Sony Europe has announced the launch of their new 18x "Super-Multi" drive, the AWG170A. The first Sony drive developed by Sony NEC Optiarc, the AWG170A offers 18x DVD±R and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds.

Sony Europe's IT Peripherals division today announced its AWG170A DVD-RAM compatible DVD writer - the first Sony drive developed by Sony NEC Optiarc Inc, as part of the newly established joint venture. The AWG170A offers the industry's fastest level writing capability, supporting 18x DVD±R overspeed* writing on 16x single layer media. The Sony drives now also offer 12x DVD-RAM write/read speed, an increase of over 50%.

The AWG170A supports all DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW media including the latest double and dual layer DVD Recordable discs as well as DVD RAM. The Sony AWG170A delivers swift performance with over 400 tested and supported media types, including 8x recording of both DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL double/dual layer discs. Rewriteable DVDs are recorded at 8x (DVD+RW) or 6x (DVD-RW) speed but can be read at up to 13x. The drive also supports CD-R writing/reading of 48x CD Speed. The AWG170A is an Ultra DMA66 Mode 4 ATAPI device.
The OEM version of the AWG170A drive is available now in four color variations. More information can be found here.