Transcend Debuts 13.9-mm High Portable CD/DVD Writer

By Kevin Parrish
published

Here's the perfect companion to your Ultrabook or super-thin notebook that doesn't have a built-in DVD burner.

On Wednesday, Transcend Information introduced a new Extra Slim Portable CD/DVD 8X writer measuring just 13.9-mm high, the thinnest the company has released thus far. It's the perfect companion to thin-and-light notebooks and Ultrabooks that don't already have a CD/DVD burner installed out-of-the-box, fitting comfortably into the sleeve of any laptop bag or backpack.

According to Transcend, the portable burner offers around 44-percent the weight savings over your typical external optical drive. It connects via a USB port, and it draws power from the computer rather than requiring an external power source that needs to be plugged into an electrical outlet. It also offers up to 8X DVD and 24X CD write speeds, plus support for the dual layer recordable DVD media formats.

This new super-slim optical drive comes packed with a full-featured copy of the media writing software CyberLink Power2Go, and also includes a bonus 30-day trial version of CyberLink's MediaShow. The former suite allows users to burn music, data, video and even bootable discs in a variety of CD and DVD formats, including CD-R/RW, DVD±R, DVD±RW, DVD±R DL, and DVD-RAM. The latter software provides means to compile, arrange, and produce media files with a simple and straightforward software interface.

Transcend's Slim CD/DVD writer measures just 148-mm x 142.8-mm, and is fully compatible with Windows 7, Windows Vista/XP and Mac OS. It's now available via Transcend for a suggested price of US$59 and is backed by a two-year limited warranty.

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Kevin Parrish
11 Comments Comment from the forums
  • soo-nah-mee
    What's a DVD?
    Reply
  • alexmx
    come on! not even bluray?
    Reply
  • ricardok
    It's been like ages since I've last used a DVD/CD/BluRay.. With thumb sticks, dropbox and my Android devices I see no use for those I've said before.
    The last time I used a CD/DVD was about 5 years ago.. Even when installing Windows I'm using thumb sticks with the official image from MS.
    Reply
  • jn77
    ALEXMXcome on! not even bluray?
    For bluray to be affective, you would need at least USB 3 and allot more power(electricity) than the USB port can provide.
    Reply
  • jn77
    ricardokIt's been like ages since I've last used a DVD/CD/BluRay.. With thumb sticks, dropbox and my Android devices I see no use for those I've said before. The last time I used a CD/DVD was about 5 years ago.. Even when installing Windows I'm using thumb sticks with the official image from MS.
    Yep, everything I do now is with 64gb+ thumb drives :-) so bluray becomes useless at that point.
    Reply
  • wemakeourfuture
    Depends what people do.

    When family members want pictures from my DSLR, I'm not going to buy $4-5 USB drives and put them on that and give them it, I'm going to make a DVD copy that costs pennies and give them that.

    With ultrabooks not coming with DVD drives people need external drives to still read CDs/DVDs they have of software, movies, data discs.

    Just because YOU don't use something doesn't mean there's no uses for other people. Just because YOU have alternatives that doesn't mean those alternatives are practical for other people. You don't need or want it, no one cares.
    Reply
  • jacobdrj
    I've never liked optical media... and I never will... I can never forgive them... for the death of my data...
    -Captain James T. Kirk, Star Trek VI
    Reply
  • burmese_dude
    jn77For bluray to be affective, you would need at least USB 3 and allot more power(electricity) than the USB port can provide.
    Not true.

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151251&name=External-CD-DVD-Blu-Ray-Drives
    Reply
  • UVB076
    wemakeourfutureDepends what people do.When family members want pictures from my DSLR, I'm not going to buy $4-5 USB drives and put them on that and give them it, I'm going to make a DVD copy that costs pennies and give them that.With ultrabooks not coming with DVD drives people need external drives to still read CDs/DVDs they have of software, movies, data discs.Just because YOU don't use something doesn't mean there's no uses for other people. Just because YOU have alternatives that doesn't mean those alternatives are practical for other people. You don't need or want it, no one cares.There is this wonderful thing where you can share files called "email", I believe they invented it 30 years ago.
    Reply
  • soo-nah-mee
    UVB076There is this wonderful thing where you can share files called "email", I believe they invented it 30 years ago.Well the obvious response to this would be that there is a file size and quantity limit on email. On the other hand, there ARE wonderful cloud services like SkyDrive and Dropbox that enable you to upload your photos and share specific folders with specific people.

    I can still see wemakeourfuture's point though. It takes time and bandwidth to do this, and DVD can be had for super cheap.
    Reply