Two new external Pioneer Blu-ray burners make it possible to rip CDs directly to an Android phone, without using a PC. The clamshell burners can be attached to the phone using an USB-C cable. The portable drives will become available next month.
Pioneer models BDR-XD07J-UHD and BDR-XD07(BK/R/W) are both bundled with a regular USB cable and an USB-C adapter. By connecting the Blu-ray burner and an Android smartphone running Pioneer's Stellanova app, it's possible to rip and playback audio CDs to/from the smartphone without requiring a PC. Ripped tracks are automatically recognized and properly named using Gracenote's MusicID.
An optional power adapter is required to make use of the ripping and playback feature, because smartphones are not able to provide sufficient power.
With all models it's possible to burn and playback CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs but only the BDR-XD07J-UHD supports playback of Ultra HD Blu-ray discs. Obviously a HDMI 2.0a, HDCP 2.2 compatible PC is required, and Pioneer also recommends HDR support.
The portable drives are available in black (BDR-XD07 BK) , white (BDR-XD07 W) and red (BDR-XD07 R), have a weight of 230 gram and are 14.8mm in height.
For now they are only available in Japan, the BDR-XD07J-UHD should sell at 17,500 yen ($155), the BDR-XD07 in either black, white or red, is 13,500 yen ($120). It's unknown whether Pioneer has plans to sell the drives in other countries.
