Dell's Mystery 'Adamo' Site Hints At Laptop
Dell's Mystery 'Adamo' Site Hints At Laptop
Its closed-lips tactic appears to be paying off since the cryptic site has sparked speculation that the computer maker may be getting ready to take on Apple's ultrathin MacBook Air.
By Antone Gonsalves
InformationWeek
December 19, 2008 07:51 PM
Dell (Dell), which is best known as a button-down provider of low-priced business machines, is heading along a different marketing path with the launch of a mystery "Adamo" site.
The site is a single black page with a spotlight on the words "Adamo by Dell" and "coming soon." A Dell spokeswoman declined comment.
Dell's closed-lips tactic appears to be paying off since the cryptic site has sparked speculation that the computer maker may be getting ready to take on Apple's ultrathin MacBook Air, a 13-inch, 3-pound system that measures only three-quarters of an inch at its thickest point.
While the MacBook Air's critically acclaimed design may be difficult to beat, Apple is certainly vulnerable on price, which is Dell's strength. It's likely the latter company would have little difficulty making a product for less than Apple's base price of $1,800 for the Air.
Since the return of founder Michael Dell as chief executive early last year, the company has embarked on a consumer PC strategy that stresses "personalization," which has mostly translated into more stylish designs and multimedia capabilities common in the industry. During the current holiday shopping season, Dell has lagged behind competitors, such as Hewlett-Packard, Apple, and Acer, in releasing new consumer notebooks.
A well-marketed Adamo computer would be welcome news for Dell. The world's second-largest computer maker in its last financial earnings statement said net income fell to $727 million from $766 million the same period a year ago. Revenue also fell 3.1% to $15.16 billion, as the company continued to see a slowdown in demand that started at the end of the second quarter. The company has not offered a forecast for the current quarter, but said it believed that demand for its products "will continue to be challenging."
Its closed-lips tactic appears to be paying off since the cryptic site has sparked speculation that the computer maker may be getting ready to take on Apple's ultrathin MacBook Air.
By Antone Gonsalves
InformationWeek
December 19, 2008 07:51 PM
Dell (Dell), which is best known as a button-down provider of low-priced business machines, is heading along a different marketing path with the launch of a mystery "Adamo" site.
The site is a single black page with a spotlight on the words "Adamo by Dell" and "coming soon." A Dell spokeswoman declined comment.
Dell's closed-lips tactic appears to be paying off since the cryptic site has sparked speculation that the computer maker may be getting ready to take on Apple's ultrathin MacBook Air, a 13-inch, 3-pound system that measures only three-quarters of an inch at its thickest point.
While the MacBook Air's critically acclaimed design may be difficult to beat, Apple is certainly vulnerable on price, which is Dell's strength. It's likely the latter company would have little difficulty making a product for less than Apple's base price of $1,800 for the Air.
Since the return of founder Michael Dell as chief executive early last year, the company has embarked on a consumer PC strategy that stresses "personalization," which has mostly translated into more stylish designs and multimedia capabilities common in the industry. During the current holiday shopping season, Dell has lagged behind competitors, such as Hewlett-Packard, Apple, and Acer, in releasing new consumer notebooks.
A well-marketed Adamo computer would be welcome news for Dell. The world's second-largest computer maker in its last financial earnings statement said net income fell to $727 million from $766 million the same period a year ago. Revenue also fell 3.1% to $15.16 billion, as the company continued to see a slowdown in demand that started at the end of the second quarter. The company has not offered a forecast for the current quarter, but said it believed that demand for its products "will continue to be challenging."