I bought this drive to compliment a recently purchased Acer netbook. I wanted something small, bus powered, inexpensive, and the ability to burn a dual-layer DVD. This unit fit the bill so I pulled the trigger.
A note for Mac users: Yes, this drive works on a Mac. I connected it to a Mac mini running OS X 10.6.3 and it was immediately recognized by the system, reading and writing all manner of CDs and DVDs. So if you want a second optical drive on your Mac, or if you've got a MacBook Air and want something cheaper than Apple's $99 external drive, this is a viable option.
The box contains the drive itself (about the same size as two CD cases stacked on top of one another), a small (maybe 8") USB cable, a "Nero 8 Essentials" CD (containing Windows and Linux software), and a thin instruction manual (which I never opened). Once unpacked, installation takes literally seconds. Upon connecting it to my netbook the drive was immediately recognized by Windows XP Home and appeared under My Computer as a "DVD-RAM Drive". I tested it with several CDs and DVDs, both commercial and homemade, and had no problems.
Although it included the Nero software, I opted instead for VLC Media Player (for DVD playback) and CDBurnerXP (for disc burning). Both are free downloads (Google 'em for URLs), perform flawlessly with this drive, and work with pretty much all versions of Windows. (VLC also has a Linux port.)
The drive is a top-loader (like a portable audio CD player). I originally saw that as a drawback but after thinking about it I realize that it's a good idea. A top-loading drive allows you to play (and burn) physically smaller media that can't work in a slot-loader. Also, people who use netbooks typically use them in somewhat cramped quarters (airline seats, etc) and a slot-loading drive actually takes up more space than a top-loading drive since you need that much space in front of the drive to load/unload discs. Also, there would be less battery drain on a top-loading unit since there's no motor system to inject/eject the media to/from the drive. This would also make the top-loading drive mechanically simpler, another boon.
One particularly nice touch: There is a slot on the underside of the unit which perfectly fits the USB cable when not in use, thus saving you some aggravation when storing the drive. No need to clumsily wrap the cable around the drive or look for it in your bag. Some people will lament the short USB cable; I don't. A longer USB cable just adds bulk and weight and more difficult storage, and since the drive is meant to be used right next to your laptop anyway I fail to see how the short-ish cord can be a problem.
The drive is about as loud as your average laptop drive, which is to say it's pretty quiet. Read/write speeds are perfectly acceptable. I cannot comment on battery drain but I don't expect any profound revelations on that front. It's an electromechanical drive so of COURSE it will suck some battery life out of your laptop whenever you use it.
Ejecting a disc from Windows works the same way as any other drive, the only difference being after you eject the CD in the operating system, a green LED on the top of the drive (next to the word STOP) flashes repeatedly. At that point you can open the drive and remove the disc, and Windows goes back to showing the drive as being a "DVD-RAM Drive". The eject mechanism is handled by a spring-loaded plastic switch at the front of the unit. Slide it sideways and the top pops open about 1/2".
I only have one complaint and I don't know that it's enough to warrant the removal of a full star. The drive feels incredibly flimsy, particularly the upper half, and the spring-loaded eject switch feels like it's pushing more spring than the switch can handle. I can easily depress the center of the top of the drive with a minimum of effort. I wouldn't have minded seeing a little more internal support "under the hood" as it were, even if it meant bulking up the unit a bit. Still, this is not intended to be a heavy-duty drive so I'm not sure if that even qualifies as a design flaw. Therefore I won't penalize it.
One could also argue that the high-glass plastics collect fingerprints like nobody's business, but that never bothered me so I'm not taking points for that either.
So, to recap: Small, lightweight, cheap, works with Mac and Windows and Linux, clever cable storage, burns dual layer DVDs, works with mini CDs/DVDs, fully compatible with every program I threw its way, visual indicator when it's safe to open the lid. Potential deal breakers for some: Fingerprint-friendly plastics, arguably flimsy enclosure construction.
EDIT Sept 20 2010: Last Thursday the drive took a header out of my bag, landed corner-first on a raised computer room floor, was subsequently accidentally kicked (by me) about ten feet where it banged up against the wall. The CD door flew open and the CD that was inside of it (though not spinning) flew out. I had assumed the worst but didn't have to. The drive is perfectly operational and doesn't even have a scratch on it from its abusive ordeal. Liteon ETAU208-96 Top Load DVD/CD Writer Black
This is the portable DVD drive I've been waiting for. I have a rather large external CD/DVD that is basically a desktop unit in a case. It works great, but it is not portable. I have an LG unit that has a slide in and is supposedly "pure" USB, but it actually has two connectors and takes up two USB inputs, one for supplementary power. I find that unit to be buggy and not always work; I also don't like the slide in slot because I forget to take out my disk and need to power it up to get it out.
What I've wanted for a long time was a small portable unit, barely bigger than the size of a disk, that pops open and runs on one USB port without the need for external power. Why the top load? Well, first of all its operation is mechanical - if I forget a disk is in there it doesn't require power to take it out, and secondly it can play mini dvds. The convenience of a single connector is really nice.
The USB cable fits on a slot on the bottom of the drive so it is easy to carry and not get tangled with other cords. If you have a netbook or small laptop without a DVD player, or if sometimes you'd like a second one, this unit is perfect. And it is also inexpensive.
It also seems to work just fine. I tried loading some programs that give me problems on the LG unit and this one ran with no problems and felt very responsive. The laptop I used it on is Windows 7 64 bit, so compatibility should not be a problem with any Windows unit. - Usb - Liteon - Lite-on - Slim External Dvd Rw'
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