Plextor preps 'world's smallest' external DVD burner

It looks like Plextor's going in for a piece of that "world's smallest" marketing action, with the launch of what it claims to be the most diminutive DVD writer currently on the market. Aimed at owners of ultraportable laptops that tend to feature bulky external drives (if they feature any at all), the latch-loading, 2/3-inch thick PX-608CU supports dual-layer DVD burning at up to 4x, single-layer DVD burning at up to 8x, and CD-R/RW burning at 24x speed only. The function that prospective light traveling, laptop-toting buyers will be most happy about is the USB 2.0-bus powered capabilities of the drive, which will save you from carrying around a bulky AC adapter. Apparently the drive will only consume 4.8 Watts of power when burning a DVD at 8x, which shouldn't put too much of a strain on your battery. No word on pricing yet, although we will say that the "world's smallest" tag generally doesn't come with a pricetag to match.

[Via Reg Hardware]

[J. Evans Turner @ Aug 26th 2006 5:59PM]

This is the best thing since the Sony MPD-AP20U! Granted, it's not a stand-alone internally-rechargeable MP3 player (using full-capacity of DVD media), but it's BUS POWERED! I need this for my toolkit.

[wunderbar @ Aug 26th 2006 6:56PM]

wow, that's pretty impessive. I'd pick one of these for my CD-RW only laptop if it was a decent price, however the "Plextor" brand name means it'll be a little more expensive than it should.

[Noah Wood @ Aug 26th 2006 7:09PM]

Best thing since sliced bread. A Bus Powered anything is great and if you add in DVD burning with it? What more could you want?!!?

[Ethyriel @ Aug 26th 2006 10:16PM]

Plextor wasn't always more expensive than it should be, they used to be worth the premium. But that was back in the day when they were still extremely picky about the quality of their drives. Unfortunately, around the time they dropped their SCSI lines, their quality has gone to absolute hell.

Either way, I just might buy one for my X60s/Q2010 (depends on the Merom refresh), especially if it comes in black.

[Will @ Aug 27th 2006 7:23AM]

Unfortunately it does not support DVD-RAM.

[Will @ Aug 27th 2006 7:23AM]

It would have been nice to note that this burner indeed does write to DVD-RAM (5x). http://www.plextor.be/products/px-608cu.asp?choice=PX-608CU

[ric harris @ Aug 27th 2006 3:41PM]

Does this mean that the drive's one of the new 9.5mm-thick ones, and AS SUCH SUITABLE FOR UPGRADING A MACBOOK TO A "SUPERDRIVE"? I'd guess it probably does...

[n2 @ Aug 27th 2006 12:21PM]

I have an external Plextor DVD burner now (not the one in this article), and I'm quite happy with the drive. It's pretty fast, and has been totally reliable. As far as cost, it was more expensive than the no-name brands, but competitive with big names.

[Julian Emmett Turner @ Aug 31st 2006 11:27PM]

As the brother of the first commenter, I too can vouch for the awesomeness of a product that combines the features of the MPD-AP20U and this new Plextor drive. Considering that Sony has stopped producing their Digital Relay series of external drives that function as stand-alone players, it may be Plextor's opportunity to move into the MP3 player and consumer electronics market. :)

Throw in built-in stand-alone MP3 playback and then combine the bus powered capability with Sony's rechargeable battery for a USB-charged MP3 DVD player like any other. Add SDHC as an alternative to Sony's Memory Stick support to make it a massive-capacity flash player too. 9GB MP3 DVDs for the win! $00.19 per 5GB DVD is pretty damn good too (like an expandable first-gen iPod).

[nemi @ Aug 28th 2006 11:41AM]

IIRC the USB spec is max. 500mA current draw on the 5V supply pin. So total power a USB deviceis "supposed" to draw is 2.5 W.

With this device drawign ~4.8W of power while burning I can't see too many laptops or USB ports supporting it (most have current limiters).