Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a standard that defines both communication protocols and physical connections for data transfer. Using thumb drives based on this standard ensures they work with a broad range of devices, making it simple to show digital pictures on a USB-enabled television, transfer files between Apple and Microsoft computers or use your saved game on a friend's gaming console. These devices also offer plug-and-play compatibility with most operating systems and require no additional software to access the storage they provide.
“The transfer speeds are satisfyingly fast for reading and writing all kinds of files, whether large HD videos or unsorted media folders,” our tester reported of this flash drive. He also liked the inclusion of the SecureAccess file encryption, although advanced features are an additional purchase. In terms of negatives, our reviewer called the plastic shell casing “flimsy and fragile” and observed that the transfer speeds are capped when the flash drive is plugged into a USB hub. Overall? Our tester was “more than satisfied with the transfer speeds, but would have appreciated a better, sturdier physical design.”
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.
There's a lot to choose from when it comes to buying a flash drive. The most important thing to consider is size. The whole point of a USB drive is to store lots of data in a small space, so think about what kinds of files you'll want to house on your flash drive. Movies and music take quite a bit of space, so if you're carrying your whole entertainment library with you, you'll want a big thumb drive – at least 16GB. Books and other text-based documents require relatively little storage space, so people like students and working professionals using Microsoft Office would be happy transferring Word documents or Excel files with as little as 1GB of space. On the other hand, if you are using photo or music editing software, you'll want a USB flash drive with lots of storage capacity to transfer graphic and music files.
