the 1213s can be upgraded to the 1653s, 1673s is upgradable to 1693s. they won't be upgradable to the next generation 16x5S drives.
with KS09/KY04 cr writing has improved but still needs some work.
nec is good but if you want a liteon, wait for the 5S seres. should be out in some months. the benq 1640 is also a very good drive.