SAMSUNG USB 2.0 Slim External DVD Writer (Black) Model SE-S084D/TSBS

Pros: It looks nice and weights little.

Cons: It doesn't burn the media properly. I tried several times and it didn't work. The reading works fine.

Pros: light weight (see cons)

Cons: 1.) Just after the 30 day return eligibility it quit reading movie DVDs I tried to use with it.
2.) It is too light weight to use unless it is held down by some weight - pushing the door to open it requires the unit be held down.

Pros: small, lightweight, tucks out of the way, generally recognized right away when plugged in.

Cons: usb cable is short, only about 2-3ft long, quit working after about 4 months.

Other Thoughts: like some of the other reviews, mine also gradually quit recognizing discs after about 3 months and then quit all together at 4 months. I expected more from samsung products. I gave it 1 star as even the cheapest product should last longer than 4 months.

Pros: - Recognizes on my mac without any delay
- Burns at about the same speed as the internal drive
- slim enough to stay out of the way, big enough to feel like it wont snap in half
- USB powered which makes me feel better about travel

Cons: for some reason, the mac stops reconizing after about 5 CD burns (one after another). Couldnt get it to work at all, so i pulled the power on it, let it sit for about 30 seconds, plugged it back up and it ran fine for the rest of the batch of DVD's, (4 more, one after another). Not sure why it did that, but all 9 CD's played perfect...

Other Thoughts: Not sure if the issue is the mac, usb, or the drive itself. I was about to buy another because I need to burn about 50 CD's, and the mac will burn to as many drives as I have... I might wait and see what happens with this one...

Pros: lite weight,pretty solid construction,works greatHad a TSSTDVDRM/CDR drive, and am using this as a replacement.Dual layer

Cons: As of yet ,none

Other Thoughts: Along with Neweggs speeding and great service, this was a steal

Pros: Reads and writes well enough, nothing special, just works.
Nice and portable (especially without the need for an ac adapter).

Cons: For what it is, it's about $7-$10 over-priced.

To be worth the $37 it's currently at - and for an external drive whose best usages are, for example, to be carried around in a backpack and used with a laptop that doesn't have a built in optical drive or used in a setting across multiple PC's with no optical drives of their own (instead of just staying in one place attached to a single PC or work station) - it really should come with a decent semi-rigid carry case/shell.

Durability and life-span are unknowns at this point.

Other Thoughts: The dual-usb connection (one for data, the other for only additional power) works great if you have two adjacent usb ports, and avoids the need for additional bulk from an ac adapter. Because of that, it's not going to be the fastest reader/burner out there; but if you need fast, get a bigger, beefier external drive with an ac adapter designed to stay in one place (like the Plextor PX-L890UE - Item#: N82E16827106368).

Pros: Works with my MacBook Air like it should, without any issues.

Cons: None

Pros: Compact, USB-powered and fast - solid overall.

Cons: Minor - tray feels a bit delicate; to be expected given the size.

Other Thoughts: Writing discs works with Linux, but slower than Windows.

Pros: It was recognized by both my systems right away(xp pro and Windows 7).

Cons: None.

Other Thoughts: Would buy a few of them in future if needed.

Pros: I used it to install Win 7 Starter on a Dell Net book. Had absolutely no problems and the read write speed was fairly good.

Cons: Construction wise it seems like 1 drop will break it. If planning on traveling with it, I would choose a sturdier model.