or 1.86 GHz. Yet in most comparisons (e.g. several posts here on Slashdot), when talking of a laptop, first two things to mention are the price tag and the GHz.
Question: am I missing something? What is so important about the GHz of the processor to use it as a proxy for "performance"? Is it just historical, or maybe because it is easy to quantify, like in the case of megapixels in digital cameras (which are nowadays mostly meaningless, but easy to compare)?
Your entire post would make sense if only one thing were true. If this PC weren't MORE expensive than the closest Mac counterpart, you could excuse poor build quality, under-powered processor, and heftiness as merely being good value for dollar. But that's not true. It's MORE EXPENSIVE than the Air. A slim laptop that's more pricey than the already overpriced status symbol that is the Macbook Air, but provides significantly less value? Somebody failed, and failed hard.
If people want an ultralight laptop, like people pointed out, they can grab a Macbook Air. IIRC, you can just zero out the Air's disk and install Vista without needing Boot Camp if one felt like it. Or, one can keep OS X and use Boot Camp to make Windows XP work (which would be lighter on system resources).
If people wanted a Windows machine (where it is expressly noted that the machine is not a Mac) for professional use, Thinkpads are the black limousine of t
Great design? It's squarer than the Air, sure. Great? Well, it is cleaner than anything I've EVER seen from Dell.
I'll admit the design isn't too bad (I still think it's ugly, but that's my own opinion).
It was a bit cheeky of Dell, though, to parrot at the beginning of the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUJqWc6seYk [youtube.com]Adamo promotional video (if you haven't seen that video, watch it: it's hilariously bad, even worse than the MS Songsmith one) how dedicated Dell is to industrial design. This has a particular resonance with me, because I distinctly remember certain Optiplexes which hid the front ports behind a silly snap-loc
I still don't know why ppl drool for Netbooks either
They're still a bit large and unwieldy, but they're at the point where you can stick'em in a coat pocket or trivially fit them into a fairly small backpack. And large though my coat pockets may be, there's simply no way I'll fit a full size keyboard in it.
Personally I don't get why people have ordinary laptops; they have nowhere near the screen space or performance to act as a decent replacement for a desktop, nor are they portable enough to do much but lu
A lot of mobile professionals who carry computers in a bag along with, say, documents or books will find "thin" to be at least as important as the other dimensions. For example, a 17" Macbook and a 13" Macbook take up functionally the same amount of space in a messenger bag (1"), which is a lot less than many cheaper computers.
Thin is expensive, and is only worth it if it's actually useful, but sometimes it is truly useful.
"An ounce in the morning is a pound in the evening." - Old hiking adage.
If you're paying good money for laptop that focuses on portability weight is rather important.
At first, you think the people that cut down the handles of their toothbrush to save weight are rather nuts. Then you find out that all their crazy methods of shaving off weight from individual items actually ends up to a noticeable reduction in overall weight.
The same principles applies to more work related traveling. If you can shave off a pound here, a few ounces there, eventually you're commuting with a noticeably lighter load.
Hey Mike... (Score:5, Funny)
Why don't you just wind it down and give the money back to your shareholders? Or stick to servers.
It gets worse: See the commercial. (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Commercial badly needed Ricardo Montalban (Score:3, Funny)
That commercial would have been perfect, if only Ricardo Montalban [youtube.com] were still with us to tout the "Rich Corinthian Leather" of the Adamo (and hey, they DO talk about leather around 2:17 in the Adamo video).
It could be in a wrist pad...
Re:Hey Mike... (Score:5, Informative)
The parent was referring to when Mr. Dell said that that's what he would do if he was in charge of Apple a few years ago. Since then, they have skyrocketed...
Parent
Article summary nails it (Score:5, Insightful)
I think the article summary nails it.
Bigger, heavier, louder (which, to me, is half the point of something like the air), integrated battery (just like the air), bad performance, higher price... what's the point?
It's nice looking, but it sounds like an Air is a much better all around computer. The only thing in it's favor is the higher max RAM (Apple will probably change that) and the integrated 3G option (I'd expect Apple to change that too). Gizmodo is also right that nVidia's next chipset for netbooks will outperform this, at 1/5th the price. It has eSata too though, which is a plus.
