Dell has released some revealing multimedia as it prepares to announce a new 15.6-inch ultrathin laptop later this month.

Dell released photos and videos of the follow-on to its discontinued ultrathin Adamo laptop.

As CNET reported earlier, the new ultrathin will be the first in a line of laptops designed in the spirit of the company's discontinued Adamo brand.

And with a 15.6-inch screen size, it will be the thinnest in this class of laptops, claimed sources familiar with the product.

Built around the the latest Intel "Sandy Bridge" Core i5 and Core i7 processors, the ultrathin will have a high-resolution display, be crafted from special materials, and come in at just less than $1,000.

Dell's 0.65-inch-thick Adamo, discontinued earlier in the year, was criticized in some quarters for underwhelming performance--as was Apple's original MacBook Air. Dell's new line, however, should lay most performance concerns to rest, said sources.

The relatively large 15.6-inch screen puts it in a size slot above the MacBook Air, the gold standard for ultrathin laptops. The Air is offered in 13.3-inch and 11.6-inch designs. And the Samsung Series 9, another potential rival, sports a 13.3-inch screen.

Dell has an existing large-screen ultrathin, the Latitude Z600--though, introduced in 2009, it's now somewhat long in the tooth. That model is about 0.8 inches thick and sports a 16-inch 1,600x900 display.

Via CNET Asia. More info from Dell is here.