I think the tablets' LCDs are slightly thicker (to pick up digitizer input) and require more power because of this. As a result, manufacturers have deciding between a slim optical drive or bigger battery usually opt for the battery. Lack of an optical drive these days is really no big deal, external drives are cheap and fast, and how often do you really need to burn a disc away from your desk in the age of networks and massive USB flash drives?
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I think the tablets' LCDs are slightly thicker (to pick up digitizer input) and require more power because of this. As a result, manufacturers have deciding between a slim optical drive or bigger battery usually opt for the battery. Lack of an optical drive these days is really no big deal, external drives are cheap and fast, and how often do you really need to burn a disc away from your desk in the age of networks and massive USB flash drives?