Verbatim Europe has announced the release of its new digital photo album. The album contains 20 sheets of photographic paper as well as a printable 52x CD-R disc so that you can make back-ups of your photos.

One package, two processes. Verbatim has released a digital photo album that will delight fans of digital data storage just as much as it will please people who appreciate professional photos. The digital photo album is a box containing a CD-R 52x for back-up copies of precious photos and photographic paper coated on both sides for brilliant print-outs of your favourite pictures.
No word on pricing or availability. If you'd like to read more, Verbatim Europe's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
DigiTimes has reported that Taiwan's second-tier optical disc manufacturers are currently competiting for OEM orders, quoting prices as low as $0.14-0.15 for a 16x DVD+R/-R disc.
Second-tier Taiwan makers of blank optical discs, including Prodisc Technology and Optodisc Technology, have launch price competition for OEM orders quoting US$0.14-0.15 for a 16x DVD+R/-R disc, 17-18% lower than the general level of US$0.17-0.18, according to industry sources.

CMC Magnetics and Ritek, the top two makers, have not followed suit in lowering prices for 16x DVD+R/-R discs, but have reduced OEM quotations for 8x discs by 10-20%, the sources pointed out.
The article also mentions that 18-20x DVD+R/-R discs will not be in significant demand until the fourth quarter of the year. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
DigiTimes has reported that CD-R disc prices have gone up 5-8% since the fourth quarter of 2006. According to their article, the price increase was partly due to Philips' Veeza licencing scheme.
OEM prices for blank CD-R discs have risen 5-8% since the fourth quarter of last year mainly due to Royal Philips Electronics' promotion of it Veeza licensing, but quotes for next quarter will not meet makers' expectations, with prices expected to remain flat, according to leading Taiwanese makers of optical discs.

With leading Taiwanese makers of CD-R discs accepting Veeza last quarter and early this year, large retail players in the US and Europe increased their inventory levels in anticipation of rising prices due to Veeza royalty payments, the sources indicated. The situation pushed up OEM prices of CD-R discs 5-8% this quarter and makers have been producing at full capacity, the sources noted.
Thankfully, it does not look like CD-R disc prices will go up at all next quarter and the OEM price of DVD+R/-R media will actually drop by 3-5%. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
Plextor Europe sent out a press release this morning, announcing the PX-DB608AL. This new new space-saving solution takes two slim drives and fits them into a single 5.25" drive bay.


Proving that two-into-one does go, Plextor announces the first space-saving Slim line optical drive solution for desktop PCs. The compact 'dual-bay' Plextor PX-DB600 enables two optical slim line drives to be positioned into the space of just one 5.25" drive bay - making it ideal for lifestyle chassis and small form factor Media Center PCs.

Developed from their extensive experience in laptop opticals, the dual-layer multi-format (DVD+/-R and DVD-RAM) Plextor PX-608AL and the dual bay PX-DB600 (combined as the PX-DB608AL) enables greater flexibility and convenience for 'small footprint' PC-owners. For example, users can watch a DVD movie while burning other media to disc, and copy discs directly without saving to the hard disk first.
Take note that the PX-DB608AL includes only one PX-608AL. If you'd like the dual configuration, you will need to pick up a second PX-608AL or some other slim line optical drive. No word on price yet, but our European readers can expect to see the PX-DB608AL on store shelves some time in April. More information is available on Plextor Europe's website. Add a comment
I-O DATA Japan has announced a new series of drives based on Sony NEC Optiarc's 18x "Super-Multi" drive, the AD-7173A. Along with with support for LabelFlash, these internal and external drives feature 18x DVD±R, 8x DVD±R DL and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds. Here are some of the specs:



Writing Speeds:
DVD±R: 18x
DVD±R DL: 8x
DVD+RW: 8x
DVD+R DL: 8x
DVD-RW: 6x
DVD-RAM: 12x
CD-R: 48x
CD-RW: 32x

Read Speeds:
DVD-ROM (Single): 16x Max
DVD-ROM (Dual): 12x Max
DVD±R: 16x Max
DVD±RW: 13x Max
DVD±R DL: 12x Max
DVD-RAM: 12X Max
CD-R/ROM: 48x Max
CD-RW: 40x Max

I-O Data's internal (DVR-AN18GLV and DVR-AN18GLVB) and external (DVR-UN18GLV and DVR-UEN18GLV) drives should hit store shelves in early April. More information, including prices, can be found here and here. Add a comment