Tiny Flash Drives Big on Performance

Have you needed to send your resume to a job hunting website while out of the office? Family photos look great on any computer so why not travel with them? Collaborating on documents with co-workers in distant offices? Is there one device that can handle all of these situations?

Yes there is – the common flash drive. Common maybe, but they are much different than flash drives of the past.

Flash Drives are Smaller

Flash drives have never been huge, but most have measured at least three inches long by approximately one half inch thick. Now there are many flash drives that fit on a key ring such as the LaCie iamakey.

Flash Drives have Larger Capacities

Once it was not unusual to see 64MB flash drives. Now it is more common to see 2GB to 4GB flash drives and the 64GB flash drives are becoming available at more retailers. Shoppers will easily find flash drives in capacities of 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB and 32GB.

2.0 Flash Drives are Faster

For several years now computers have been equipped with 2.0 USB ports. These ports look and act just the same as 1.0 USB ports but you will notice a markedly increase in speed. Files transfer faster and backups take less time to complete.

Flash Drives are More Fun than Before

Flash drives do not have to be boring. Although the stick style is most common, there are flash drives in just about every shape and size imaginable. They fit on key rings, they are integrated into digital toys, they look like your favorite food and they can be found any color.

Examples of Interesting and Tiny Flash Drives

· LaCie imakey and LaCie itsakey – both are great key ring flash drives. Why? It is obvious, they look like real keys. Common capacities are 2GB, 4GB and 8GB

· LaCie CurrenKey - designed to resemble currency. They are round with their capacity raised on the top such as 4GB or 8GB. Some are silver tone and others are copper tone.

· SuperTalent Pico – These flash drives are tiny while being sturdy. Goes through the laundry too.

· Kingmax Super Stick –Tiniest flash drive in the world – think dentine gum. Also washes and dries

· Verbatim – Up to 8GB capacity and penny thin.

What to Look for in a Flash Drive

Fortunately most flash drives on the market today have features that we all want.

They are fast with transfer rates that save a lot of time when transferring files. Not all information on particular flash drives mention the transfer rates but it is a good thing to check out. As an example, the SuperTalent Pico flash drive has a transfer rate of up to 30MBPS.

Some laptops and even desktop computers have USB ports located close together. Two ordinary flash drives may not fit side by side. The Verbatim and the SuperTalent Pico solve this issue.

The downside of these tiny flash drives is that they can easily be lost. It is advisable to devise a way to connect these flash drives to a key ring or lanyard of some kind. It is possible to slip a tiny flash drive like the ones mentioned into a wallet.