14 DAY TRIAL // While Acer is busy promoting its media player, Sony decided it was time for one of its external optical storage devices to get acquainted with foreign lands, so it sent the BDX-S500U to the US, where its 6x writing speed is expected to stir interest.
Basically, the product is a compact, external Blu-ray writer that does its best to stay slim while still offering the full capabilities of an ODD that consumers expect to have at their disposal.
As such, it measures 136.5 x 19 x 146.5 mm and weighs 300 grams, which means it is quite portable and, thus, easy to carry along with one's laptop when traveling.
Of course, wirting BD-R disks at speeds of 6x is not the only thing this product can do, it being also capable of handling a variety of other formats.
For instance, CD-R/-RW disks are scribed at up to 24X, whereas DVD-RAM optical disks are written at 5x.
What's more, the ODD can also write onto DVD+R/-R disks, at 8x speeds to be exact, as well as on DVD+R/-R DL, at 6x.
In addition to this, BD-R DL disks are also supported, the rate at which data can be scribed onto them being of 4x.
Basically, this product will act as a competent optical disk drive for any consumer whose mobile PC, or even desktop, does not have the same capabilities.
Universal compatibility with such systems is assured by the USB 2.0 interface, whereas the 4.5MB of buffer make sure that performance is smooth.
Unfortunately, the newcomer is not exactly available yet, being slated to actually reach stores by the end of the ongoing month, bundled with the CyberLink Media Suite 8 software.
Meanwhile, end-users can think about whether or not the price point of roughly $200, as shown by Provantage, is convenient enough.