I-O Data Japan sent out a press release this morning, announcing its new external 12x Blu-ray Disc writer, the BRD-UT12.  Based on what appears to be the LG BH12NS35, this USB 3.0 equipped drive is capable of 12x BD-R, 12x BD-R DL, 6x BD-R LTH, 2x BD-RE and 2x BD-RE DL writing speeds and a maximum BD-ROM read speed of 10x. The BRD-UT12 also supports 3D Blu-ray playback and features a handy LED that lights up blue when the drive plugged into a USB 3.0 port or green when using USB 2.0.

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The BRD-UT12 comes bundled with WinDVD BD3D, DVD MovieWriter7 BD Version and Nero 9 Essentials and is expected to cost 22,100 Yen ($272US) when it hits stores in late June.