Dell Launches Luxury Adamo Brand, $99 Mini-Laptop

Dell on Friday launched a luxury laptop line called Adamo and also took the wraps off its 10-inch Inspiron mini-laptop that it plans to sell for $99 with a two-year AT&T wireless broadband service contract.

The announcements were made during a news conference at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Dell executives revealed very few details about Adamo, as a model removed a thin, black laptop from a bag and posed with the machine. She did not turn it on and executives didn't say what was inside. Adamo means "to fall in love with" in Latin.

"We're not going to have very much more to say about this today -- just kind of a little bit of a sneak peek," said Michael Tatelman, VP of consumer sales and marketing at Dell.

A video of the Adamo suggests the laptop is less than an inch thick and has a 13-inch screen. Reports suggest the computer supports three USB ports and an eSATA jack, which could be used for plugging in an external hard drive.

Dell did not disclose pricing of the luxury line, which the company is launching in the midst of an economic recession. More details are expected in the next six months, according to The Associated Press.

In the meantime, Tatelman told reporters that the Inspiron Mini 10 would be sold exclusively by Dell for $99, with a $350 mail-in rebate. To qualify for the discount, buyers would have to sign up for a two-year service contract from AT&T, which costs about $60 a month.

The Mini 10 features an edge-to-edge 10-inch display and keyboard. It also has a built-in TV tuner and integrated GPS technology, 3G mobile broadband, and 802.11n Wi-Fi. The system is powered by an Intel Atom Z530 processor. Pricing and a release date were not disclosed.

AT&T has partnered with other computer makers in offering to subsidize purchases of systems, if the buyer signs up for its DataConnect service. In October, for example, AT&T and Lenovo offered up to $150 off any ThinkPad notebooks bought with a two-year service contract. The deal was aimed at corporate buyers.