PLDS or Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions are going to introduce the world's first USB-connected external BD-ROM drive later this year.

Called the Lite-On DX-4O1S, it can read Blu-ray Disc media at 4x; single-layer DVDs at 12x; dual-layer DVDs at 8x; as well as CDs at 32x maximum.

"Due to recent market developments we can expect an increasing volume of movies to be released in high definition on Blu-ray Discs", explained Jelmer Veldman, European marketing manager at PLDS.

"The market adoption of Blu-ray as the optical disc standard for High Definition content results in a growing demand for Blu-ray playback solutions. The portable external Lite-On BD-ROM drive allows users to playback their Blu-ray discs on any PC via a USB 2.0 cable."

The Lite-On DX-4O1S USB external Blu-ray Drive will start shipping in the coming months but there's no price as yet.

>> Via - Mobile Whack