USB Flash Drive Buying Tips-All Sizes
Currently, USB flash drives are the most common form of external portable storage. Finally, the death of the floppy is nearly complete. With Microsoft Vista to offer boot support for USB flash drives, we can finally look for the day when every computer ships without that archaic slot.
Solid state flash memory works much better as a portable storage medium. Look at the history of removable discs and I’m sure you can recall all the corrupted floppies, Iomega zips, CDRW’s that have confounded you over the years.
The non proprietary nature of usb flash drives lends itself to massive competition, pushing usb flash drives to commodity status, which is always a good thing for mass consumer products.
From the original Trek and M-Systems, dozens if not hundreds of companies have jumped into the portable usb flash drive market, offering users a candy jar full of sizes both physical and memory, options like waterproof drives, capless designs, miniature usb enclosures add some flavor to the common usb flash drive. Designer and novelty pieces like sushi usb flash drives add some fun to the normally boring drives.
Recent searches through popular online retailers see dramatic price drops from even three months ago. Prices vary but the average price right now seems to be about $24 per gb for a standard speed devices. The more specialized usb drives like capless or miniature usb designs or higher speeds can command a few dollars more.
Some things to look for when shopping for your 1gb usb flash drive:
- size and portability:while most usb “thumbdrives” are relatively small, paying a little extra nets you something than can slip into your pocket without a bulge
- speed:not all flash drives do not transfer or write at the same speed;check specs first
- build quality: with so many manufacturers, quality of course varies; avoid cheap plastic housings and choose a name brand product when possible; they’ll be around to honor their warranties in case something breaks
We recommend these guys for great deals on usb flash drives and related memory products.