Looking at CNET’s take on the new DELL Adamo I couldn’t help thinking about the stop/start nature of flagship PC design manufacturing. The car industry provides a useful analogy here – whilst the somewhat muted designs of say Audi or BMW contrast with the flambouyant nature of their French counterparts the Germans seem to get it right. They produce stunning designs that stand the test of time and become classic whereas the sporadic efforts of other firms tend to generate excitement which dissolves into a forgetable embarassment years later.

Apple have painstakingly exercised restraint in their product line – indeed they still refuse to put buttons on their mice! The Apple Powerbook remained static in form for years but the resulting timeline is one of beauty and evolvement. What DELL and other PC manufacturers should do is take note of Apple’s success in selling design as a USP in their computers. The Adamo might be a stunning laptop but it sits almost outside of Dell’s product line and remains almost a gimmick in their portfolio – which is a shame because looking at the MacBook you realise that Apple belive good design is for everybody.