Lite-on, Philips Announce Plans for USB Blu-ray ROM

Now that consumers can finally start purchasing next generation high definition movies without wondering if they were wasting their money. It would appear though that consumers weren't the only ones holding back. Phillips & Lite-on is now geared up to release its first external Blu-ray BD-ROM to the market, and we've already seen Buffalo announced theirs as well except it's a burner.

The DX-4O1S drive will be able to handle BD-R/RE/ROM discs at 4X and connects via USB. It will also handle reading DVD's at up to 12X and CD's to 32X. While these might not be impressive numbers for what we currently have on the market for CD's and DVD's, you have to keep in mind that this technology is sure to evolve quickly and things will get much faster over time. The drive is expected to be available in March at a price of just $300.