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Accessories for MacBook Air: External USB SuperDrive

by Michael Rose Jan 15th 2008 at 3:30PM

More additional gear to carry for the lightest laptop you can buy -- Apple's external SuperDrive DVD writer, with a USB 2.0 connector and all the capabilities of a normal laptop optical drive. It's a $99 slot-loading 8x SuperDrive, full specs:

DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW (gesundheit!)
  • Writes DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL discs at up to 4x speed
  • Writes DVD-R and DVD+R discs at up to 8x speed
  • Writes DVD-RW discs at up to 6x speed and DVD+RW discs at up to 8x speed
  • Reads DVDs at up to 8x speed
  • Writes CD-R discs at up to 24x speed
  • Writes CD-RW discs at up to 16x speed
  • Reads CDs at up to 24x speed
It's USB-powered and, I'd expect, a legit boot disk source. While you won't need a DVD drive for installing software, it'll definitely be handy for watching movies (the ones you don't rent).

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More additional gear to carry for the lightest laptop you can buy -- Apple's external SuperDrive DVD writer, with a USB 2.0 connector and...
 

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Mark Haycock

Sorry, kinda commented on the the wrong thing (too many tabs open in safari)
Case for the MacBook Air not the DVD Drive.

January 16 2008 at 6:52 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mark Haycock

I'm just wondering how long it will take someone to make a yellow envelope looking case for this thing…not many people are going to mug you for your mail - hopefully!

January 16 2008 at 6:47 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Tom Hillman

What a shame apple didn't put a USB hub in the back.

January 16 2008 at 6:20 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Marco F.

A littlebit disappointed to see this is not a Blu-ray drive. It' be nice to see Apple give the final death blow to HD-DVD by now supplying the users with blu-ray..

January 16 2008 at 2:11 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
MacLover

What's the point of having the world's thinnest notebook, and probably one of the lightest, if you have to carry around all these extra parts? You'll still end up carrying it all around anyway.

That being said, the new MB Air does showcase some design attributes that I hope will translate well to other notebooks. If Apple can fit a wireless card, Bluetooth, hard drive, Core 2 Duo processor, and more into that little bit of space, we should see thinner notebooks across the board in the very near future.

And all of those sexy new trackpad features would be s-weet on my MBP! Any excuse to make my PC-user friends even more jealous. :-)

January 16 2008 at 12:23 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
(01)

I have to admit I chuckled when I read the "In the Box" section of the Air (can I call it that?)
Install/restore DVDs
I know, optical drive sharing and all that, but still funny.
On topic: I'm impressed with the specs of the drive at that price point. Any word on if this will only work with the Air (I like it and I'm sticking with it :-) or if it can work with other computers?

January 15 2008 at 8:53 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
R. Cabell

This drive probably needs more power than a standard USB port can supply. That being said, the new Aluminum iMacs and new Penryn Mac Pros have these high power ports to support iPod charging through the keyboard.

Too bad where I really need this is on a Mac mini with only a Combo drive.

January 15 2008 at 6:11 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Vvelvet Eelvis

i would by this as soon as possible, if only it was compatible with my macbook... this does not seem very smart.

January 15 2008 at 5:14 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Vvelvet Eelvis's comment
Big John

Why not? You have a drive on your MacBook. Besides, there are tons of external drive options out there.

January 15 2008 at 6:00 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Fred

I think we'll see this drive gain some more creative uses fairly quickly. Is this a good price for a "Superdrive" anyway?

January 15 2008 at 4:58 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
MAW

I'd buy one of these tomorrow if it will work with my Mac Mini. I haven't found an external DVD burner that works with it, yet.

January 15 2008 at 4:27 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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