One problem with Ultrabooks and Netbooks is that most have done away with the Internal optical drive. According to DigiTimes, HP, Dell and Asustek all plan doing away with the ODD in their larger 15" Ultrabooks and Laptops, with Apple to lead with the launch their MacBook Pro in the second quarter without an optical drive. If Apple's move is successful, Laptop makers are likely to do away with internal ODDs also.
For those who need CD/DVD drive to read or write discs and do not want to carry a clumsy external drive, Samsung aims to solve this issue with the launch of the world's thinnest external optical drive, the SE-218BB, featuring a height of just 14mm, 18% thinner than a typical slimline external DVD writer.
The DVD writer is powered by a single USB port and is also compatible with Tablet PCs, Tablets running Android Honeycomb OS 3.1 or above and Mac OS. It features 24x CD-ROM, 24x CD-R/RW, 8X DVD±R, 5x DVD-RAM, 6x DVD±R DL, 8x DVD+RW and 6x DVD-RW.
The SE-218BB is now available worldwide with a suggested retail price of US$59.99.
