According to our tests, the drive showed ordinary reading performance, as is to be expected by a drive for laptop use, with good CD error correction. DVD error correction is average and we didn't like the error produced with the ABEX TDR-825 test disc. The reading speed is not an issue with such drive, since it has not been designed for ripping movies or games... On the other hand, we would like to see our 90/99min discs read as well as the Advanced DAE Quality test to finish successfully. Fortunately, all of our protected Audio CDs were recognized and ripped successfully.

In our CD recording tests, the performance was good with low C1 errors and no C2. Clover System also did not report E32 errors. We would like the Jitter levels to be lower however...

Once again, as seen before with other Slim Drives, the reported burning speed isn't that stated in the specifications. Although Nero reported 8X recordings, the actual speed was lower, the time needed confirms this. The PIE error levels were low in most cases which reveals good writing quality. However, CDSpeed didn't confirm this.

The bitsetting feature is something that we would like to see, for higher compatibility, while quality scan capability would be welcomed.

According to the latest market prices, the drive costs around US$240 (VAT included).

- The Good

• Supports protected Audio discs (CDS200, Key2Audio)
• Good CD error correction in comparison to other similar drives
• CD writing quality with specific media

- The Bad

• No 8X DVD writing speed
• Doesn't accurately backup SafeDisc2 protected discs
• Doesn't support DVD overburning
• Booktype Feature

- Like to be fixed

• DVD/CD writing quality should be improved
• DVD error correction capabilities

Retail Package
Reading
Error Correction
Protected Discs
Writing
Features