Review on Iomega Superslim USB 2.0 8X DVD Writer: Powerful External Optical Drive 34427 by Mauricio Woodard

I've been looking for a small external DVD drive for my new netbook for a long time. I have had Iomega products before and this one seemed to fit my needs. It arrived on time and was packaged fairly well. The device itself appears to have a thin outer shell that's very flexible rather than rigid, and you'll need to be careful not to squeeze it or do anything that might cause the top to flex inward. However, it gets the job done, is very light for portability, and is very quiet. The included Nero software sucks and I didn't even install it as I have Roxio which is much better. If you have Media Center, you can also set up your computer to play the disc. It connected to my Windows 7 netbook and the drive was recognized immediately and only required one of the two USB cables to work, which is great as it leaves my other USB ports free for other things. I tried this on my HP Media Center laptop running Windows XP and it actually required two USB connections to work - and they had to be specific USB connections on opposite sides of the computer, but that could be an issue with my laptop be. The shared cable ONLY reached over the keyboard to the computer - not ideal. I also tried this on my Vista PC and it was recognized immediately too and only required a USB connection to work. I've played DVDs and CDs and downloaded software and it works perfectly. I haven't tried burning a CD or DVD with it yet, but will update this review when I do. It would be great to get a soft case with it. Hopefully it will fit in the extra pocket of my new netbook case. Otherwise it would be an extra effort that might be required given the fragile outer shell.