Adamo shipping box

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Shipping boxes for the Dell Adamo and Apple MacBook Air

The shipping box is substantially larger than that of the MacBook Air (white box), but the two machines are nearly identical in size.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Adamo packing material

Ladies and gentlemen, Adamo has left the box. Now we know why the the box was so large: the Adamo is encased in a “time-capsule” plastic casing, which in turn is protected during shipping via black plastic shipping caps.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

MacBook Air packing material

Apple’s MacBook Air packaging requires less effort to remove.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Adamo in its plastic packing case

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Opening the Adamo's plastic packing case

We were kind of expecting a high pressure hiss and a dense fog to roll out as the container automatically opened itself. Didn’t happen. There are two plastic tabs on the bottom of the case that had to be pushed quite firmly in order to release the Adamo from its clear sarcophagus. Lenin would be jealous.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Adamo and matching "onyx" accessories

The Adamo and the accessories. All our accessories were black, matching nicely with our “onyx” Adamo. We assume (given the price tag) your accessories will be white if you purchase the “pearl” version.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Power adapter, video adapter, and other accessories

The AC adapter is 45 watts, just like the MacBook Air’s. The power brick design is elegant, but the actual plug isn’t nearly as slick as the Air’s MagSafe connector.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Adamo power adapter

Photo by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Adamo before the cracking open begins

Photo by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Rear ports

The rear ports of the Adamo, from left to right:
n * RJ45 Ethernet
n * eSATA USB
n * 2x USB
n * DisplayPort
n * AC Adapter


Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Sim card slot and audio out/headphone jack

The right side of the Adamo houses a SIM card slot and an audio out/headphone jack.

You get a total of six ports with your Adamo, double that of the MacBook Air. It’s a shame that they couldn’t just put a DVI display port on the computer itself, and instead chose to include a bulky adapter.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Adamo and MacBook Air side-by-side comparison

Adamo, meet Air. Now that you’re acquainted…
nThe Adamo’s dimensions, as compared to the MacBook Air:
n * Width: 0.23″ larger
n * Depth: 0.56″ larger
n * Height: 0.11″ thinner

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Adamo is wider and deeper

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Adamo is actually thinner than the MacBook Air

It’s interesting how the Air plays tricks with height. It certainly looks thinner than the Adamo.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Adamo and MacBook Air undersides

Both the Adamo and Air have very high torsional rigidity. This is largely due to their unibody constructions. It’s hard to say which is more rigid, but the Adamo is heavier so it feels more solid.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Adamo underside

The Adamo’s elegance clearly beats the Air from this angle.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Painted on Intel and Windows logos

The Intel and Windows logos are not the typical stickers; they’re painted into the case.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Adamo hidden case screws

Unlike the Air, there are no visible screws on the bottom of the Adamo. However, the gaps between case bottom and frame are significantly larger than the Air’s.
nGetting inside may require some ingenuity…

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Adamo, MacBook Air, and the Dell Mini

Photo by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Adamo, MacBook Air, and Dell Mini

Photo by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Bottom panel locking mechanism

The Adamo uses a very slick locking system to hold the bottom panel in place.

The locking system utilizes three tracks of pins that span the inner left, right, and front edges of the computer. The pins lock into slots machined into the bottom panel, creating a very tight and secure connection.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Gently slide the metal ear to the right

The bottom panel is removed by simply sliding the metal ear (shown in yellow) connected to each set of pins (shown in red) to the right using a thin metal spudger.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Removing the battery cable

The battery connects to the motherboard with an orange ribbon cable. This cable should be disconnected before entirely removing the bottom panel.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Adamo and Air with bottom panels removed

The Adamo and Air with bottom panels removed.
The MacBook Air we’re using in this guide is the original model (released over a year ago). Despite it’s age, the Air still packs a 1.6 GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 33-percent faster than our Adamo’s 1.2 GHz processor.
To its credit, the high-end Adamo does include 4 GB of built-in RAM, double that of the Air.
Dell labels a lot more parts than Apple. This definitely makes our job easier, even though it’s not quite as photogenic.


Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Bottom panel and battery

The bottom panel contains an integrated 6 cell Li-Polymer battery pack.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Recycle in Japan only?

