“Hardware manufacturer Ricoh has developed a new optical drive capable of reading and writing several formats, including HD DVD, Blu-ray, CD, and DVD. The device will be demonstrated at the International Optoelectronics Exhibition later this month, and a read-only version could potentially be available to OEMs by the end of the year. A write-enabled version, which will require a more powerful laser than conventional optical disk recording devices, will hit the market at a later date.”Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:
- Scythe Quiet Drive @ Elite Bastards
- TRENDnet TEW-429UF 512MB USB Flash Drive Wi-Fi Finder @ Laptop Gamers
- Cooler Master X Craft USB @ 3dGameMan
- Enermax Intelligent Backup enclosure @ Pro-Clockers
- Logysis HD-Silencer Review @ hi-techreviews
- LG GSA-H10N Super-Multi DVD±RW /RAM @ CDRLabs
Now that’s what I call a multi-function machine

Ars Technica has spotted an impressive optical drive in the works, at Ricoh. Designed to read just about any media, it may make life much easier, as you won’t have to choose between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, it will read both. This first generation will be pretty expensive though, think $1000 or so.