Liton 8X Slim Top Load DVDRW Black Model eTAU108-96 –

Pros: Bought this because my desktop was down, and was forced to use a netbook with no internal disk drive. This thing was great, compared to a similar one I bought a year ago. It's universal, so you can use it for laptops, and for desktops too. That is the perks of it being a top load drive, you can just sit it on top of your tower, and use it as needed! A great, fast drive!!

Cons: If you are using for a Desktop and you don't have USB ports that sit on the top of the case, you may want to look into buying a longer USB cable, as the standard cable is around 6 inches, because it is more preferred for laptop use. Unlike others, I won't deduct any eggs.

Pros: I love an item that works right out of the box, without having to go to outside websites and/or install 3rd party programs or drivers. Plugged this little puppy into my Sony 11" laptop with Windows 7 and immediately started doing "repair discs" and backup images. Physical quality and design certainly seem appropriate. The "clam shell" design makes for ease of use and should promote product longevity.

Cons: None noted as of this writing.

Pros: - Top loading, which is great for putting on top of your PC case
- Does what DVD drives are supposed to do

Cons: None

Other Thoughts: This is exactly what I needed for my new PC. I wanted an external drive instead of an internal one because really, how often are DVD drives used anymore? I can install Windows on this then put it away.

To the person who complained about the short cable: This is intentional, all external drives are like this. It is short so that the data rate doesn't slow down. A long USB cable would make the read/writes slower.

Pros: I bought this to burn repair & recovery discs for several extended family netbooks/small laptops that have no DVD drive. For this purpose it worked great! Even on my old Dell Mini it worked fine.

I first went to Liteon's USA website and finally found the DVD support. I downloaded a small program that will read the DVD model, etc. and find driver/firmware updates and help you download them, which I did, including firmware flash from ver 3 to ver 4.

Next I loaded the NERO 10 software included in the box, and it found between 6 to 12 software packages needed on the pc, depending on the pc itself. I used a couple of the many features and they worked well. I'm sure it's not the latest NERO version, but it's nice to have.

The unit itself seems well made and ran quietly. I really like the pop-up lid instead of the tray load. The same old glossy black plastic is loaded with my fingerprints already. Sigh. For me, the short USB cord and the fact it stores snuggly on the bottom of the device, is a real bonus.

Years ago I had a "portable" DVDRW from a big computer company that was 4x bigger than this one. The front load tray crapped out after awhile from fairly moderate use, and I never replaced it. This LITEON uTAU108 ver 3 cost 1/2 the price and is far superior.

For an old guy with average tech skills I found it eay to instal and use, burning about 20 R & R discs, and 6 discs with all the holiday pix for the family to have copies.

Cons: I used the link from the detail product page here to go to the website. I tried to register this product. There is a dropdown menu of model numbers you have to choose from, and this model is not on it; not even close. You can't enter a model number.

I emailed their support address and received a robot reply that they got it and will check it out.

Other Thoughts: If this DVDRW broke tomorrow, I would feel I got my money's worth out of it with the 26 disc's I burned today and the NERO software, for the price I paid. If I can't register it, oh well.

I ordered this on 1/2 at 8:30PM, and it was at my door 37 hours later! WOW! My last 3 orders came that fast, delivered by OnTrac I think is the company. Shipped from CA to me in AZ I guess is why it's quick, but Newegg has stepped it up lately.

The product was well packed in a sturdy box full of some kind of bio-degradeable "peanuts" instad of crumpled brown paper, and that is a big improvement over packages delivered earlier this year.

LAST THOUGHTS: Happy Yippe Yay Hey!!I like it.

Pros: Its top loading which is what I was looking for. It started up fast and the play speed is fast too. Its short cable is good since it is right next to my laptop. And the price was very reasonable.

Cons: I have no idea how long it will operate in the long run and haven't really run it for burning dvds yet but for the price it was worth a shot in the dark.

Other Thoughts: This is replacing the dvd burner I had in my dell that decided to break down after very little use. It does everything I ask of it and only needs one usb port to operate.

Pros: This is the ideal portable USB CD/DVD RW machine. It is very light, fits easily into the smallest laptop bag and always has the cable available (if you remember to store it when finished.)

All that being said, it is also excellent at what it is designed to do, read and write CD's and DVD's. I often hook this unit up to my desktop computer to read CD's my two internal units (Samsung and Sony) fail to read. I've had the same good luck with writing to media that the internal units would make into coasters.

Cons: Can't think of one.

Other Thoughts: I'm always baffled by people who give a negative review about a feature that was put there by a well though out design decision. In this case a reviewer complained because the cable was too short. Really? You don't have a drawer full of USB cables that would satisfy your need for cable length. If not, isn't there a Best Buy or Wallymart near-by where you could purchase one. Once you load your laptop bag with USB connected items, each having a cable 3' to 6' in length, you will appreciate the little 6 inch cable tucked neatly into the bottom of this unit.

Pros: Inexpensive

Cons: The "easily stored" USB cable is only 6 inches long. Of course is easily stored, it's barely there.