Nice try Dell. It is certainly very nice visually. But you need some substance to go with that, or at least a cheaper price point.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
The only thing in it's favor is the higher max RAM (Apple will probably change that) and the integrated 3G option (I'd expect Apple to change that too).
Why?
I can almost see a case being made for 3 GB of RAM instead of 2 (for folks to run a VM with Windows, perhaps), but if you want higher performing graphics, you're going to see either an increase in weight or a decrease in battery life, neither of which is acceptable in that form factor product.
I suspect that Dell didn't get the memo, which is why theirs is heavier and louder.
Re: (Score:2)
I think part of the point of the Air is that making memory user installable costs weight and size. They went to extremes to minimize both (further extremes that Dell, apparently), and in the process fixed the RAM configuration.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Bigger, heavier, louder (which, to me, is half the point of something like the air), integrated battery (just like the air), bad performance, higher price... what's the point?
And despite this, the anti-Mac fanatics will continue to claim that a Mac is always more expensive than a PC with comparable specs.
Re:Article summary nails it (Score:4, Insightful)
how unfairly some fictional 'anti-Mac fanatics' will respond
Fictional? GMAFB. Read any /. story that can possibly, in any way, be interpreted as having something to do with Apple, and you'll see plenty of this fanaticism on display.
Parent
Re:Article summary nails it (Score:5, Interesting)
It's not a notebook for you and me, who want the best bang for the buck. It's aimed at mid-to-upper level managers and sales staff, who need something that feels sturdy and looks classy, yet is capable of non-intensive tasks like displaying powerpoint presentations, send an e-mail saying you'll be late for tee-off, and watch pr0n^Wlight entertainment from the hotel room.
How it performs is irrelevant -- the intended user group wouldn't be able to take advantage of the performance anyhow.
I predict it's going to sell well to its target group -- especially in the numerous companies where Dell is one of a few approved manufacturers to choose from, and an Apple wouldn't be paid for by the company even if it danced the jitterbug and wiped your arse.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Bigger, heavier, louder (which, to me, is half the point of something like the air), integrated battery (just like the air), bad performance, higher price... what's the point?
But, but, but... this can't be true! Lord Ballmer informed us that Apple computers are $500 more than the equivalent competition! So a computer from a budget manufacturer like Dell should be faster, lighter, and quieter than the MacBook Air for less money!
This story must be a LIE!!
Adamo from Dell (Score:5, Funny)
Dell Adamo [adamobydell.com], for when you want to be pretentious, but you can't afford Apple.
And yes, that website is hideous Flashturbation. I dare you to "encounter," "admire," "discover," or "commit" anything useful about the Adamo on the page. Apple gets credit here for blending marketing and tech specs. Where is the audience for Adamo? They already bought Apple or they're scratching their heads trying to find out how much RAM and CPU it has.
Re:Adamo from Dell (Score:5, Funny)
Dell Adamo [adamobydell.com], for when you want to be pretentious, but you can't afford Apple.
Did you miss the part where it's more expensive than an Air?
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Owning a MBA requires one to spend $100/day at Starbucks, $1300/month at Armani and $90/month with AT&T.
Adamo, in comparison, only requires $8/day at Starbucks, $50/month at GAP and nothing with AT&T.
Re:Adamo from Dell (Score:5, Informative)
Dell Adamo, for when you want to be pretentious, but you can't afford Apple.
Umm...
Dell Adamo:
Apple MacBook Air:
I'm no math whiz, but...
Parent
Re:Adamo from Dell (Score:5, Informative)
Correction, that last MacBook Air should be the 1.86GHz model.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Why are you even bothering comparing a 17 or 18" gaming hunk of junk with a 13" ultra-thin?
Re: (Score:2)
The Toshiba Qosmio is a far better buy than the Adamo as well.
Wow, that has got to be the ugliest laptop I have ever seen. "New eye-popping design" -- it popped my eyes, I'll give em that, now how do I stop the bleeding?
Yay for expanding my vocabulary! (Score:5, Funny)
Thank you, Gizmonic, for introducing me to yet another word I expect never to use in polite company. :)
Cheers,
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
I dare you to "encounter," "admire," "discover," or "commit" anything useful about the Adamo on the page.
They're mixing two different lingo-sets. 'Commit' is a word for business people, much like paradigm, synergy, or innovate.
