The DRU-835A is most likely based on a drive from Samsung or Lite-On but at this point, I'm not even going to guess which one. No word on when the DRU-835A will ship. However, Sony's website lists the price as being $79.99. More information, including a full list of specs, can also be found here.
Writing Speeds: DVD+R: 4X CLV, 8X P-CAV, 16X, 18X CAV
Buffer Size: 2MB
DVD+RW: 2.4X, 4X CLV, 6X, 8X Z-CLV
DVD+R DL: 2.4X, 4X, 6X, 8X Z-CLV
DVD-R: 4X CLV, 8X P-CAV, 16X CAV, 18X CAV
DVD-RW: 2X, 4X, CLV, 6X Z-CLV
DVD-R DL: 2X, 4X CLV, 6X, 8X Z-CLV
DVD-RAM: 5X, 6X CLV, 8X, 10X, 12x P-CAV
CD-R: 8X, 16X CLV, 24X, 32X, 40X P-CAV, 48X CAV
CD-RW: 4X, 10X, 16X CLV, 24X, 32X Z-CLVRead Speeds: DVD-ROM: 16X Max
Access Times:
DVD±R: 12X Max
DVD±R DL : 8X Max
DVD±RW: 8X Max
DVD-Video: 6x Max
DVD-RAM: 12x Max
CD-ROM/CD-R: 48X Max
CD-RW: 40X MaxCD-ROM: 130ms
DVD-ROM: 140ms