The advent of USB 3.0 makes data transfers over ten times faster than USB 2.0. If you have USB 3.0 port on your device, and you transfer files on a regular basis, the added speed on the PNY flash drive can be a big boost for getting things done (Even if you have a USB 2.0 port, you can still use USB 3.0, but you won’t get the same speeds). Pros: Fastest file transfers of any of the options. Cons: Some found the built-in external cover difficult to move. Image Courtesy of Amazon
This USB 3.0 drive offers what the company is calling business-grade security with 256-bit AES hardware-based encryption. You can also choose a stepped up “managed” version that offers a more complete set of management tools using SafeConsole as support. Finally, there’s an anti-virus version that loads in ESET antivirus software out of the box to avoid trojan horses and other hacker tracking programs. All of the models are TAA-compliant, so this drive won’t be in breach of government regulations, and that USB 3.0 means that you’ll have nearly the fastest transfer speeds possible. You can pick it up in sizes ranging from 4GB to 64GB.
Flash memory combines a number of older technologies, with lower cost, lower power consumption and small size made possible by advances in microprocessor technology. The memory storage was based on earlier EPROM and EEPROM technologies. These had limited capacity, were slow for both reading and writing, required complex high-voltage drive circuitry, and could be re-written only after erasing the entire contents of the chip.
Counterfeit USB flash drives are sometimes sold with claims of having higher capacities than they actually have. These are typically low capacity USB drives which are modified so that they emulate larger capacity drives (for example, a 2 GB drive being marketed as a 64 GB drive). When plugged into a computer, they report themselves as being the larger capacity they were sold as, but when data is written to them, either the write fails, the drive freezes up, or it overwrites existing data. Software tools exist to check and detect fake USB drives,[43][44] and in some cases it is possible to repair these devices to remove the false capacity information and use its real storage limit.[45]
As highly portable media, USB flash drives are easily lost or stolen. All USB flash drives can have their contents encrypted using third-party disk encryption software, which can often be run directly from the USB drive without installation (for example, FreeOTFE), although some, such as BitLocker, require the user to have administrative rights on every computer it is run on.
The SanDisk PRO gives you blistering speeds, offering 420 MB/s on the reading front and 380 MB/s on the writing end, which is 3–4x faster than what a standard USB 3.0 drive will offer. The sleek, aluminum casing is both super durable and very eye-catching, so you can bring it with you to your business meetings and look professional as well. The onboard AES, 128-bit file encryption gives you top-of-the-line security for your sensitive files. That USB 3.0 connection is also backward compatible with USB 2.0, so you won’t hit any snags with an older computer. SanDisk is so confident in the functionality of this little drive, that they’ve even backed it with a full lifetime warranty in case any issues befall it. Finally, there’s a file backup system you can download called RescuePRO that will let you recover lost files if needed.
Some manufacturers, aiming at a "best of both worlds" solution, have produced card readers that approach the size and form of USB flash drives (e.g., Kingston MobileLite,[65] SanDisk MobileMate[66]) These readers are limited to a specific subset of memory card formats (such as SD, microSD, or Memory Stick), and often completely enclose the card, offering durability and portability approaching, if not quite equal to, that of a flash drive. Although the combined cost of a mini-reader and a memory card is usually slightly higher than a USB flash drive of comparable capacity, the reader + card solution offers additional flexibility of use, and virtually "unlimited" capacity. The ubiquity of SD cards is such that, circa 2011, due to economies of scale, their price is now less than an equivalent-capacity USB flash drive, even with the added cost of a USB SD card reader.
Some value-added resellers are now using a flash drive as part of small-business turnkey solutions (e.g., point-of-sale systems). The drive is used as a backup medium: at the close of business each night, the drive is inserted, and a database backup is saved to the drive. Alternatively, the drive can be left inserted through the business day, and data regularly updated. In either case, the drive is removed at night and taken offsite.
