A Guide to Promotional USB Flashdrives

Welcome to www.usbinfo.org - Our aim below is to provide you with information about Promotional USB Drives.

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To see a Selection of Promotional USB Drives please click here.

What are Promotional USB Flashdrives?

They are essentially Flashdrive storage devices which can be branded or etched with logos and text.

Promotional USB Flashdrives are referred to by a variety of names, such as; logo usb, custom usb, branded memory sticks, branded usb, personalised usb, promotional falshdrives, promotional memory sticks, custom memory sticks, customised usb, branded usb pens etc. You can find plenty of examples amongst the images shown here.

Flashdrives are essentially Flash memory chips with a USB connection that are encased in an attractive housing which can be branded with your logo. Hence the terms Branded USB Flashdrives, Branded USB Keys, Branded Memory Sticks, Logo Flashdrives, Thumb drives or Branded USB Sticks. They are in effect Bespoke USB items.

Your USB Logo can be placed in a variety of positions on the drive casing. Branded Flash Drives come in a variety of shapes, sizes and styles. Some Drives are shaped like Pens (Promotional USB Pen Drives).

There are the truly Novelty USB, or Customised USB Drives (Custom USB Drives). Some Customised Flashdrives are made of Wood. The size of Flash Chips mean that they can be house in a credit card shape. Promotional USB Sticks or Promotional Memory Sticks can be used to transport data and carry them from one computer to another. Furthermore, they can be used to run portable programmes such as Firefox.

The popularity of these Logo Flashdrives has not diminished with the advent of increased access to data storage areas held on servers. One of the great advantages with these Customised USB keys is that only you have access to your data. They are truly Personalised Memory Sticks and can run your chosen programmes alongside your own personal files..

Environmentally friendly?

Eco Friendly USB Flashdrives usually bear ROHS certification. They may also conform to CE/CFF standards. Some drives are made of wood rather than plastic, metal and rubber.

The quality of flashdrives

There are basically 4 different types of IC Chip: A Class Chips. B Class Chips, C Class chips and D Class chips
What are each of these categories? Well A Class Chips are the genuine article. They are made by firms such as Samsung and Hynix. Crucially they have very low failure rates. B Class chips are essentially the same but they are mass produced by less well known firms. C Class Chips are often created from surplus materials and are best avoided. D Class chips are poor quality chips dressed up to look like A Class chips. They are often referred to as 'black drives' to denote their black market origins.

History and facts - USB Flashdrives

Today's Flash Drives are usually USB 2.0 products and are backwards compatible with USB 1.1. Products bought in China usually contain Samsung or Hynix Chips. Memory sizes range from 64 Mb to 8 Gb, and there are even a few 32mb capacity drives still around.

Drives can be branded with your company logo - Often on both sides and some models can be completely sprayed in your corporate colours.

They are usually small & light. A LED indicator when the Pen Drive is in use (on some drives). No external power is required - powered by USB bus. They are Durable solid-state storage - more than 10 years data retention and are easily portable.

Requirements:
Desktop or Laptop PC, Mac computer or Portable Device with USB port/interface
Windows 98 SE/ME /2000/XP/Vista, Linux Kernel 2.4.x or above, Mac 9.0 or above

Standard transfer rate is in the region of 6 - 8 mb per second and Extra Fast transfer is often 10 - 13 mb per second per second. Drives have different read and write speeds.

Accessories available include:
Installation disc for PCs running Windows 98
Lanyard/neck strap
Key ring
Key chain
Manual
Presentation box/tin or blister pack