USB Flashdrive Basics

As mentioned before, the most common type of flashdrive is the USB flashdrive. USB flashdrives are usually removable and rewritable getting up to one million write or erase cycles. This is a huge advantage over CD's and floppy disks.

The first USB flashdrives were first sold back in 2000 and the technology has advanced over the past decade where storage capacities of flashdrives have grown and range anywhere from 64mb to 128gb. USB flashdrives have developed as high speed serial data interfaces that make it easier for high speed devices like flashdrives to be incorporated into very compact systems. The high speed serial access also allows manufacturers to develop higher capacities.

Current USB flashdrives use USB 2.0 connectivity. This is fairly fast considering the size of flashdrives but there are still a few flaws that limit flashdrives from reaching their top speed. This is why USB flashdrives can't reach the speed of external hard drives or other hard disks. File transfer speeds do vary depending on which brand of USB flashdrive you purchase.

The actual technology of a USB flashdrive is actually quite simple. On the end is a "male type A USB connector" that is able to plug into any USB port in a computer. Each flashdrive has a "USB mass storage controller" which contains a small about of RAM. Finally, each flashdrives consists of a flash memory chip that basically will store the data (similar to any kind of digital camera). Having just a few components in such a small space increases the functionality and performance of a USB flashdrive.

One of the main advantages to a USB flashdrive is their compatibility. As of 2009, most every personal computer on the market support a USB connection. Having that kind of compatibility makes it easy for any user to move files from computer to computer without worrying about something not working. USB flashdrives are extremely durable and even resist scratches. In some cases, flashdrives have been known to still work after being dropped into water (although we wouldn't recommend trying that). Since they are so compact and durable, USB flashdrives are easy to carry around in your pocket or even attached to your keys.

USB flashdrives are extremely important devices to have and will be worth every penny that you might spend on one (which isn't that much by the way). They are handy devics that will make life easier no matter what you may need the flashdrive for. It doesn't matter if your're a student needing to move files quickly and easily from computer to computer or someone needing to store a presentation on something, a USB flashdrive is right for you.