DON'T BUY A PEN DRIVE WITHOUT READING THIS!

Pen drives, Flash drives, or Thumb drives refer to the same storage device that facilitates data transfer. Without modern-day pen drives, it will be a tiring task to transfer data from one source to the other. Although pen drives are common, few people know how they operate and the factors to consider before buying a pen drive.

Let's talk about what you should consider before buying a pen drive.

1. THE CHASSIS (Metallic, Silicone, or Wood)

Ordinary pen drive chassis is primarily metallic, a few designs are silicone while others are wooden. Normally, users will not pay attention to these designs since the main focus is the functionality. Yet it plays an important role given some circumstances. Let's go straight to the point:

• Metallic pen drives are not suitable for younger children, the reason is, they can produce electrical shocks when a computer has a little electricity leaking through a component somewhere within. On the other hand, faulty metallic pen drives can also heat up during operations. Though they can be durable, they are suitable for older children. 

Metallic Pen drive
Source: Author of the post

• Rubber or Silicone pen drives: are suitable for younger children, but the caveat is that they can easily get broken, especially at the tip. Some can have the main circuit board sliding out of the silicone case, while others too can be bulky in size. Aside from these, they are a good choice.

Rubber pen drives
Source: Author of the post

• Wooden pen drives: the best choice so far, they don't heat up due to the wooden cover nor do they produce electrical shocks. The downside of these types of pen drives is the size, they can be bulky. Connecting one can cover other available ports on a PC.

Wooden pen drives
Source: author of the post

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2. USB VERSION (Ver 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.1)

Aside from the chassis option, the most important feature to always look out for is information on the version. Though most people don't know pen drives come in versions. The higher the version: the better the performance, (faster read-write speeds and transfer rates) the more expensive it may be. The range of versions over the years is from version 1 to version 4. Below is an outline of the versions, take note of the color coding. 

USB 1.0

Release Date: January 1996

Data Transfer Rate: 1.5 Mbps (Low-Speed), 12 Mbps (Full-Speed)

Color Code: Typically white, but not officially color-coded

USB 1.1

Release Date: September 1998

Data Transfer Rate: 12 Mbps (Full-Speed)

Color Code: White

USB version 1.1 - not the white color
Source: lifewire.com

USB 2.0

Release Date: April 2000

Data Transfer Rate: 480 Mbps (High-Speed)

Color Code: Black

USB 2.0 - note the black color code
Source: Author of the post

USB 3.0

Release Date: November 2008

Data Transfer Rate: 5 Gbps (SuperSpeed)

Color Code: Blue

USB 3.0 - note blue color code
Source: Author of the post

USB 3.1

Release Date: July 2013

Data Transfer Rate: 10 Gbps (SuperSpeed+)

Color Code: Teal Blue

USB 3.2

Release Date: September 2017

Data Transfer Rate: 5 Gbps, 10 Gbps, and 20 Gbps (SuperSpeed+ over multiple lanes)

Color Code: Various, but often blue or teal blue like USB 3.0 and 3.1

USB 3.2 - note the color code
Source: Author of the post

USB 4

Release Date: August 2019

Data Transfer Rate: 20 Gbps, 40 Gbps

Color Code: Not specifically color-coded but uses USB Type-C connectors

3. THE FUNCTIONALITY

There are special pen drives manufactured with specific functionalities in mind. An example is the OTG(on-the-go) or Type C connector pen drives with dual connectors. Some users prefer to buy these types of pen drives mainly because of the extended functionality it is equipped with. These pen drives usually have metallic chassis. The main associated challenge is that they may not be able to communicate with some host devices and may require special drivers. 

Pen drive connected to a Phablet via OTG connection
Source: Author of the post

In all, here are the 3 factors to consider before you buy a pen drive: the chassis, the version, and the functionality. Once you decide, based on your needs and considerations, you can get a good pen drive. There are other designs of pen drives not discussed here, these include the Crystal and Leather designs. Both have metallic chassis that contain the storage chips. However, there are considerations like capacity, compatibility, brand, security, etc. The considerations here are more important.

Now that you know the secret to buying a good pen drive, have fun!

PEN DRIVE FRAUD ALERT: VERIFY YOUR PEN DRIVE HEALTH WITH THESE TESTS