It's all white: Asus W5000

Anyone who loves the look of Apple's iBook range, but can't be lured from the grey fastness of their PC, may find solace in the Asus W5000. Although detailing on the W5000 falls short of Apple's offerings, it is white and it is encased in a similar plastic shell.

Asus has put a 1.3-megapixel webcam in the lid of the W5000, and this rotates like a tombola, letting you video either your fine self, or whatever the outside lid of the laptop is pointing at. This makes it possible to effectively stare out into space and daydream, but appear as though you are working intently on a spreadsheet or similar. Job seekers in particular will welcome this enhancement.

The keen-eyed will notice that the Asus provides a FireWire port. This lets you hook up a video camera and transfer footage for editing, a useful feature that is becoming more common on laptops.

During the short amount of time we've played with the W5000 since it arrived at Crave, we've come to love the keyboard. Although some may criticise its slightly bouncy feel, the keys have an extremely satisfying tactile succulence to them. Typing on the Asus is like dancing your fingers across incredibly smooth pebbles, weathered by a mountain brook over thousands of years. We'll be putting the Asus through its paces over the next week. Expect a full review soon. -CS

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