Ultrabooks are a big thing lately (or a little thing, depending on your point of view), but what makes them possible is sacrifice. One of the things that gets sacrificed is the optical drive, but some of us still need one occasionally. When we do buy an external optical drive, we also like when its appearance match our Ultrabook. Fortunately, Samsung is making just that device: the SE-218GN and SE-208GB optical drives.
These drives are about 14 mm thick, and built with materials that compliment the Samsung Ultrabooks. These slot-loading DVD writers are able to draw their power from a single USB 3.0 port, thanks to their low power consumption. In order to maintain this thin profile, Samsung has also placed the eject button for the drives on top of the unit rather than on the front. According to the manufacturer, front-placed buttons can be difficult to press on such a thin device.
No exact word on pricing or availability, though we expect these units to hit shelves not too long from now.
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