The word they REALLY want is 'acquire.' That will appeal much more to the hipster, pay-too-much-money crowd who believes that neither looks nor performance actually matter, but how 'deck' the person selling it is, and how he 'relates' to them. People who believe you can experience love with a laptop. And that's all that matters.
There must be someone in the world like that. Maybe
Apples and Oranges? (Score:3, Interesting)
The processor speed of the Macbook Air was a lot higher than the Adamo. The Adamo easily outpaced the Lenovo with the same processor speed.
Of course processor speed isn't everything.
The video card is the key here (or so the reviewers would have your believe).
In the real world that this device was meant to operate in, I suspect Joe User would never notice the difference in video performance since its adequate for YouTube.
Re:Apples and Oranges? (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Subtle. I like it.
I didn't see any mention of integrated EvDO. eSATA. I liked the little spin that implies "you can get an SSD with the Adamo, but it'll cost you", neglecting the fact that the Adamo's SSD retails for around $450, whereas the difference in price is $200 + $48 for the MBA's 120GB SATA drive (unless of
Re: (Score:2)
That would be with a 1.6Ghz CPU â" faster than the fastest Adamo.
Re: (Score:2)
So what they have made is a U$2000 netbook?
Now I have an Acer Aspire one, and I keep thinking, this only needs a keyboard that doesnt flex and an aluminium case and it would be about the same as a macbook Air, just smaller and with more USB ports. The air will still kick it's ass for graphics and general speed becuase it had better graphics and a proper SSD HDD, but Ther Acer only costs NZ$500, and an Air costs NZ$3000
Re: (Score:2)
No, but price for price is fair â" 1.6Ghz MacBook Air against 1.2Ghz Adamo, or 1.8Ghz MacBook air against 1.4Ghz Adamo.
The MacBook comes out cheeper, lighter, quieter, and more powerful on both comparisons.
Re: (Score:2)
Power? How about battery... (Score:2)
Lots of these reviews for portables talk about power. I couldn't care less about power. I have a three-year-old Pentium M with 512 MB of RAM (shared with the graphics!) that was OVER-powered. All I used was the browser, some console apps, and occasionally a media player. I replaced the laptop, but only because the hinges were shot. I didn't even use half of the memory on the thing.
No, for me battery life is more important than power. "The biggest mistake Dell made with this system, by far, was the inclusion
Re: (Score:2)
Power matters. The intel atom chokes when simply browsing some ajax-enabled web pages in firefox, while more powerful CPUs don't blink.
Dell really should have called it Adama (Score:5, Funny)
My 2 year old X61 Thinkpad is lighter, faster, (Score:2, Interesting)
and cheaper. 1.2Ghz dual core processor? Wtf? My 2 year old 3lb thinkpad has a 1.8Ghz dual core processor, and I bought it new for half what an Adamo costs 2 years ago. If an Adamo was a cheaper alternative to a thinkpad I could understand, but it's more expensive too! Why would anyone in their right mind buy a Adamo instead of thinkpad?
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Did you miss the bit where you could fit two adamos/airs inside your think pad. The think pad is a thick 14" laptop, these are two *ultra* thin, very light 13" laptops. Where by ultra thin, we mean average 0.46" thick, compared to your thinkpad's average 1.175". And by light, we mean 3lb, not your thinkpad's 5.1lb.
Re: (Score:2)
I hate to break it to you: The ThinkPad X61 is only ~3.11lbs.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Oh fail, I read T61, but then, you could fit *three* MacBook airs inside the thicknss of the X61.
Re: (Score:2)
Yes, but I think you have to take Price vs. Reward: The X61 is a very attractive offering if you look at the price point of it.
Re: (Score:2)
Isn't the X61 12", and more like 4 pounds? You're quite right about the thickness though.
See, what Dell have created here (Score:2)
Dell have created, with the Adamo, what is effectively a pocket calculator for the price you're getting. Christ, I've seen machines on sale for less than £400 (around $800 at the time) which are more powerful than this thing.
In no way is it the most beautiful machine Dell's ever made. The black (sorry, Onyx) colour isn't too bad, but both types have a Quasimodo hunch-back, which seems to serve no purpose other than to store the bits they couldn't fit in to the rest of the machine because they we
Anyone Else Bothered ... (Score:2, Insightful)
Off topic: why GHz? (Score:5, Insightful)
This is a genuine question, not a troll. I'm really interested in the answer.
