Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive
Compact and convenient, the MacBook Air SuperDrive connects to your MacBook Air computer with a single USB cable and fits easily into a travel bag. It lets you install software and play and burn both CDs and DVDs, including double-layer DVDs.
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Overview
Everything you need in an optical drive.
Whether you’re at the office or on the road with your MacBook Air, you can play and burn both CDs and DVDs with the MacBook Air SuperDrive. It’s perfect when you want to watch a DVD movie, install software, create backup discs, and more.
Take it anywhere.
Only slightly bigger than a CD case, the MacBook Air SuperDrive slips easily into your travel bag when you hit the road and takes up little space on your desk or tray table when you’re working.
The essence of simplicity.
You’ll never have to worry about lost cables with the MacBook Air SuperDrive. It connects to your MacBook Air with a single USB cable that’s built into the SuperDrive. There’s no separate power adapter, and it works whether your MacBook Air is plugged in or running on battery power.
Most Useful Reviews
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Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive
One Trick Drive
Written by CK from Chicago
Jul 9, 2008
As an owner of a MacBook Air SuperDrive I have to say it is a good external drive, but it is a bad investment. If you only own a MacBook Air, then this is the device for you. However, if you're like me and have access to a few other Macs, this drive is a dud.
But why?
Well, it only works with the Air. I can't use the drive with any other machine: MacBook, nope. iMac, nope. PowerMac G5, nope. Just the Air. Why would you care about my hardware problems? Well, here's my real-world example: the DVD drive died on my personal MacBook so I tried to use the Air SuperDrive instead. Useless. Wouldn't inject the disk. Yes, there's a lot of technical reasons for this, but the fact of the matter is that the drive shouldn't be dedicated to a single machine. Let's face it: in two years when you drop the machine and have to replace it, you'll discover that the drive won't work with the machine you've replaced it with. The MacBook Air hardware will change and render your external drive instantly obsolete.
If you only own an Air and need a battery-powered drive for watching movies on a plane (then again, if you have an Air, you probably have an iPhone and watch movies that way, but I digress...), I'd recommend this drive. However, for the rest of you out there, buy a third party USB drive that plugs into AC power and gain a whole lot of flexibility down the road. At least when you decide to change machines, you won't be stuck with a piece of hardware you can't use such as the myriad monitor adapters over the years (ADC, mini-DVI and now micro-DVI) and the Apple SCSI dock for the PowerBook Duo 210 (okay, I'm really, really old when it comes to Apple notebooks and have seen this many times before -- and never learned). …More1873 of 2023 people found this useful
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Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive
Light and compact, but doesn't share well.
Written by WM from Haverhill
Feb 11, 2008
The MacBook Air SuperDrive is light and compact as advertised. It slides into a bag pocket and hardly adds any weight or bulk. And it performs as advertised, quickly and quietly.
But, it consumes the MacBook Air's only USB port and works only with that one port -- it does not work with USB hubs! With no downstream ports of its own, you can't use your SuperDrive and any other USB device at the same time. Like a keyboard or mouse, or your iPhone or iPod, or a USB printer.
This is a remarkable oversight. But if you want to install Boot Camp or play DVDs, it's the only game in town. …More1356 of 1726 people found this useful
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Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive
USB HUB DEVICE
Written by DD
Mar 5, 2008
2300$ cash (CA$) for the new and beautiful MacBook Air + Superdrive, surprisedly my usb hub wont work with it...
PLEASE MR. JOBS ASK YOUR R&D DEPARTEMENT TO DEVELOP A NEW USB HUB DEVICE...
I will pay any retail prices for that new device 40$ 100$ 150$, will be OK...
From a disappointed costumer.
…More1182 of 1683 people found this useful
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Most Recent Reviews
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Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive
Warning: Only works with MacBook Air
Written by RB from Georgetown
Dec 21, 2009
This drive only works with the MacBook Air. I bought one thinking it would be nice to add a second reader/writer to my iMac. Doesn't work. The USB bridge chip doesn't work unless it is connected to a MacBook Air. There is a mod that I found by searching for "MacBook Air Superdrive Fix" and that article confirms the issue as being purposefully prohibited by Apple. I don't understand why they wouldn't make the drive work with any Macintosh running MacOS at least (and really don't understand why they care at all where it is used). In any case it is a sweet looking design and I don't mind the extra work to make it work with my other computers. So I ordered the parts and am planning on doing the mod as described. It was pretty easy to pry apart and while I am not an expert soldering guy, I can definitely do the tasks needed for this modification.
