12:01PM That was really disappointing, by the way -- we'll see if we can get Dell's reps to share anything else.
12:00PM Last question -- Mini 10 will appeal to everyone, we think. We're off to find the Adamo.
11:59AM Alienware is our top performance brand, Adamo is our top design brand.
11:58AM "If you look at Adamo, it's the top of design, franchise, and materials." Sounds like there'll be more than one model.
11:57AM They're really dodging these questions. "It's precision crafted."
11:57AM We just pushed them really hard for details, and all we got was that it's a "no-compromises notebook" and that's "it's safe to say it doesn't have an Atom."
11:55AM It's pronounced uh-dahm-o, by the way. It's the original code name, the Latin word for "to fall in love with."
11:55AM "There's so much buzz around Adamo, we just wanted to give you a peek. This industry is so much fun with leaks." Sure, when we actually get them.
11:54AM "Adamo is not delayed, we're just using CES to give you a peek."
11:54AM It's early to tell what the effect of the netbook is going to be -- will it cannibalize or grow the entire category.
11:53AM Too bad it's out of the question to see the Adamo!
11:53AM XPS is not one of our core sub-brands, it's a modifier, like Studio XPS. Not out of the question to see Adamo XPS.
11:52AM Okay, he said the photo printer will come out "pretty soon."
11:51AM They won't even tell us when the photo printer will come out, just "the first half of the year." Throw us a bone, guys!
11:51AM Question about touch interfaces -- the PC is moving into more rooms in the house as all-in-ones get more popular. The casual walkup experience is simple and intuitive with touch -- we're not waiting for Win7, we're building the momentum before it launches.
11:50AM This room seriously just deflated -- the letdown is palpable. Even the typing noises have slowed down.
11:49AM No plans to announce about NVIDIA's Ion platform.
11:48AM Talking about international products and customization -- we're glazing over, hunting around for where the Adamo went. It's a small room, after all.
11:47AM "No pricing details on the Mini 10 at this time."
11:46AM "We're not going to say anything else about the Adamo." This is really weak -- that's why we're all here!
11:46AM "No specs, we just wanted to do a quick unveil." It would be nice if they would show us the thing instead of just saying "stunning industrial design" over and over again."
11:45AM QA time -- "Adamo will be out in the first half of the year."
11:44AM But -- that's it! He kicked the model holding if off the stage without even opening it. So lame.
11:44AM It's really thin, kind of looks like the Studio XPS series.
11:43AM Precision craftsmanship, high performance, amazing industrial design.
11:43AM Not a lot more to say about this today, just a sneak peek.
11:43AM Adamo will be the new luxury franchise in the
dell lineup.
11:43AM Adamo time!
11:43AM Quick note -- you're probably not so cool if your video guy has to say "Dell's becoming cool."
11:42AM "We're enabling people to express their personal brands through the products they use."
11:41AM Video recap time!
11:41AM "Great things in small packages." No, no the Adamo, the Wesabe photo printer. Stop teasing us!
11:40AM Personalization will be coming to the desktop as well.
11:40AM We're going to be talking about our touch products -- as Win 7 comes out, we'll be expanding our touch category.
11:39AM Built in GPS, multitouch trackpad.
11:39AM 10-inch screen, edge to edge glass, built in 3G, built in TV tuner.
11:39AM An addition to the netbook family -- the Inspiron Mini 10. "A perfect 10."
11:38AM The 3G Inspiron Mini 9 is now just $99 with a two-year ATT contract.
11:38AM New announcements! First up, the
dell download store now features a software store with preloaded content and software.
11:37AM "Wish I was gonna know when Windows 7 was going to be available!"
11:36AM Quick mention of the Studio XPS 13 and 14 -- "bringing our new design sense to the XPS line."
11:35AM Talking about the XPS 625 -- "fire breathing."
11:35AM "In 2008 we really helped to wake up the PC category, and in 2009 we expect to do that again."
11:34AM "We'd like to put a stake in the ground and claim design leadership in our field, especially with products like the new Studio XPS series."
11:33AM Ha -- he said they'd gotten "great acclaim" for their new products this week, and then realized he hadn't announced them yet! "I mean, not yet."
11:33AM Talking about the Studio Hybrid
11:32AM "Design Studio will evolve over the course of this year to become one of the great consumer experiences in personalization and customization -- think of it as Dell.com 3.0"
11:31AM "We believe that mobility will be the biggest trend -- everything mobile, everything connected. We'll be working to bring that to our entire product portfolio."
11:30AM "Ed Boyd in the back of the room has completely reinvigorated our design -- from plain gray computers to sleek personalized designs."
11:30AM "As we go through the year, you should look for new products in each of these categories, some of which we'll announce today." Wonder where the Adamo fits in!
11:29AM "You can see our strategy -- Inspiron is value, but hip and cool and personalized. Studio comes up a bit, for students and home media. And now Studio XPS, which will come up in 2009."
11:28AM "We're launched Design Studio, building on our roots of personalization and individualization."
11:28AM "We've grown the business 30 percent and launched retail -- from zero to 20K location around the world."
11:27AM "What a year it's been, we've continued to reinvigorate our brand."
11:27AM Michael Tatelman, VP of consumer sales and marketing: "We're excited to have you here, we have a number of exciting announcements for 2009."
11:26AM We are "making a statement." We are "all the colors of the world."
11:25AM And we're starting. Opening with a arty
dell Lounge video. Feel the love.
11:23AM It's really small in here, actually -- there aren't even really chairs set up, just some funky-shaped couches and a big table. It is a hotel suite, after all.
11:22AM Looks like the Dell Mini 9 set up on stage, we'd been hoping it was the Adamo when we snuck in earlier but it doesn't seem like things are going to be quite that easy for us this morning.
11:17AM Looks like we're getting ready to go in!
11:13AM Dell's really pushing the design aspect today -- they've got a few displays from the different artists featured in the Design Studio line, and they're making custom-printed T-shirts on demand using a large-format printer. We're not sure we're into the metallic burgandy ink, but it's certainly neat.
11:05AM Still just chilling -- looks like word got around about the free omelettes and smoothies, the media is arriving in force. There are a bunch of the new Design Studio laptops set up, they look quite nice, but mostly everyone is mesmerized by juice drinks.
10:59AM We're live from Dell's early-morning Adamo press event at the Palms -- we're pretty much expecting them to reveal a slick 13-inch ultraportable, but we'll see what other surprises are in store. We're currently confined to suite across the hall where Dell's plying the media with free omelettes, but we snuck into the event room for the shot above and saw what looked to be the XPS Studio 1340 and 1640 set up. We'll be starting for real in just a few, keep it locked!
mini s>If you thought last month's $99 Mini 9 was just too cheap (unlikely), or were scared off by the two year contract that came along with the offer (rather more likely), check out Dell's latest deal. The company is selling its lowest-spec Mini 9n, offering 512MB of memory and Ubuntu installed on a 4GB SSD, for just $249. That's $100 less one went for for last September. Can't live without Windows? You'll still need to pony up another $50, but will at least get an extra 4GB of storage out of the deal. Surely one of these two bargain portables will fit into your budget and your lifestyle, but don't spend too long deciding which -- this deal expires on February 12. 
If the "reliable source" that spoke to Digitimes is, well, reliable, it looks like Foxconn has landed the 
So rumors of Dell doing a smartphone have been around forever, but they've started heating up again today -- word on the street is that the company is planning a handset launch as early as next month at 3GSM or Mobile World Congress. That's just chatter we'd ordinarily dismiss as nonsense, but we couldn't help but notice most of the Dell people at the