Universal Disk Format (UDF) version 1.50 and above has facilities to support rewritable discs like sparing tables and virtual allocation tables, spreading usage over the entire surface of a disc and maximising life, but many older operating systems do not support this format. Packet-writing utilities such as DirectCD and InCD are available but produce discs that are not universally readable (although based on the UDF standard). The Mount Rainier standard addresses this shortcoming in CD-RW media by running the older file systems on top of it and performing defect management for those standards, but it requires support from both the CD/DVD burner and the operating system. Many drives made today do not support Mount Rainier, and many older operating systems such as Windows XP and below, and Linux kernels older than 2.6.2, do not support it (later versions do). Essentially CDs/DVDs are a good way to record a great deal of information cheaply and have the advantage of being readable by most standalone players, but they are poor at making ongoing small changes to a large collection of information. Flash drives' ability to do this is their major advantage over optical media.
The entire case of the Kingston flash drive slides into the USB port, making it a tremendously compact and sleek option for data storage. The hole in the back allows it to be attached to a keychain, which ensures you won’t forget it at home when you need it at work. Pros: Affordable, sleek design, good option for travel. Cons: Some found that the small casing made it more delicate Image Courtesy of Amazon
Like all flash memory devices, flash drives can sustain only a limited number of write and erase cycles before the drive fails.[71][unreliable source?][72] This should be a consideration when using a flash drive to run application software or an operating system. To address this, as well as space limitations, some developers have produced special versions of operating systems (such as Linux in Live USB)[73] or commonplace applications (such as Mozilla Firefox) designed to run from flash drives. These are typically optimized for size and configured to place temporary or intermediate files in the computer's main RAM rather than store them temporarily on the flash drive.
Not everyone wants every file they've ever created available in the cloud. It can put data at risk - not just from hackers or spammers or nosey bosses, but with some providers offering shady terms, you could lose the intellectual rights to anything uploaded. Having a portable memory drive means you don't have to sacrifice mobility for security, though, making flash drives an ideal solution for business people on the go.
In a typical well-conducted review of a number of high-performance USB 3.0 drives, a drive that could read large files at 68 MB/s and write at 46 MB/s, could only manage 14 MB/s and 0.3 MB/s with many small files. When combining streaming reads and writes the speed of another drive, that could read at 92 MB/s and write at 70 MB/s, was 8 MB/s. These differences differ radically from one drive to another; some drives could write small files at over 10% of the speed for large ones. The examples given are chosen to illustrate extremes....′[46]
Macbooks require a USB Type-C device, which is where this swivel dual flash drive from Silicon Power comes in handy. It features a dual interface with USB Type-C and USB Type-A 3.0 ports on opposite ends of a compact device. The 360-degree swivel cap protects whichever connector is not in use and attaches easily to keychains. The C80 doesn’t require any special drivers or software to work; just plug it into the port and it is ready to go. But it has an optional file management app, which is a free and simple automatic file categorization that puts your work in the appropriate folders. Expect fast read and write speeds and 64 GB of storage to hold all your photos and files.
We are specialists, when it comes to producing a custom flash drives to your specifications. Personalized USB drives are great for promotion of your favorite team, non for profit organization, or business. Important marketing information can be loaded on flash drives. You can imprint USB drives with logos for your school, or use it as a gift to employees, or guests at the wedding.
“The solid state flash drive can theoretically achieve incredibly high transfer speeds, blurring the line between an external solid state drive and a flash drive,” our tester raved. He did note he was “unable to reach higher than half the listed read and write speeds.” However, he explained, “The Extreme Pro is still very fast compared to other USB 3.0 flash drives.” In the end, our tester recommended this flash drive “with the caveat that there's a good chance you won't see those 300+ MB/s transfer speeds.” He also added that for just a little more, you could invest in an external hard drive—if the ultra-compact form factor isn’t important in your buying decision.
