The vast majority of netbooks go through daily life without the services of an optical drive. This is because the netbook manufacturers simply cannot integrate one because of space constraints.

Hence, Pioneer has come up with a portable DVD/CD writer that has a very small footprint. It’s just a tad larger than your normal audio CD jewel case. The Pioneer DVR-XD09 Slim Portable DVD/CD Writer measures just 5.24″ x 5.24″ x 0.58″ (or 133 mm x 133 mm x 14.8 mm) and weighs only 8 ounces!

Looking at the product overview at Pioneer’s site, it would be safe to assume that this drive doesn’t come with a small brick-like power adapter. The device will totally rely on USB 2.0 ports for juice.

The Pioneer DVR-XD09 is priced at $79.99 and will start appearing August 2009.

[via Business Wire]