Sandberg USB CD Mini Reader Review

Overview:

In the days of the netbook, manufacturers have at last got a balance between portability, and functionality about right. Netbooks like the Asus Eee pc, and the Samsung NC 10 have been tempting us with their promise of long battery life, and a fully featured OS and application suite. The balance however is usually offset with the hardware, and to get that portability, you need less of it. Out go the dedicated graphics, and power hungry CPU’s, and of course the topic of today’s review, the CD drive. Of course the quick minded lot at Sandberg have the USB CD Mini Reader that should fill the gap left by the non-existent CD drive on your computer.

Review:

We shall start by looking at what you get in the box. Well, not a lot, which is either good or bad depending on your view point. Good, because you will not want to ruin your new ultra portable status, and bad because, well we all like value added, don’t we? You get, one slimline CD drive, and one USB data cable, and one USB power cable, you also get the user guide, and warranty certificate.

The drive weighed 389g on my scales, which is either solidly built, or a bit heavy. I think I’ll plump for solidly built. It measures roughly, 13cm wide, by 13.5cm long, and about 1cm high. It would easily slip into the pocket of a small laptop bag. The review sample I have came in iPod white, so should match the Eee PC’s in the world. At this point it worth mentioning that Sandberg also do a DVD drive in the same form factor, and this comes in black and white.

The unit plugs into a spare USB port, you will also need a spare USB port to plug in the power cable. I quite like this solution for powering the unit, although on a netbook scenario, you may find taking up two USB ports is a tad greedy. The unit does seem to be able to power itself from the one USB cable, but for the best results, use both.

Once plugged into the Windows 7 computer I was using, it picked up the drive no problem, and The Who CD I had chosen span up quite happily. It wasn’t until I plugged in the power USB cable that I was able to rock along to Tommy. Incidentally, If you haven’t see the film Tommy for a while, or not at all, it’s worth taking a look. Oliver Reed, Jack Nicholson, Tina Turner, and Elton John to name a few in the one film. Who’d have thunk it?

Back to the CD drive, and well, what more can you say about a CD drive? It certainly reads CD’s, and without getting anything wrong. So what would you pay for this pinnacle of human technology? £10.00? £15.00? How about £29.99? Yes that’s right folkes, you would need to put up thirty of your heard earned smackeroos to buy a CD drive, and £48.00 to buy the DVD drive. While the drive is good at reading CD’s, and is a pleasing size, that’s it. I would have loved to have seen a CD R/W, or even a DVD CD R/W for that money, and perhaps pay more for dual layer, and lightscribe. With Blue-ray now getting more of a foothold, Paying £30.00 for a CD player irks somewhat, but you do get that Sandberg 5 year warranty which is good.

The Gaj-It Verdict:

Design: 8/10
Usability: 8/10
Features: 5/10
Value: 4/10

What We Say:

A well built, solid CD drive. Unfortunately, that’s all it is. So if you were hoping to watch a DVD, or burn a CD, you will still need another solution.