In any case. I think it is an awesome design. I'd buy it again (and probably will as long as my first mod works.). Except I'll probably save a little and get one of the refurbished ones. …More7 of 7 people found this useful
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Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive
READ THIS REVIEW!!!!
Written by DP
Dec 18, 2009
Had the unit for a little more than a year now. At first, it worked fine. Now- you can just hear some motor sounds inside of the drive when a disk is in. Very good if you need some backround noise to fall asleep to; but other than that it is now a $100 paperweight.
I would NOT recommend this device. If you can figure out how to have another machine burn on the network as the MBA boasts, then do that. Otherwise stay away.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Mac Machines but this is one piece of junk they should have tested before release. For those who say "I dont know why there are all these negative reviews; mine works great"- talk to me in a year... …More6 of 7 people found this useful
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Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive
Can be used as an OEM repair part.
Written by DF from Osceola
Dec 4, 2009
We needed a new DVD drive for our Core Duo Mac Mini couldn't find an Apple branded replacements reasonably priced. This works as a no-hack plug-n-play OEM fix for the Mini. Remove the drive, brackets and daughterboard from this Air Superdrive, then six screws to get the drive out of the Mac Mini and off you go! …More
15 of 16 people found this useful
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Questions & Answers
Most Interesting
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My 4 year old iMac DVD / CD drive is no longer working, can I use a Air Super Drive? I have read that it is just set up for Mac Air's
- Asked by SS from Thetford
- Oct 4, 2009
Best Answer
It is only functional on MacBook Air models, you would need to replace the internal of your iMac, or look into another brand of USB external optical drive. …More
- Answered by BM from Winnipeg
- Oct 8, 2009
- 19 of 22 people found this useful
- 1 more answer
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Now that this works with the new Mac mini, will it work on other macs also?
- Asked by BB from EVANSTON
- Oct 21, 2009
Best Answer
This accessory does NOT work with the Mac Mini. (It does work with the Mac Mini Server.)
- Answered by MR from Santa Fe
- Oct 23, 2009
- 15 of 15 people found this useful
- 1 more answer
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can you play dvd's from any region in the super drive?
- Asked by RR from Melbourne
- Oct 8, 2009
Best Answer
The previous answer is incorrect.
The drives are not region free. the drives enforce the regions through their firmware. the Computer or the OS helps you change it, but it cannot "undo" a change. 5 changes lock a drive.
- Some third party programs like VLC will ignore a region code mismatch, but it is only useful if the disc data is not encrypted. Most discs are. so VLC will fail to read a disc that is encrypted, because the drive will not play along in decrypting the data for VLC.
- The Optical drive's firmware only allows for the region on it to be changed 5 times. after that it is locked by the drive itself, and the region can't be changed again.
- There are ways to change the firmware of optical drives to ignore the regions, but for most modern drives that Apple uses, there is no "region Free" hacks that currently work, and probably not anytime soon.
The short answer is you can change the region 5 times, and that's that. After that, it is locked to that region. …More- Answered by JW from La Mesa
- Oct 21, 2009
- 8 of 8 people found this useful
- 2 more answers
Most Recent
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I have a mac book, 3 years old. I want to burn a dvd from my from idvd project. My mac tells me I can not burn unless I have a superdrive.
- Asked by NK from Johns Creek
- Dec 24, 2009
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have a macbook -black, how to read a small 3inch disk
- Asked by TM from FORT COLLINS
- Dec 22, 2009
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i am using i-book G4. Is this works for my old laptop?
- Asked by HM from New York
- Dec 2, 2009
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Does it support Mini DVD drives from a Sony Handycam?
- Asked by SY from Germantown
- Nov 30, 2009
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Can this hardware be used with Apple TV?
- Asked by TR from Watertown
- Nov 12, 2009
