Sony unveils three new DVD/CD burners

The DRX-S70U offers slim portability.

(Credit: Sony)

Sony, recognizing that not everyone is ready for Blu-ray or HD-DVD, announced three new CD/DVD burners today. The 840 series of multiformat drives includes two external models--one a slim drive designed for portability--and an internal model.

The DRU-840A (internal) and DRX-840U (external) offer the same burn speeds:

20X DVD+/-R

12X DVD+/-R DL

12X DVD+RW

6X DVD-RW

48X CD-R

32X CD-RW

The DRU-840A is an ATAPI (EIDE) drive, while the DRX-840U is connected via USB 2.0 (or USB 1.1, with slower write speeds). Both drives come with Nero 7 Express for disc authoring and mastering.

The DRX-S70U is a slim external drive geared for laptop users who want a lightweight drive that's portable. It offers the following write speeds:

8X DVD+/-R

4X DVD+/-R DL

8X DVD+RW

6X DVD-RW

24X CD-R/RW

Both external drives will ship next month. The DRX-840U retails for about $110 and the DRX-S70U for about $130. The internal DRU-840A is available now for about $70.