You can recycle the battery… in Japan.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Removing the 128GB solid state drive

The drive is a Thin 128GB uSATA MLC. This particular drive utilizes 16 Samsung 64 gigabit multi-level cell (MLC) flash chips.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Samsung chips on the solid state drive

The drive is a Thin 128GB uSATA MLC. This particular drive utilizes 16 Samsung 64 gigabit multi-level cell (MLC) flash chips.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

128GB Solid state drive removed

The drive transmits data through a normal SATA connector. Impressively, the specs listed on the drive indicate a maximum power consumption of only 1.05 watts and an operating shock of 1500G!
The solid state drive’s thickest point is the 4mm SATA connector. The rest of the drive is a scant 2.9 mm.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Ambient light sensor

We believe this is an ambient light sensor to support the Adamo’s backlit keyboard. Dell has used light sensors in a few other recent notebooks.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Removing the ambient light sensor

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Wireless cards

The Adamo has no shortage of wireless connectivity possibilities. This machine was the low-end model, so we only received two of the three wireless types.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

WiMax option available

The missing spot in the middle is for a WWAN WiMax 5530 HSPA Mini Card for AT&T. Even though our machine came without the card, it could be easily added in the future. The antennas are routed to the slot and ready to go!

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Anatel Bluetooh board

Surprisingly, the Bluetooth board is twice the size of the 802.11n card.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Disconnect the 802.11n wireless card's antenna cables

Using the spudger, disconnect the 802.11n card’s antenna cables.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Remove the 802.11n card's screws

Next, remove the 802.11n card’s screws.Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

802.11n wireless card removed

The printed user’s guide that came with our Adamo says the machine includes 803.11n Wireless LAN. We’re not sure if that’s a typo, or something new we don’t know about yet.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Wireless card ribbon cable

The wireless cards are attached to the motherboard via a single wide ribbon cable.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Gently disconnect and peel away the wireless card ribbon cable

The ribbon cable is held securely in place with adhesive, and peeling it up requires some patience.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Peeling away the ribbon cable

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Removing the wireless data board

Interestingly enough, the hard drive ribbon cable routes data through the wireless data board before finally reaching the motherboard. You’ll need to disconnect these cables.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Removing the wireless data board's screws

Remove the three screws that hold the wireless data board in place.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Lifting out the wireless data board

You can now lift the wireless data board away from the Adamo chassis.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Disconnect the remaining, visible ribbon cables

We disconnected several ribbon cables from the motherboard before proceeding.
Six Phillips screws hold the motherboard and its attached heat sink and fan in place.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Disconnect the display data cable

The display data cable connects to the bottom of the board, and must be disconnected before the motherboard is freed from the machine.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Heatsink on the motherboard

The heat sink is pretty tiny, but we assume a 1.2 GHz Core 2 Duo processor won’t get that hot.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Removing the heatsink from the motherboard

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Lifting the heatsink away

We didn’t see any thermal sensors in the machine, but one or more might be integrated into the motherboard.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

2GB 800MHz DDR3 memory

Don’t plan on buying the low-end machine and upgrading your RAM later – it’s not going to happen.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Ports are integrated into the motherboard

Unfortunately, all the ports are integrated into the motherboard. Repair will not be cheap. if something goes wrong.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Lifting out the keyboard

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Quanta Computers label on keyboard

At least the keyboard (and probably the whole machine) is produced by Quanta Computers. They’re the world’s largest notebook manufacturer and make machines for both Apple and Dell.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Removing the display assembly's hinge cover

An iPod opening tool easily removes the magnetically-attached hinge cover.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Windows product key hidden under hinge cover

Dell hides your Windows product key under here. That’s certainly a smart move, since the sticker doesn’t exactly blend in with the Adamo’s black onyx finish.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Removing more screws from the display assembly

Four Phillips on the bottom, two on each side.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Removing the final two screws on the display assembly

Two small Phillips on top, one on each side.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Removing the antenna cables from the display assembly

The display assembly is now unscrewed, but it’s not entirely free yet.
nA bundle of antenna cables needs to be derouted from the top case.
It’ll be interesting the see Adamo’s wireless range and performance. It’s challenging to have good wireless reception with an all-metal computer.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Removing the clutch cover

Two Phillips screws hold the clutch cover to the top case.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Lifting off the clutch cover

After removing the screws, the clutch cover simply lifts up.
nThe clutch cover is incredibly light. Dell definitely shaved every gram they could off this part.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Separating the display from the display assembly

After lifting the clutch cover off, there’s plenty of room to thread the display cables through the top case and remove the display assembly.
nThe display uses a LED backlight, so no inverter is necessary. As shown on this step, the display data cable is on the left, and the camera data cable is on the right.

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Adamo WLED display removed

Free at last!
nIt’s a beautiful display, except for the mass of antenna wires. It would definitely be a prettier picture if we got out the scissors.
nThis display has a resolution of 1366×768. That’s slightly different than the 1280×800 resolution on the MacBook Air. You’ll get an extra 26,624 pixels if you choose the Adamo.
nThe manual lists the display’s maximum power consumption as only 3.6 watts!

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Display hinge

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Top panel with keyboard removed

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Synaptics pointing device

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Case fan

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.

Dell Adamo completely disassembled

And here’s the whole Adamo enchilada…

Photo and caption by iFixit for TechRepublic.