Amex Digital Offers Portable DVD Burner

Amex Digital has rolled out a slim, inexpensive bus-powered DVD burner aimed at netbooks and ultra-portables...and it looks a little familiar.

Amex Digital—builder of media centers and the occasional sound card and Skype handset—has announced its new PD-K06e Portable Super Multi Drive, a slim, portable bus-powered DVD burner aimed at folks carrying so-called “netbooks” and other ultra-portable notebook systems that lack a DVD burner of their own.

The PD-K06e operates off power from any available USB port (or from a 5V DC power supply), and supports 20× DVD±R write speeds and 10× write speeds on dual-layer media. The units sports a 2 MB buffer, average access times between 130 and 150 ms, and works with both Windows PCs and Macs.

Technophiles will note that the PD-K06e bears more than a passing resemblance to the external MacBook Air SuperDrive Apple offers as an accessory to its super-slim MacBook Air notebooks, right down to the drive dimensions: The PD-K06e measures 16 × 143 × 140 mm, where Apple’s unit rolls in at 139 × 139 × 17 mm. But where Apple wants $99, Amex Digital is only charging $89. Imitation is surely the best form of flattery, right?