USB Flash Drives & Memory Sticks
USB flash drives have become something of an essential item for people looking to store and transport volumes of data, without the hassle of burning to disc or lugging around an external hard drive. The average USB flash drive or memory stick can hold anywhere between 128MB and 8GB; allowing for a great deal of media or working documents to be accessed and updated from any device with a USB drive.
Versatile Corporate Gift
The versatile nature and inherent usefulness of the USB flash drive make them an ideal corporate gift. Many drives have customisable cases, allowing companies to imprint the company logo or emblem. This permanent etching provides a lasting association with the company with the recipient, be they a client or an employee.
Of course some businesses may also want to go further and supply memory sticks with data, such as a fully-fledged presentation on their values to hand out to prospective clients at corporate functions; acting something akin to a digital business card. All of these factors combined make them an extremely powerful and popular corporate gift, perhaps going some way to explaining their rising popularity in business circles.
Functional Memory Storage
Memory sticks do however have a purpose for the average person too. Due to their diminutive size and excellent storage capacity they are an extremely functional piece of day-to-day technology. In days gone by, people had to rely on carting dozens of cumbersome hard discs around, now with flash drives data can be easily carried around in a device no larger than a key fob. Data transferal has also improved thanks to USB and USB 2.0 streaming; allowing content to be uploaded, or indeed downloaded, with unparalleled speed and efficiency.
Numerous Media Applications
USB sticks can be used in a variety of ways, but it is their capacity that makes them an ideal storage solution for various media. An 8GB USB drive can take anywhere up to 130 hours of music, even without zip compression. Likewise it has the capacity to store hours of film, allowing the user to share it quickly and easily with others in almost any location.
Media outlets have been quick to pounce on the potential of USB flash drives, using them to market and distribute their products. Special drives have been produced as limited edition albums by artists such as the White Stripes, Kanye West and Kylie Minogue; each containing full album tracks, artwork and often featuring a unique casing design. Even arcade games have incorporated USB attachments so that players can upload their settings and various other unique facets.
Added Security & Design Features
The versatility of the USB flash drive is further enhanced by a range of aesthetic and security functions. Many drives can be password protected to ensure that any valuable data doesn't fall into the wrong hands. However this is taken one step further by a number of additional features, including fingerprint recognition on the BioDisk Area Sensor products. Novelty drives are also available, featuring a number of guises, from wristbands to toy cars, to give a corporate gift an extra element of fun.