New LaCie Slim USB 2.0 Blu-ray Writer Is Speedy, Portable

Since there are still plenty of notebook users out there who simply can't add a Blu-ray optical drive to their portable machines (due to lack of space or compatible parts), LaCie has come up with a very portable and easy to use solution that will grant Blu-ray capabilities to any system featuring an USB 2.0 port, namely the LaCie Slim USB 2.0 Blu-ray Writer.

The new Blu-ray writer from LaCie is completely bus-powered, while in the same time providing a very good level of portability, since it measures 37 x 157 x 25 mm / 5.4 x 6.1 x 1 in. and weighs 320 g / 11.3 oz.

Plus, the external design by Sam Hecht is quite easy on the eyes.

The drive offers some pretty impressive write speeds, namely BD-R (Single Layer) – 6x, BD-R (Dual Layer) – 4x, BD-RE (SL or DL) – 2x, BD-R LtH – 6x, DVD±R – 8x, DVD±R DL – 4x, DVD±RW – 8x, DVD-RW – 6x, DVD RAM – 5x, CD-R - 24x and CD-RW – 10x.

Pretty much the same goes for the reading speeds, rated as follows: BD-R (Single Layer) – 6x, BD-R (Dual Layer) – 4x, BD-RE (SL or DL) – 4x, BD-R LtH – 6x, BD-ROM (SL) – 6x, BD-ROM (DL) – 4x, DVD±R – 8x, DVD±R DL – 6x, DVD±RW – 6x, DVD-RW – 6x, DVD RAM – 5x, DVD-ROM (SL) – 8x, DVD-ROM (DL) – 6x, as well as CD-R – 24x, CD-RW - 24x and CD-ROM – 24x.

Indeed, the LaCie Slim USB 2.0 Blu-ray Writer is not exactly very affordable, selling for around $264.99, but the whole offering is even more interesting since the drive comes bundled with the Cyberlink Blu-ray Disc Suite, which includes nine programs that let you burn, edit videos, and even photos easily and quickly.

So, after purchasing the disk, users will also be able to freely use PowerDVD 9 for SD and HD video playback (3D Blu-ray support included), Power2Go 6 for data burning, PowerDirector 8 for video editing, PowerStarter 7 for all-in-one user interface, PhotoNow for photo editing, PowerProducer for creating compelling video, as well as InstantBurn, PowerBackup and MediaShow.