What is the meaning of comparing the GHz as a major factor in evaluation of a laptop? I'm a bioinformatician. I do most of my work on an X40 Thinkpad. For small jobs, this is more than sufficient. For major calculations, one or two cores will not suffice, no matter what the GHz.
From my experience, for most of the tasks, a difference of even 10% in the speed is not an issue, and anyway, there are dozens of other factors that influence both, the real computing speed and the reactivity of the interface. To me, things like memory, disk access, networking, cacheing, usage pattern and last but not least, what software solution you have picked for your task seem to be more influencial on the overall perfomance than a difference between 1.6 or 1.86 GHz. Yet in most comparisons (e.g. several posts here on Slashdot), when talking of a laptop, first two things to mention are the price tag and the GHz.
Question: am I missing something? What is so important about the GHz of the processor to use it as a proxy for "performance"? Is it just historical, or maybe because it is easy to quantify, like in the case of megapixels in digital cameras (which are nowadays mostly meaningless, but easy to compare)?
j.
Re:Which is it? Cheap, Fast, or Pretty? (Score:5, Insightful)
Your entire post would make sense if only one thing were true. If this PC weren't MORE expensive than the closest Mac counterpart, you could excuse poor build quality, under-powered processor, and heftiness as merely being good value for dollar. But that's not true. It's MORE EXPENSIVE than the Air. A slim laptop that's more pricey than the already overpriced status symbol that is the Macbook Air, but provides significantly less value? Somebody failed, and failed hard.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
The Adamo is coming into a hard market segment:
If people want an ultralight laptop, like people pointed out, they can grab a Macbook Air. IIRC, you can just zero out the Air's disk and install Vista without needing Boot Camp if one felt like it. Or, one can keep OS X and use Boot Camp to make Windows XP work (which would be lighter on system resources).
If people wanted a Windows machine (where it is expressly noted that the machine is not a Mac) for professional use, Thinkpads are the black limousine of t
Re:I've already said so (Score:4, Insightful)
A lot of us like netbooks precisely because they don't have full size keyboards or screens.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Great design? It's squarer than the Air, sure. Great? Well, it is cleaner than anything I've EVER seen from Dell.
I'll admit the design isn't too bad (I still think it's ugly, but that's my own opinion).
It was a bit cheeky of Dell, though, to parrot at the beginning of the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUJqWc6seYk [youtube.com]Adamo promotional video (if you haven't seen that video, watch it: it's hilariously bad, even worse than the MS Songsmith one) how dedicated Dell is to industrial design. This has a particular resonance with me, because I distinctly remember certain Optiplexes which hid the front ports behind a silly snap-loc
Re: (Score:2)
I still don't know why ppl drool for Netbooks either
They're still a bit large and unwieldy, but they're at the point where you can stick'em in a coat pocket or trivially fit them into a fairly small backpack. And large though my coat pockets may be, there's simply no way I'll fit a full size keyboard in it.
Personally I don't get why people have ordinary laptops; they have nowhere near the screen space or performance to act as a decent replacement for a desktop, nor are they portable enough to do much but lu
Re:I've already said so (Score:4, Insightful)
A lot of mobile professionals who carry computers in a bag along with, say, documents or books will find "thin" to be at least as important as the other dimensions. For example, a 17" Macbook and a 13" Macbook take up functionally the same amount of space in a messenger bag (1"), which is a lot less than many cheaper computers.
Thin is expensive, and is only worth it if it's actually useful, but sometimes it is truly useful.
Parent
Re:I've already said so (Score:4, Insightful)
"An ounce in the morning is a pound in the evening." - Old hiking adage.
If you're paying good money for laptop that focuses on portability weight is rather important.
At first, you think the people that cut down the handles of their toothbrush to save weight are rather nuts. Then you find out that all their crazy methods of shaving off weight from individual items actually ends up to a noticeable reduction in overall weight.
The same principles applies to more work related traveling. If you can shave off a pound here, a few ounces there, eventually you're commuting with a noticeably lighter load.
Parent
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Yet this brings to mind a fat guy riding an extremely fancy bike.
Re: (Score:2)