Thinkpads Forum

Can anyone comment on the Lenovo USB2.0 Multi-Burner? Is it a good drive to get compared to what is available out there? I plan on purchasing the X60s and am thinking of not going with the Ultrabase. What about USB memory keys?

It's probably a decent drive, but you can get excellent ultraslim USB burners with similar capabilities for half the price, or for a third if you find a dealer on eBay who specialises in this kind of (new) product. The Lenovo drive goes for twice the price of an ultraslim Philips drive, for instance, and the eBay products mentioned above have branded drives inside a very compact black enclosure that also runs from the USB ports (it actually fits inside a 20-CD zippered wallet). In the latter case, the included software is probably a bit more rudimentary, but it gets the job done (backing up files to CDs or DVDs). I have such a drive, that 'only' does DVD-R/RW and DVDRAM (and CD/RW of course) at moderate speeds, it cost me about 70 euros whereas the Lenovo one goes for around 300 or so. The drive in the enclosure I have is a Toshiba, I've also seen them with NEC and Panasonic drives inside, and a faster one (I think NEC) in the same box that also does DVD±R/RW cost 90 euros or thereabouts. The original new Philips slimline multiburner from a reputed internet store in France is some 140 euros. If I had not seen the cheaper eBay ones I would have gone for the Philips - in the stone age they invented the CD, after all, so they have been at it a bit longer than most.