No matter how inspired a laptop design, chances are it is made of
either glossy or textured plastic, or, in some upscale cases, aluminum or
magnesium. There's nothing wrong with that, but there's certainly room for some
creativity around the margins, and that's exactly what Asus brings to the table
in the new U33Jc-A1. This $999 13-inch laptop is partially clad in actual
bamboo, creating a unique upscale look and feel that we find greatly appealing
to our mid-century modern design tastes.
For the second time this month, I get to review a fashion-conscious
notebook. Instead of aluminum and glass, this time we’re looking at wood—or, to
be more specific, bamboo. ASUS’ U33Jc is part of ASUS’ U-series Bamboo
Collection and features bamboo panels on the lid and the interior, with the
palm rest and touchpad rendered in the darkly finished wood. It’s definitely an
interesting touch, with ASUS claiming tensile strength nearly equaling that of
steel and unparalleled eco-friendliness. We’ll get into those claims a bit
later on, but for right now let’s just say that the bamboo paneling gives the
U33Jc a nice aesthetic that’s pretty unique compared to most other portable
computers.
The 13.3-inch diagonal display on the U33JC-A1 features LED
backlighting and a 16:9 aspect ratio. Once again, we give this screen a very
good rating within the narrow vertical viewing angle sweet spot. The backlight
is even and bright, contrast is sharp and colors are good at default settings.
The only obvious issue with the screen is the narrow vertical viewing angles.
While the horizontal viewing angles (side view) are nearly flawless, the colors
become over exposed when viewed from above and significantly inverted and
distorted when viewed from below. If you are using this laptop for
color-accurate editing you will need to be certain you're viewing the screen
from straight ahead.
Specification
* Intel Core i3 370M (2.40GHz)
* Intel Core i3 370M (2.40GHz)
* 13.3-inch 720p (1366x768) display with LED backlighting
* Windows 7 Home Premium
* 4GB DDR3 RAM 1066MHz
* 500GB 5400RPM hard drive
* 8-cell Li-ion battery (5600mAh)
* Weight: 4.54 lbs
* Dimensions: 12.9 x 9.3 x 1 inches
* Price: $999.00