USB CD Drive

In this age of ever advancing computer technology, educated consumers are demanding more from manufacturers. The need to get smaller and faster has caused the creation of new devices and improvement of older ones. A good case in point is the USB CD storage drive. At one time it was state of the art, but now with recent advancements, is considered outmoded.

The new mode of choice is the USB DVD drive which uses almost the same type of components to function. This second generation device is read by a low power laser to read binary data that has been encoded unto a plastic disk in the form of tiny pits.

It has become extremely popular due to the ability to store almost any kind of data including movies, images, graphics and even text. Although each type of drive has a single-sided format, the DVD can also occur in a double sided layer, increasing the storage capacity by almost 30 times that of a standard USB CD drive. Since they each take up the same amount of physical space, this becomes an easy choice for the consumer.

Another factor to consider is the way in which multi-media systems are being manufactured. While the CD can be read by most DVD players, the opposite is not the case. Thus new technology is backward compatible, making it easy to use and extremely accessible.

With the advent of plug and play by most computer manufacturers, the usb or universal serial bus has almost completely replace the older serial or parallel cables that heretofore had been the industry standard. The usb industry itself has undergone some changes, with the type 2 replacing the outmoded type 1. The data transfer rate jumped at an astonishing rate, going from 12 Mbits per second to 480 Mbits per second.

By being able to move information at this rate, and with access times even greater than before, it is easy to see why there is no issue with the larger storage capacity of the DVD disk. Speed is the key element driving all of these changes and in the business world, time is money.

Thus it is easy to see that with all of the advantages offered by the DVD model, it has become the defacto standard of the computer industry and the favorite of buyers everywhere. In today’s discriminating marketplace, a product without the right features has little chance to survive.

With some inexpensive laptops, they may lack certain features compared to more expensive brands. One of the features lacking could be a USB cd drive, however; most laptops come with USB ports. These ports are available to add other hardware without really having to make changes to the laptop (physically).

Many consumers use these ports for keypad mouses, USB audio interfaces, keyboards, microphones and much more.They are usually affordable and almost never cost over $30. Here are three of the smallest USB drives made for a CD driver:

HP External USB DVD Drive

With this specific drive, users can hold up to 8.5GB (hard drive memory) of photos, transports, files, video, presentations and much more. The drive is able to play DVDs and CDs. Consumers can get excellent playback and it is compatible with most players and DVD drives.

Other features includes the ability to record to single-or double layer DVD. This can also be done with a DVD-RAM. Other bonus features includes the ability to record video onto a DVD using the PC. This is a great feature for those who like to burn music from saved files on the Internet. This can be done for movies as well.

Recording videos from Youtube or other video-hosting sites can also be done. Critical files can also be backed up on DVD-RAM discs. This external drive is compatible with the HP Mini (210,311), HP Pavilion, Compaq Mini (311) and the HP Envy (13,15).

External Slim USB 2.0 CD-RW

This is a great option for a small external drive. Some of the features includes an external slim CDRW drive and a plug and play port (which is great for travel). Other features include swapping capability. This piece of hardware is supported by Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista. It only weighs 1.2 pounds and can be easily stored. Along with being able to play CDs and DVDs, it also has the ability to burn/record files (music, videos, movies) straight from the PC onto a CD.

Iomega 31119 Predator 4X4X6 External CD-RW Drive

This product is a great option for those who are looking for a reliable external CD driver. This particular driver is not the most smallest or slender as the other models, however it does have multiple features. It has a drive speed of 4x4x6. The USB interface also includes an adapter. The ultra-thin design and sleek style appeals to many consumers. It has a top-loading drive for PC and Macintosh PCs.

All of these products have good features for an USB cd drive with multiple capabilites. The biggest key is to find the right drive that is compatible with certain models of PCs and laptops.