Almost every peripheral, accessory and component associated with computers now has an RGB version. But we’ve never seen a laptop bag with those bouncing rainbow lights, until now. Due out this summer, Asus’s upcoming ROG Ranger BP3703 has configurable RGB lights on its front, along with an RGB controller that has its own light show on the back. But showing every color under the sun is far from this laptop bag’s only party trick: it also has an internal light for finding your stuff, a ton of pockets, a charging pass-through port and a detachable pouch.
We had a chance to experience the Ranger BP3703 at Asus’s CES booth. The top front of the bag has a sweet-looking, illuminated ROG logo and a light strip underneath it. The logo and strip, light up in a few different patterns, which you can switch amongst by hitting a button on the controller, that lives around back on the right strap. I preferred the straight rainbow animation, but other options included were more fixed colors like red or blue. Unfortunately however, it isn't compatible with Asus's Aura Sync software, meaning no custom light schemes from your main PC here just yet.
On top of that, the controller itself has an RGB logo on it too that follows the same pattern as the front LEDs. Hitting another button on the controller turns on the internal white light in the large front pocket. So, if it’s dark and you want to find that wire that’s buried somewhere in the bottom, you can.
The power for all of these lights comes courtesy of a powerbank, but the catch is that Asus isn’t going to include one. You’ll have to bring your own, but any powerbank will do. You’ll just place it in a pocket in the front, and connect it to a single internal USB connector which will route the power to all the lights and pass juice through a USB passthrough in the controller on the back. So you can still use it to charge a phone or tablet too.
The Ranger BP3703 isn’t just a bag with a gimmick. It has a lot of neat features that would make it appealing, even without the lights. In fact, Asus told us it plans to bring out an unlit version in April, while the one with RGB lights won’t land until this summer.
The front pocket has internal pockets that are dedicated for your phone, tablet, a set of pens and of course your battery-bank. Your laptop, which can be as big as 17 inches, fits in the back pocket. In front, there’s a detachable pouch with some zipper pockets in it.
I’m not quite sure why someone would want to detach the pouch and carry it independently, but Asus bundles a strap with it too, so you can sling it over your shoulder like some kind of unisex purse. An Asus rep said that the purpose of the pouch is to hold your wallet, change and other items -- kind of like a fanny pack, or a manbag/purse -- when you travel.
Perhaps if you’re going on vacation and plan to leave your laptop in the hotel room while you go to Disney World, you’d detach the pouch and leave the rest of the bag behind. Of course, if you don’t want to carry the pouch around with you, just leave it attached and it remains as an impressive front pocket.
An Asus rep said that the company is still deciding on a final MSRP, but he expected it to be within the $170 range. We look forward to taking a closer look at this very sleek and unique looking bag.
