Buying a pen drive

[NoSanninWa]

I suddenly find myself interested in buying a pen drive and I'd like some advice since I know only a little about them.
I've seen USB 2 pen drives for sale. Are there USB 1 versions also?
How do I find out if my computer is USB 1 or 2? Unfortunately I can't find that information in my motherboard manual. Amazing, but true.
Where can I buy one cheap that won't let me down?
Any help on these question would be welcome. While you're at it please tell me anything that I would have asked if only I knew enough to ask the question. Just for the record, I'm looking for something in a 32 MB size.

[flammie]

I suddenly find myself interested in buying a pen drive and I'd like some advice since I know only a little about them.
I've seen USB 2 pen drives for sale. Are there USB 1 versions also?
How do I find out if my computer is USB 1 or 2? Unfortunately I can't find that information in my motherboard manual. Amazing, but true.
Where can I buy one cheap that won't let me down?
Any help on these question would be welcome. While you're at it please tell me anything that I would have asked if only I knew enough to ask the question. Just for the record, I'm looking for something in a 32 MB size.

The USB flash drives are pretty useful and convenient. Pretty much all usb flash drives are based on NAND flash technology, which only two major companies make, Samsung and Toshiba. Most likely, any USB flash drive you buy will have flash chips made from one of those two companies.

Answering a couple of your questions, USB 2 flash drives should be backwords compatible to USB1. If your computer supports only USB 1.0, it should still work, but only at USB1.0 speeds.

For buying flash drives, I would suggest crucial.com (http://www.crucial.com/store/listmfgr.asp?cat=drives+storage) since they have really good customer service reviews and fair pricing.

[LynnieS]

Not really sure how you can tell what type of USB, truthfully. The only way I know was to plug a 2.0 drive into the port, and out popped a warning. As flammie had said, though, the device will simply work at the lower rate of transfer.

I bought mine at J&R (http://www.jandr.com) awhile back for approx. US$70. It's a 256MB micro drive, and J&R was, as of last week, offering it, but with a, I think, US$20 rebate. The drive itself works fine. I was moving files to and from computers without a problem, and the OS detected it as soon as I plugged it into the port.

A 32MB drive is really too small to hold much, IMHO.

Can't recommend any particular brand for you. I haven't heard of any horror stories about any one particular company's, however.

[Flash_Squirrel]

The 128mbs ones are pretty convenient. You can buy them for a rather low price and yet they works great.

I just bought a 512mb one and it works flawlessly.

The size depends on your needs. I personally feel that 128mb is a little small, though 256 is the perfect size for an anime episode. :P

[SirJeannot]

mp3 players which have an usb plug are quite convenient too :)

[JustAnotherFan]

If you can't find any info about the USB version anywhere then IMHO it's most likely USB 1. Manifacturers tend to brag about such things as v2 :)

The rest of your questions was sufficiently answered I guess :)

[Zap]

Definately go for a USB 2.0 device. Even if you don't have the interface right now, when you next upgrade your computer you will.

Something I've noticed about these USB flash drives... some of them are in friendly bubbly shapes. I don't know if that makes them easier to handle or if it's just for looks, but I do know that some of them are wide enough to not fit properly because it presses against something else (usually another cable). Depends on how much room you have around your USB ports, I guess. To give you guys some examples, check out the Lexar Jump Drive. It is pretty wide. Now, check out the Sandisk Cruzer. The device is barely wider than the USB plug itself. Anyways, just an observation.

[LynnieS]

Deciding on the shape of the drive to buy, I thought, is more dependent on the computer itself. That, and personal preference.

My Cruzer is, as Zap had said, a bit wider than the port itself, but it's also 3-4" long. It's great for one of my laptops, which has the USB ports on the side, but on my other laptop, it's terrible since its ports are in the back; only the Firewire and PC card slots are on the sides. I have to move that laptop closer to the edge to use the drive, and it's just really uncomfortable, IMHO.

The Cruzer's of a good shape if your desktop has USB ports at the front - and you've connected them to your motherboard - also, but for rear-only ports, a wider shape might be preferable. You wouldn't need to shift the case around.

My US$0.02 on ergonomics. ;)