Four Key Components of USB Flash Drives

Nov 28, 2011

When purchasing an USB flash drive, it is important to recognize that no two drives are created equally. For further evidence, take a look at our post on Understanding Flash Media Quality. Therefore, it becomes essential that consumers understand the differences between varying types of flash media. While the most important element is the quality of the chip itself, there are several other factors that are crucial to consider. To help our customers with the purchasing process, we decided to break down several key flash drive features:

Security

Are you a highly-trained government agent whose files, if fallen in the wrong hands, could jeopardize the fate of our country?  If yes, we suggest a flash drive that features pre-loaded component-level encryption. While there is software on the market that allows users to encrypt a flash drive after the fact, we have found these to be unreliable and highly recommend encrypting your drive at the outset.

Capacity

The next important factor for consideration is the drive’s capacity. With each passing day, USB drives have the potential to store larger and larger volumes of data. Are you the type of user that requires several hundred gigabytes in the palm of your hand? Or will the standard 1-8 gigabytes suffice? This decision will drastically effect the cost of your drive and is important to consider before any purchase.

Durability

Flash memory can generally withstand a limited amount of use before the integrity of the chip is compromised. We recommend only purchasing Tier 1 USB flash drives, in order to ensure the longest-lasting, highest quality data storage. Beyond the integrity of the chip, you must consider the durability of the case and connector. Custom USB flash drives can be designed for nearly every shape, size and feature under the sun. If you are prone to breaking things or work in a rough environment, like a construction site, you should probably consider a more durable design.

Speed

This is an important factor for frequent transfers of large amounts of data (anything beyond a few kilobytes). USB 3 drives provide transfer speeds of 60MB/second and sometimes faster. Many cheaper flash drives can transfer as slowly as 1MB/s. It is important to discern what type of USB ports are featured on your computer’s hard drive. However, even if your computer uses USB 2.0 ports, a 3.0 drive should achieve speeds as high as 25 MB/s. Don’t get caught tapping your fingers. We all know that time is the most valuable commodity in any business setting.