As internal disc drives fade from modern computers, a versatile portable drive from Alrony offers a surprising mix of burning, data transfer, and connectivity features, catering to those still reliant on physical media and legacy systems.
As disc drives disappear from modern laptops and desktops, keeping a way to read and write optical media has become a practical, if niche, purchase. Tom’s Hardware highlighted a portable external CD/DVD drive from Alrony, priced at $26.99 on Amazon, that is aimed at users who still rely on physical media for archives, backups or older installations.
The device is more than a basic writer. According to the product details reported by Tom’s Hardware, it can burn CDs at 24x and DVDs at 8x, while also doubling as a USB hub and a SATA-to-USB adapter. It includes a 2.5-inch SATA bay for a hard drive or SSD, plus full-size SD and microSD card slots, two USB-A ports and a USB-C port, with the latter interfaces described as USB 3.0 at 5Gbps.
Compatibility is broad for legacy systems, but not universal. Tom’s Hardware said the unit is supported on Windows XP, 7, 8 and 10, alongside many Linux and macOS systems, and works without extra drivers. It is, however, listed as incompatible with iOS, Android and ChromeOS. The same reporting notes a USB-A and USB-C data and power lead in the box, plus a separate USB-C power input for systems that cannot deliver enough power over a single port. At 0.9in thick and 0.75lb, it is also compact enough to sit beside a desktop without taking up much space.
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