LaCie, a leading producer of storage and display devices for the content development industry, announced that it is now shipping LaCie 48x24x48x U&I TM CD-RW Drives. Geared toward digital content creation professionals, the new CD-rewritable drive offers the fastest record and read speeds in the industry. The LaCie 48x24x48 U&I TM CD-RW Drive can burn a full 700MB CD in less than two minutes at a 48x maximum record speed.

With a 24x rewrite speed, the drive can re-record a full disc in a little more than three minutes. This tray-loading drive offers a 48x read speed and records on CD-Rewritable and CD-Recordable media. This CD-RW drive also offers multiread capabilities to read virtually any audio CD, CD-ROM, CD-R or CD-RW disc.

Equipped with U&I TM technology developed by LaCie, the LaCie 48x24x48 U&I TM CD-RW Drive offers FireWire (IEEE 1394) and USB 2.0 connections. Forty times faster than USB 1.1, the new USB 2.0 standard provides higher bandwidth that is necessary for high-speed storage devices. USB 2.0 delivers transfer rates of up to 480Mbits/sec, while conveniently maintaining backward compatibility with USB 1.1 devices.

"With the fastest write and read speeds available, users will be able to burn, store and archive data with unbeatable speed and relability," said Salem Tirane, LaCie product manager. "The 48x drive is the perfect drive for creative applications including graphic design, digital imaging, animation, printing, digital photography — even mastering audio CDs."