Slim and easy to carry device that connects via USB

Sep 2, 2011 15:15 GMT  ·  By

With the tendency towards portable Flash storage, one might no longer be on the lookout for optical media, but Samsung still has faith in the storage media, as made clear by its new ODD.

Ever since the CD (compact disk) was invented, optical media has been on a constant advancement, always incarnating in a newer and better disk format.

Nowadays, the DVD and Blu-ray disks are the main subject of discussion when it comes to such things, with BDXL and CDs a distant third.

Unfortunately, optical media as a whole has not been going through its most golden of ages, mostly because of NAND Flash storage and portable HDDs.

With USB-connected drives of all sorts becoming so incredibly popular in a short time, disks aren't as hyped up and well-selling as they used to be.

Nonetheless, they remain the primary means of distributing such things as movies and software programs, including operating systems, among other things.

As such, they, and the drives that read them, aren't going to disappear any time soon, although many laptops, especially smaller entry-level ones, tend to not include them by default.

Thus, Samsung put together a new portable ODD (optical disk drive) of the Blu-ray writing variety, dubbed SE-506AB.

Is is a black, glossy product, has a slim form factor and uses the same Universal Serial Bus interface as the majority of external storage solutions, regardless of type.

It also has a low enough power draw that it makes do with the energy provided by said interface, instead of needing an extra plug.

Finally, prospective buyers might want to weigh in their decision making process the fact that Samsung used a lead-free soldering technology (a design that “complies with international environmental regulations that limit the use of hazardous materials”) in order to make it even more eco-friendly than just low power consumption would on its own.

The Samsung SE-506AB.will start shipping soon, if it hasn't already, for the price of $140.