ASUS Previews Bamboo-Ecobook is Ecofriendly
This afternoon I headed over to the launch of the ASUS Eco Book, “the first functional notebook made out of bamboo.” It’s not made entirely out of bamboo–rather, parts of it are: The lid and the part where you rest your palms are made out of pressed, recycled bamboo, while the keys are made of recycled plastic.
It’s a cute little notebook, and the wood lid looks nice; ASUS is embossed into it with a slightly firebranded look. Unfortunately, it’s not set to come out until sometime next year. As they explained to me at the preview, “Unlike metal or plastic, wood actually burns”–so, as you might imagine, they’re planning on testing the use of wood in a potentially hot laptop pretty carefully. Similarly, wood can warp and break–making bamboo a good choice, as it’s exceptionally fibrous. Still, time spent in pre-production for the Eco Book seems like time well spent.
