Dell teases with peek at ultra-thin laptop

Dell adds a third model to its mini laptop line

Dell has showcased a new addition to its Inspiron Mini line of mini laptops, as well as a forthcoming ultra-thin laptop touted by onlookers as a rival to Apple's MacBook Air.

The company unveiled the new products at a press conference at CES in Las Vegas, but gave only sparse details on the new laptop models.

The clearest picture of the two is of the Inspiron Mini 10, which fits between the Mini 9 and Mini 12 models introduced last year.

As the name suggests, the Mini 10 has a 10in 16:9 ratio display and is based on a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor. According to Dell, it will also have an edge-to-edge keyboard, GPS, mobile broadband and 802.11n Wi-Fi.

Also shown at CES was the Adamo ultra-thin laptop. Dell gave away little about this model other than the name, but sources have said that it has a 13in display and compares favourably with Apple's MacBook Air, claimed as the thinnest laptop in the world when launched last year.

Dell has so far declined to give a date for availability of either the Inspiron Mini 10 or Adamo at the time of writing, but a spokesperson for the company told vnunet.com that more details should be forthcoming soon.