Dell lays claim to world's thinnest laptop

Dell has combined its avant garde Adamo line with its high profile XPS brand to come up with the slimmest laptop around to date, the Adamo XPS.

The anorexic device is just 9.7mm at the ankle and bulges out to 10.3mm in the back weighing in at 1.44kg.

That said, the Adamo is not all skin and bones, packing in a 1.4GHz Core2 Duo ULV CPU, 4GB of 800MHz DDR3 memory and a 128GB SSD. Unfortunately the 13.4in LED display is powered by an Intel integrated graphics chip.

It comes standard with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit to make full use of the 4GB of memory and the multi-touch touchpad.

As you might expect from this type of device, there is no optical drive built-in. However you do get two USB ports and an external display output, as well an additional custom port for attaching other ports and peripherals.

Interestingly, the hinge is not situated on the edge, but rather an inch or so into the device, providing a sort of stand on which the laptop rests when open. This means that the keyboard naturally sits an angle and Dell reckons this design also helps with cooling as most of the base is held off the surface.

When closed the base actually folds into the lid and there is a sensor you swipe your finger across to release an electronic catch in order to be able to open it up. This is simply a capacitive touch sensor rather than any kind of biometric reader.

Form definitely trumps function with the Adamo XPS, as despite being thin and light the battery life leaves a lot to be desired. Even with the extended battery, which will add a few extra millimetres to the profile, you can only hope for around five hours between charges.

Details on pricing and availability are yet to be confirmed, but it's expected to be out in time for Christmas and we don't expect it to come cheap.