If USB flash drives were cars

Ever bought a USB flash drive and wondered what the hell is keeping it so slow?!!? Why is it stuck on a virtual information highway with nowhere to turn when you need information on the go, not on the wait for heaven’s sake! The reality is that not all USB flash drives were created equal. They are very much like cars in a sense.

You get the old windshield popping Uno that had a brilliant safety feature whereby the passenger seats and all the windows would dislodge when bumped slightly from behind. Those USB flash drives that lose their plastic covers for no good reason and transfer data at the rate of a drunk (not to mention blind) ancient scribe using a feather to carve a message into stone. The only bonus of having one of these would be the wonderfully entertaining conversations you can have with people especially at public computer systems like those found on campuses around the country. Good for making friends in other words. Did I mention that some of these drives do tend to last a lifetime, but it only happens randomly and to truly unlucky people who end up bonding with these pieces of junk? “It is my lucky flash drive!”…

Then you get the cute and cuddly VW Beetle like USB flash drives that have cute physical features but only really pick up speed on a downhill. No bells and whistles but terribly reliable for some reason. Kind of like the Surf Drive, which is a USB flash drive shaped like a surf board, “ideal for summer” and all that jazz.

Then you get the mid range sedan. Reliable, trusty and not at all too slow. It gets you where you need to go and keeps your nose out of trouble. The Toyota Corolla of USB flash drives. Comfortable and with more space than you thought. It works on all the roads even those with potholes if you drive well. Yes, you get those USB drives that just work well and do what they are supposed to.

Then you get the sports car. A USB flash drive with speed and good looks. Not to mention more space than needed. It is the dropped and fitted out version of the Toyota Corolla but with turbo charger and cool packaging. Yummy! It sommer feels different. Soft rubberized grips, neon wristband and cool flashing LEDs. Feel the power. It even comes with a secret compartment or two.

Then you get the ultimate. You get a titanium enclosed fire proof dragon that was forged in the warmest part of hell. A hotrod that was made for one thing and one thing only and that is to kill, maim and torture binary data at speeds that have made grown men cry! It can run through a Divx movie in no time and have it ready for transportation in sooner than you can say “give me that file please, it looks cool”.

USB drives vary in speed more than many folks care to know. People tend to trust too much in the USB 2.0 enabled badge which in fact means very little when buying a USB flash drive. The truth is that you get what you pay for. For instance a simple entry level USB flash drive will give you speeds of around 6mbps read and 1.5mbps write. This is terribly slow and only good if your job is to transport office documents. Unfortunately most people use these because they don’t know any better.

Then you get a whole range of USB flash drives until you reach the big daddies, the kahunas like the Corsair Voyager GT that reads at 34mbps and writes at a blistering 28mbps. This speed comes at a price but mid ranged products from respected names like Corsair and Kingston are not at all that expensive and beat the others hands down with speeds of around 19mbps read and 13mbps write for not as much as one thinks.

In short, don’t trust that USB 2.0 sticker. It means less than you thought.