"...HP today launched a family of high-performance HP CD-ReWritable (CD-RW) compact disc drives. For the experienced PC customer, the HP CD-Writer 9600si/9600se drives provide a maximum 12x write speed, an 8x rewrite speed and a SCSI connection. The 9510i and 9500i provide a maximum 12x write speed, an 8x rewrite speed and an IDE connection. For the novice PC user, the HP CD-Writer 8230e and 8220e deliver up to 4x write speed and a maximum 4x rewrite speed; a smaller, slim-line drive with color accents; and a simple, USB plug-and-play connection.

CD-RW drives sales are expected to be strong at least through 2004, eclipsing DVD drives this year. While DVD drives outsold CD-RW last year--16.2 million vs. 12.5 million units--CD-RW will take the lead this year, with 28.7 million projected CD-RW units shipped compared with 22.6 million DVD drives, according to market researcher Dataquest. But by 2002, DVD will begin to overtake CD-RW. By 2004, the firm predicts 105 million DVD drives will be shipped vs. 28 million CD-RW drives. At retail, CD-RW sales are up 74 percent from a year ago and up 110 percent year to date, according to PC Data.
Price:
8230e/8220e 4x4x6x external USB $249
9150i/9140i 8x4x32 internal IDE $199
9350i/9340i 10x4x32 internal IDE $249
9510i/9500i 12x8x32 internal IDE $299
9600si 12x8x32 internal SCSI $349
9600se 12x8x32 external SCSI $399 .."