Asus Ecobook Bamboo Laptop

ASUS may have been beaten to the punch by a few other companies and their bamboo-ensconced offerings, but it looks like it's now getting its first bamboo laptop out the door at long last, and it's taken the opportunity to finally get official with a price. Apparently, the first few 12-inch models will go on sale at Taiwan's IT Month exhibition on Saturday, where they'll run NT$59,900, or just over $1,800. Unfortunately, it's not clear exactly which configuration that'll get you, but, judging from the last word out of ASUS, even the base config seems to be pretty capable.

asus 12" bamboo laptop

We have an Asus notebook, and like their modular design where you can pick your own CPU and hard drive and assemble it yourself; ours had a tragic fall last week but it was easy to swap out busted parts. Asus also tries to differentiate itself from the others by doing silly things, like a leather notebook, or very sensible things, like the new Ecobook. Its case is covered in bamboo, which I suppose is a statement, but the real show is inside. All of the plastic in it is labeled and recyclable; it is lined with cardboard; there are no paints, sprays or even electroplating used on its components. It looks like it is designed to be easily taken apart for self-service and easy upgrading of components, usually the downfall of notebooks.