Gadgets, gizmos, and tools to help make you more productive in business

Blu-ray is the rival to the HD DVD format when it comes to the next generation of high definition media. I-O Data has unveiled the BRD-UM2/U USB burner that is able to support the following formats - Blu-ray, DVD±R/RW and CD-R/RW. This means the BRD-UM2/U comes with different heads in order to read the various types of media inserted into the optical drive, increasing the overall price to $999 a pop. You not only can read or write to Blu-ray discs, but it can handle DVD and CD discs as well in order to cater for today's needs. The BRD-UM2/U is able to burn a full 22GB of data to a BD-R disc just below 45 minutes, while the same file takes nearly 98 minutes to be burned onto a BD-RE disc. Read and write speeds for CDs and DVDs are slower than normal CD/DVD drives. The BRD-UM2/U comes with the following free software suite for all your burning needs - Ulead DVD MovieWriter 4.7 BD version, Video Authoring/Editing, Advertising Auto Detect, DVD Fit Function, and High Speed Shrinking.

Pros : Next-generation Blu-ray burner, backwards compatible with CDs and DVDs
Cons : Expensive, slow burn speeds for CD and DVD media

I-O Data BRD-UM2/U Blu-ray USB Burner Source