What Are the Benefits of Flash Drives?

Flash drives, also called jump drives or memory sticks, are small, portable data storage devices that can plug into a USB port on a computer and serve as an external hard drive.

Function

By plugging a flash drive into a computer's USB port, it will appear as a storage device that files can be moved to.

Portability

One of the main benefits of flash drives is that their small size -- about the size of a pack of chewing gum -- allows for easy portability and storage. Many people keep flash drives on their key chains.

Memory Capactiy

Although flash drives are small, some can store as much as 32 gigabytes of data. This is enough storage space to keep a large amount of documents, photos or even music and video. Because of the storage capacity, flash drives a viable data backup option.

Applications

Another advantage of flash drives is that they allow easy access to important applications. You could, for instance, keep an antivirus program or your favorite web browser on the flash drive and easily install them on any computer you use.

Readyboost

Readyboost is a feature available for computers running Windows Vista or Windows 7 that uses a flash drive to increase a computer's performance.

References

• Benefits of Flash Drives