What Are the Advantages of USB Flash Drives?
Anyone who has used a custom USB flash drive is probably well acquainted with the enormous benefits and advantages they provide, but for those new to this technology it may be useful to take an introductory bird’s-eye view of these immensely useful tools. So what can a USB flash drive do for you anyway? In what ways are they better than other storage devices?
- Physical size – USB flash drives are very small—in general, they’re a couple inches long and weigh about an ounce. Mini USB drives are even tinier. Therefore, storage space requirements for USB flash drives are nearly nonexistent.
- Memory – USB flash drives are available in capacities of up to 256 GB, although smaller models of 8 or 16 GB are much more common. Even these relatively small USB drives provide substantially more storage space than possible with CDs or DVDs.
- Portability – Their tiny size means that USB drives are easy to carry around. A handful of these devices can fit comfortably into your pocket.
- Durability – Because they have no moving parts, USB flash drives don’t wear out as easily as hard drives do. They’re also unlikely to be damaged when accidentally dropped—which cannot be so readily said of your laptop.
- Inexpensive backup capabilities – USB flash drives are fairly cheap and likely to become more so in coming years. They provide a simple way to back up valuable data without incurring undue expense.
- Greg Sachs