The development of high-speed serial data interfaces such as USB made semiconductor memory systems with serially accessed storage viable, and the simultaneous development of small, high-speed, low-power microprocessor systems allowed this to be incorporated into extremely compact systems. Serial access requires far fewer electrical connections for the memory chips than does parallel access, which has simplified the manufacture of multi-gigabyte drives.
Backing up data from a computer or mobile device has never been easier. You can transmit data to the cloud, save it to an external hard drive, or transfer your data easily and quickly to a flash drive. Now, we’re not going to judge you on how often you’re backing up your data. (We’ll just assume you’re like most people and it’s probably not often enough.) Instead, we want to help you successfully back up your data by figuring out how to pick the best flash drive. The great thing about flash drives is that they’re easy to use. You can also carry important files with you wherever you go and protect your files with encryption on a flash drive, which makes these devices very versatile. At BestReviews, we pride ourselves on the detailed research we perform in each product category, including flash drives. We seek to give our readers the information they need to make a smart purchase. Additionally, we never accept free samples from manufacturers, which means you can feel comfortable that our selections and product reviews remain free of bias. Please continue reading this flash drive shopping guide to understand the technology behind these handy little devices and how you can pick the best one for your needs.
Custom flash drives are practical giveaway items you can personalize with a logo or company name to help promote your brand. In the age of information and data storage, thumb drives are a hands-on approach to transferring data when a “cloud” isn’t readily available. Browse our catalog and select form a variety of styles that include plastic, leather, metal and novelty designs to truly impress your audience. Compact and easy to transport, our wholesale USB flash drives can be custom printed, or laser engraved to fit your portable storage needs. Combine a with a custom lanyards for the perfect trade show giveaway - enjoy Guaranteed Low Prices and Free Shipping!
Our tester highly recommended this flash drive for iOS mobile users: “The iXpand is a great resource for backing up media files and for expanding storage, as well as transferring files to a PC.” He added, “The Drive App is easy to navigate and copy files with, as well as operate the camera and play music and video files.” On the other hand, our reviewer reported, “The 30 MB/s write speed on PC is far from horrible but definitely slow for the asking price, and we calculated only about a 12 MB/s when connected to an iOS device.” He ultimately concluded, “A slightly cheaper price would make it the surefire winner in the Lightning connector category.”
Some value-added resellers are now using a flash drive as part of small-business turnkey solutions (e.g., point-of-sale systems). The drive is used as a backup medium: at the close of business each night, the drive is inserted, and a database backup is saved to the drive. Alternatively, the drive can be left inserted through the business day, and data regularly updated. In either case, the drive is removed at night and taken offsite.
Counterfeit USB flash drives are sometimes sold with claims of having higher capacities than they actually have. These are typically low capacity USB drives which are modified so that they emulate larger capacity drives (for example, a 2 GB drive being marketed as a 64 GB drive). When plugged into a computer, they report themselves as being the larger capacity they were sold as, but when data is written to them, either the write fails, the drive freezes up, or it overwrites existing data. Software tools exist to check and detect fake USB drives,[43][44] and in some cases it is possible to repair these devices to remove the false capacity information and use its real storage limit.[45]
Buying your flash drives in bulk may be a way to save in the long run depending on how many individual drives you need. Some brands or distributors may offer you discounts in an effort to move some of their inventories. eBay allows you to sort items by price or input your own custom price range. Using this feature may help you find the deal that works for you. Some standard price ranges you might find by default are the following:
USB flash drives are often used for storage, data back-up and transfer of computer files. Compared with floppy disks or CDs, they are smaller, faster, have significantly more capacity, and are more durable due to a lack of moving parts. Additionally, they are immune to electromagnetic interference (unlike floppy disks), and are unharmed by surface scratches (unlike CDs). Until about 2005, most desktop and laptop computers were supplied with floppy disk drives in addition to USB ports, but floppy disk drives became obsolete after widespread adoption of USB ports and the larger USB drive capacity compared to the 1.44 MB 3.5-inch floppy disk.
