In this day of ultralight, ultrabooks, smaller, lighter, and faster, one thing that’s going the way of the Dodo is a physical disc drive. And while on the surface you might say “well, that’s fine, almost every major manufacturer puts their software and drivers online to download”, sometimes, they don’t. Especially with legacy equipment and peripherals.
So it was with great gusto I agreed to give Novapolt’s External drive bay. It uses the newer 3.0 USB connection that has a much, much quicker read/write time than the older 2.0 standard we’ve all used for forever, but it’s still backward compatible with the old USB 2.0 and 1.1 standards. With a 24x speed on CD-r and CD-rw, and a 8x speed on DVD’s, it should be sufficient for all you basic CD/DVD needs. It has a dedicated built-in USB cable, so no need to worry about misplacing it and being out of luck when you need it but can’t find it. And thankfully it was truly plug-n-play with Windows 10 once I got a dedicated media player for videos. It’s relatively quiet and can scarcely be heard over ambient room noise. I can’t speak for the shock protection, so I wouldn’t go running anywhere with it, or other such activities. And a unit like the Novapolt CD/DVD drive is indispensable for data backups. Nothing like having physical media to back up pictures, letters or to re-install your hard drive after a catastrophic crash. “The cloud” is fine for some, but I like the safety and security of knowing I have my data here, at my fingertips, at all times, and away from prying eyes.
It’s not all wine and roses. To start, while it has a brushed aluminum look, it’s actually plastic. So while I’m sure that saved a few ounces in weight, it gives an overall cheap feel to the product. Next is that dedicated cord. In the interest of handy onboard storage, Novapolt out of necessity made the cord very short, which means it’s got to stay very, very close by. A minor quibble. My big gripe is the price. At the time I ordered, the Novapolt USB CD/DVD drive was priced at $34.87. And it doesn’t play blu-ray discs. I noted several external blu-ray readers and DVD recorders for $24.99 and $15 respectively from major manufacturers. I don’t know why Novapolt feels the need to charge so much, and I have a really hard time recommending them based on that, it’s just way too overpriced. It did the job, but you can find more affordable alternatives.
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I received the above product(s) free of charge from Novapolt. I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion. My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.
WOM-derful 