ASUS has been showing off
bamboo laptops at trade shows for about
three years now, but actual machines adorned in the special wood haven't quite made it to market for what we'd call affordable prices... until now. The sub-$1,000 U43JC and U43F have been hanging out on Best Buy's website for the last couple of days, and will be shipping towards the end of the month. Internally, these two 14-inchers certainly match their strong exterior -- the $999 U43JC is a lot like the
U30Jc we reviewed a few months ago with its Core i5-450M processor, NVIDIA Optimus / GeForce 310M graphics, and a 640GB hard drive. The $950 U43F has the same Core i5 processor, but instead sticks with Intel's graphics to get some
WiDi bragging rights. We're planning to review at least one of these puppies in due time , but hey, don't let that deter you from hitting those pre-order links below.
posted July 6th 2010 9:09PM
Fail...
@engadgetcomexcludeengadget
Like your Engadget profile name, next time less detail...
@engadgetcomexcludeengadget
no way. its better than plastic and who can complain about another optimus laptop? these are awesome.
@engadgetcomexcludeengadget
To me, wood is the only thing that could surpass a metal body (in looks). I want one in flamed maple!
@engadgetcomexcludeengadget
im actually curious... what would happen if you really did use the exclude engadget on engadget?
...would you end up on gizmodo?
@angelusp
Well judging from the whole 1 minute it took him to read this article and comment, looks like he wanted to be first, then up-ranked to improve his image.
@RhymeMaster
As much as commenters say that they "hate" the people who post stupid things in order to be first, the wasted first post provides a space for a number of people to make random posts that they think are important (and thus want to be upranked).
@engadgetcomexcludeengadget
I have no idea if this will be a market failure, but to me, wooden laptops are nothing short of hideous. Why not make a wooden cell phone? Just because you can use a different material does not mean you should.
HOLY ALLITERATION! :O
Burn it
**pun**
@rmbrown09 Good idea !
@rmbrown09 Hopefully it doesnt overheat..if it does there might be a problem...
I want a matte screen, dammit.
*shakes fist at Asus*
@warpaint that's why I still have my old cenema display on my mac. I can't stand the glare. There should be an option for it on every computer.
WTF is the big deal with bamboo? And all you green freaks out there, just STFU now. Not using plastic now will make no difference. We've already used too much. Humanity fail.
@combatcarl
who cares what it's made off when it looks great
@combatcarl I guess it's because it's unique, classy, and affordable you nihilist bastard. A green freak would note that the wood doesn't exactly make up for all the chemical goodness of the electronic interior.
Nihilists! Fuck me. I mean, say what you like about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it's an ethos.
This will look great with my IKEA furniture!
Bamboo covers, WHITE iphones, un-frikkin-boxings! Golly. I'm all a-twitter with with this here important stuff! You?
Pandas like them...
FOR THE SAME PRICE YOU CAN GET A POLOCARBONATE UNIBODY MACBOOK...AND DO NOT CALL ME A FANBOY...FOR THIS IS WRITTEN ON MY HP LAPTOP THAT IS TWO YEARS OLD...
@walter164
Comments sound just as good without caps. And for some people OSX is not an option. For them, this is a comprable windows counterpart with a sexy design and decemt specs for the price.
@walter164
Polycarbonate is a pretty word for plastic, which is very likely the same thing your two year old HP is made out of.
@walter164 One might almost think you hadn't compared the specs of the two laptops before posting. But the caps convinced me of the truth.
@walter164 Core i5, optimus, ASUS(the most reliable brand) and windows 7 packed in a sexy design and you are talking about fruits?
Hey, it's a beautiful laptop at a reasonable price. What's not to like?
sweet look, I work for Geeksquad so i'll be seeing these soon hopefully!
hopefully not, because that means there's a reason for you to be charging exorbitant prices to repair it.
Is it just me or the keyboard looks exactly like Macbook Pros?
-ND
@anstormengadget
Macbook keyboards look just like Sony Viao ones which had them first
You'd have to stick that bamboo up my fingernails to get me to buy it.
sweeeet.
* Core i5 power (unlike Macbook pro 13) - Check.
* USB 3.0 (also unlike Macbook) - Check.
* HDMI (Macbook Pro: what's HDMI?) - Check
* chiclet-style keyboard (nicked from Macbook) - Check
* Button-switcheable discrete graphics (Yes, that's CONTROLLable are you listening Apple) - Check
* 1gb video ram - Check
* 4gb DDR3 - Check
* 5-in-1 Media Reader - Check
* DVD-R/RW drive - Check - PLUS Windows 7 actually supports Blu-Ray. What a concept.
* 8 Hour Battery Life
Yeah, for the same money I can get a 4 years-old-technology white Macbook with a core 2 duo and a 10-year old OS, but somehow this seems nicer :D
@johnspierce
Sony viao's had that type of key board Kong before Apple. FYI
@johnspierce As someone who had to use 10.1 on a daily basis for many years, I can tell you that 10.6 certainly isn't a comparable OS.
@johnspierce how long until backlit key are standard fare? Why are the manufacturers not listening?
For me personally, this + aluminum body are the only things that draws me to a mac. I'm in a room with the lights on and I still have a hard time seeing the keys on my Asus. For a $20 upgrade w/ Dell and Toshiba, why can't this be more common?
@neillien If you had to look at the keys to type, you blew it...
Just gonna point out that Bamboo, contrary to popular opinion is a grass not a wood. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo Yes it is somewhat structurally similar, cellulose and whatnot, but it is a grass. This particular fact is what makes it appealing from an environmental standpoint. It grows exponentially faster than wood using significantly fewer resources to become commercially viable. Plus it looks wicked cool...
@LocalStain It looks real enough to me, just like breasts with siliicone implants
lol - Its a 1967 station wagon!
Wood (grass) on the palm rest? Should we worry about splinters?
@Chris Harrington
Should we worry about all those stairways with wooden bannisters? Wooden park benches? Etc?
@simbr Should we be worry at all?
i don't see any mention of screen resolution, but i'm guessing these are just the same 1377x768 garbage as everything else?
when is somebody going to make a thin&sexy notebook with a decent screen resolution?
@notatoad
May I point you at the Vaio Z? :)
1600 x 900 beauty in a 13 inch package. Of course, you could buy BOTH of these ASUS with the money that the Z costs, but hey, you asked.
@Hex Actually you can now get a 1920x1080 display with the Z for an extra $100.
So notatoad, there's your answer! ;-)
@Hex :( on the price. damn viaos.
thanks for the info though.
Hi Asus! Care to make these available in Europe with the same specs? I want one available here this year, please.
...but ofcourse, you will fail us, again,