Samsung has just announced what they're dubbing the world's thinnest optical drive, which is only 14mm high. Samsung's SE-218BB is 18-percent thinner and 8-percent lighter than traditional DVDRW drives and was built specifically with Ultrabooks in mind. Ultrabooks ship without an optical drive, if you didn't already know.

Samsung's super-thin SE-218BB connects with a single USB port which does both drive communication and power between the two devices using Samsung's Smart Technology. The drive isn't just Windows-exclusive, it works on Mac, too. But, support doesn't end there, it also can be paired up with Android 3.1 Honeycomb or later tablets to watch DVDs on the go.

How does the SE-218BB fare with speeds? Well, we're looking at 24X CD-ROM, 24X CD-RW, 8X DVD±R recording, 5X DVD-RAM recording, 6X DVD+R Dual Layer recording, 6X DVD-R Dual Layer recording, 8X DVD+RW recording and 6X DVD-RW recording. Samsung has gone one step further by highlighting they've made the drive in an eco-friendly manner as it uses lead-free soldering that removes harmful materials.

Samsung's SE218BB is on sale now for $59.99.