All the cool kids have Bamboo-ified tech, don't you know. ASUS's new Bamboo Series notebook certainly grabbed our attention at a recent launch event.
Say what you will about tacky design themes, but we've picked up our ticket for Bamboo train - what notebook can you redo your floors with when the CPU packs it in?
The wood that grows like gangbusters could be the design element du jour in 2009, if current trends are anything to go by.
We've already seen Dell's Bamboo themed Dell Studio Hybrid, and now ASUS is jumping on the bandwagon with it's Bamboo Series notebooks. Good news if you're sick of piano-black or piano-white
The Asus Bamboo notebook (U6V0) certainly grabbed our attention when we saw it as the recent N Series notebook launch. It's covered in something Asus calls "Moso" bamboo paneling, which according to Wikipedia, is also commonly used for flooring. Oh yes, it's classy.
As you can see from the photos, the effect is quite striking. On the outside, the entire notebook lid is covered in bamboo, and on the inside, just the palm rest area has the bamboo treatment. It seems bamboo keys are not here just yet. The Bamboo veneer is quite uniformed - it'd be interesting to see what a gnarly, rough edged, "rawer" version would look like.
The Bamboo Series U6V is a 12.1in screen portable, and has Vista, though thankfully it's not a cheap netbook type spec under the hood. You get Core 2 Duo T9400, DVD-multi drive, 320GB HDD, 2GB RAM, NVidia 9300M GS, and both 3 and 6 cell battery.
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| The ASUS Bamboo Series "evokes a charming warmth and a cybernetic closeness to nature" |
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| The Bamboo Series is covered in something Asus calls "Moso" bamboo paneling, which according to Wikipedia, is also commonly used for flooring. Oh yes, it's classy. |
We say, don't be scared. We've already seen leather notebooks, and a bit of variation on piano- black can't hurt.
And if that's not enough to convince you, we leave you with this message from ASUS:
"Packaged in distinctive Moso bamboo paneling, the Bamboo notebook evokes a charming warmth and a cybernetic closeness to nature…. each Bamboo Series notebook is organically unique and radiates a divine spirituality."
We rest our case.