Filed under: Macworld, MacBook Air
Accessories for MacBook Air: External USB SuperDrive
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
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
iaintgoingthere said 3:40PM on 1-15-2008
Can I use the drive with other Mac products?
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christapher said 3:45PM on 1-15-2008
like apple tv? maybe a hack to auto-rip to the harddrive... oops, i just wet myself.
JGO said 3:40PM on 1-15-2008
I wouldn't mind picking one of these up for my MBP connected to my docking station at home. It would be nice to ri..."legally backup" more than one DVD that i, of course, "rightfully own" ;) at a time.
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Rob said 3:56PM on 1-15-2008
Hmm. Look at the system requirements on the Apple website.
The ONLY system requirement is a Macbook Air computer.
It does not look like this new Apple external DVD drive will work with ANY other Macs like the Macbook Pro, iMac etc.
This is VERY disappointing. Apple you could have done better.
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wade said 4:15PM on 1-15-2008
REALLY hoping that this isn't true...
Darren said 5:13PM on 1-15-2008
My theory is the reason this is only for MacBook Air models is that the drive specs would indicate to me (a veteran of the optical drive industry with experience in slotload DVD burners) that this drive requires far more than the standard USB power level (5V, 500mA) to function. I surmise that the USB port on the Air was designed with this drive in mind, and can probably cope with a draw of 1000-1200 mA or so over the power lines in the USB port.
If that's the case, it would be possible to build an adaptor with a pass-through USB port that could allow the drive to work on a Mac Mini, for instance, but it would probably use a wall wart.
Michael said 4:27PM on 1-15-2008
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.
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Fred said 4:58PM on 1-15-2008
I think we'll see this drive gain some more creative uses fairly quickly. Is this a good price for a "Superdrive" anyway?
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Vvelvet Eelvis said 5:15PM on 1-15-2008
i would by this as soon as possible, if only it was compatible with my macbook... this does not seem very smart.
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Big John said 6:00PM on 1-15-2008
Why not? You have a drive on your MacBook. Besides, there are tons of external drive options out there.
noza said 6:11PM on 1-15-2008
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.
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(01) said 8:53PM on 1-15-2008
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?
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MacLover said 12:26AM on 1-16-2008
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. :-)
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Marco said 2:12AM on 1-16-2008
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..
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Tom Hillman said 6:20AM on 1-16-2008
What a shame apple didn't put a USB hub in the back.
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Mark Haycock said 6:48AM on 1-16-2008
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!
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Mark Haycock said 6:52AM on 1-16-2008
Sorry, kinda commented on the the wrong thing (too many tabs open in safari)
Case for the MacBook Air not the DVD Drive.
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