Design and Functionality

The new generation of writing optics from ASUS is labeled with the SDRW index and comes to replace ASUS’s successful SCB series of external drives. It includes full-featured DVD-burners rather than combo drives of the notebook form-factor designed for external use.

Besides their main functional purpose, mobile accessories are supposed to express the taste or even the status of their owner. So, let’s give the drive an examining look.

The drive comes in a retail box (we haven’t yet seen OEM versions of devices of that class) that is filled with the following:

• USB and FireWire cables (the drive can use both these interfaces)
• Power adapter. Since the drive is positioned as portable and is expected to accompany its owner on (foreign) voyages and trips, the manufacturer took care to save the user from possible power-related problems. As the next snapshot shows, the adapter’s plug is interchangeable and you can use any of the four enclosed plugs for four popular types of wall sockets. It means you won’t have to search for an adapter to power the drive up: everything’s already enclosed.
  
  
  

• Software for watching and editing DVDs and burning discs (Nero Suite 2, Ulead Movie Factory Suite, ASUS DVD) and for updating the drive’s firmware (ASUS Live Firmware Update Tool).
• User’s manual and Installation Guide
• A velvety pouch to protect the drive from scratches and dust during transportation.
  
  
  
  The pouch looks splendid, but is rather unpractical. The material – black velvet – is perfect for the first 10 minutes after you’ve opened the box with the drive. After that the pouch begins to attract dust and dirt and eventually becomes greasy and shabby. So, this accessory requires even more care than the drive. I also think a bag with a belt or shoulder strap would be more practical than this lace pouch. Here, expediency is sacrificed to aesthetics.

So, this is all you are going to find in the box.