Let me catch you up. We received a tip back on Monday indicating that the Adamo XPS had disappeared from Dell.com. This of course caught our attention as the super-thin Dell was just announced back in late October and only available for purchase since December.

We of course checked it out and found that the XPS model wasn’t found on the Adamo microsite (www.AdamoByDell.Com), which just so happens to be the first site listed on Google for that model. The Adamo XPS also wasn’t listed alongside the other Adamo models or on Dell.com’s master notebook list that also includes Alienware models. The only way you can find it on Dell.com is if you use the search tool and even then the purchase link on the product page is dead.

We then reached out to our Dell contacts, but they didn’t respond in a timely manner. I then asked two separate Dell chat agents who both clearly stated that the Adamo XPS was discontinued. Satisfied with the conclusion that the XPS was in fact gone, I ran the post not thinking anything of it. It was just another news story to me. But not to dell apparently.

Several other sites ran similar stories on Monday except they simply asked the question whether or not the Adamo XPS was discontinued rather than stating my conclusion that it was dead. Throughout the day, these stories were updated, quoting an official dell spokesmen that stated that the model was in fact still around and not discontinued. Dell finally emailed us and commented on our story nearly six hours later.

The comment:

Hi Mark. I saw your article and thought I’d drop a quick comment to clarify the issue.

The first point I’d like to make is that the Adamo XPS is still available in the U.S. at select Best Buy Stores and on bestbuy.com, still starting at $1,999.00. It has not been “discontinued” as such, but was meant to be a proof point to Dell’s design and engineer capabilities. Because of this, it was similar to a “limited edition”, and most of the original supply has since been accounted for. Those who want one can still get it from the aforementioned sources.

Also of note: the original Adamo is still available on adamobydell.com with a starting price point of $999.

Feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions

JohnBatDell

First, my name is Matt, not Mark. But that comment just confirmed my post. It states that most of the Adamo XPS’s limited supply have nearly been exhausted and the model is currently only available from Best Buy. Right? That’s what it says.

Ok, so maybe calling the Adamo XPS discontinued is a wrong choice of words, because apparently it was only intended to be a limited edition model anyway. But it’s a fact that the model has reached the end of its life and therefore deserves the R.I.P sentiment I gave it in the post’s picture.

This brings us to today as Gizmodo finally ran its Adamo XPS R.I.P. post. (they later pulled it from the front page) Dell quickly sent us an email asking when were we going to update our post because apparently we got it all wrong and Gizmodo ousted us as their source — even though they didn’t in the post, but I still love Rosa. Dell’s request didn’t sit very well with me so I pulled out my Sherlock Holmes pipe and went to work reconfirming my original post.

Once again I confirmed that the Adamo XPS is no longer on Dell.com. It’s still not listed as a current model or available to purchase. The only way you can pull up the model is still by searching for it. AdamoByDell.com, Adamo models, master list.

Then John Biggs and I both contacted Dell Chat Support and were told that the model was “discontinued” and “reached its end of life.” Check the gallery below for transcripts.

Fair enough, Dell told us that Best Buy still had it online and in stores so I checked that out, too. The only thing is we can’t find it in any store besides one in New Jersey. It’s not at any location in Detroit, Flint, San Francisco, SoCal, Denver, Phoenix, Philidelphia, Boston, Minneapolis, upstate New York, or New York City proving that it’s in very limited supply. Once again, check the pics below.

I then called my local Best Buy location where I was told that yes, I could still order it, but I better hurry because it was discontinued.

What it seems we have here is a company trying to save face. You see, the Adamo XPS only hit retail shelves back in December and people just started to get their hands on the product. Laptop Magazine posted their review of it the same day I wrote its obituary. It could be true that the Adamo XPS was just a limited-time product, but it was never marketed as such. Even if it was a Halo project of sorts, why remove nearly every instance from Dell.com and the Adamo microsite? It’s an amazing piece of modern technology that Dell should display for the whole world to see — even if it’s at the end of its intended life.

It’s true that you can still buy the Adamo XPS brand new in the box from a few retailers. It’s just like how you can still buy 2009 model year cars even though they are really discontinued. Except you don’t get a discount on the Adamo XPS.

The Adamo XPS launched with much fanfare last October. People were amazed that Dell could produce such an amazing piece of computing goods, complete with a robotic keyboard as John Biggs calls it. It took a couple of months to get the notebook to the retail market, but then in December Dell started to sell it. Best Buy picked it up a few weeks later. But that doesn’t matter anymore. The Adamo XPS is now just a footnote on Dell’s Wikipedia page. It’s no longer listed with the other Adamo models on Dell.com and according to a Dell Chat Rep, it has been discontinued.

Hopefully Dell isn’t done with the line and we’ll see version 2.0 shortly. Maybe at SXSW. That’s where Dell showed off the Adamo line for the first time one year ago next week.

So here’s what we know. The XPS will be running either a 1.4 or 1.9GHz dual core Intel CPU, integrated X4500MHD graphics, and 4GB of DDR3. You’ll be able to choose from either a 128 or 180GB SSD, and the screen only comes in a 13.4 inch size. There is some bad news (which might be why Dell is holding back currently), the machine apparently comes back with a Windows 7 Experience test rating of 3.3, which is not a good thing.

Additionally, that fancy flip screen thing won’t work if the batteries are dead. Not a huge issue, since I’m not sure why you’d need to open your notebook if it’s got no power, but still a little odd.

[via Engadget]

Ron Garriques in Business Week,

“This isn’t going to be a high-volume product for us, but it’s going to be a product that says, ‘Wow! Dell did that. What else does Dell have?’ “

This strategy isn’t new. Car manufacturers have been building showroom beauties since the beginning to draw in customers. But once they are within the reach of the salesman, they will likely drive off in one of the more affordable, mainstream models – unless of course they actually wanna buy the Corvette.

We still don’t know anything about the Adamo XPS’s hardware, battery life, or when the damn thing will be released. At the rate Dell is going though, we’ll probably be able to report one of those three items sometime in the coming weeks followed by another one a week or two later.

First, a rant: Dell is really taking advantage of the media with the new Adamo XPS notebook. It’s classic. First they put up a teaser website a month ago that shows nothing but the incredibly thin dimensions and a side picture. Then they call a press conference where all they do is wave around the notebook for 3.5 seconds and then put it away. Now, there is a press release that contains nothing but two new pictures. This practice is tiresome and I hate that we must play the game, Dell. Anyway… on to the press release.

The new pictures shows off the unique hinge design of the Adamo XPS. It’s exactly how I thought it would work after seeing some pictures from the 9/9/09 event. The notebook is so small that designers had to pack all the computing hardware under the screen instead of around/under the keyboard. The result is what we see above as the hinge had to be moved up so the screen to keyboard ratio isn’t thrown off. I’m just curious how the notebook will stay open when sitting on your lap. Oh, and I of course wanna know the price and specs too.

The entire press release,

ROUND ROCK, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Because so many people who have had a sneak peek of Dell’s super thin Adamo™ XPS laptop seem to be falling in love with it, the company today released two more photos of the highly stylized, thin 9.99-mm Adamo by Dell system. The Adamo XPS is as intriguing open as it is closed.

The initial reveal, unveiled on 9/9/09 at www.dell.com/AdamoXPS, reflects the product’s unique, super-slim profile.

In March, Dell introduced the Adamo By Dell brand and Adamo™ laptop as the pinnacle of craftsmanship and design. Derived from the Latin word meaning “to fall in love with,” the Adamo laptop is the world’s thinnest and photos released today shows Dell’s commitment to taking that to the next level. Stay tuned for more information on this head-turning product.