Pen drives are become a necessity as like a mobile phone or a laptop. Its small size with a large storage capacity replaced all other major storage devices like Floppy Disks, CDs etc.

Pen drives are become a necessity as like a mobile phone or a laptop. Its small size with a large storage capacity replaced all other major storage devices like Floppy Disks, CDs etc.

Pen Drives “Survival of the Smallest”
What is a Pen Drive?
A USB Flash Drive Also Known as Pen Drive, USB Drive, or Flash Memory. A Pen Drive is a Data storage device that includes flash memory with an integrated USB interface. Pen drives are typically removable, rewritable, physically much smaller in size and Portable.
Now Flash Drives are available from 8 to 256 GB. Pen drives are often used for the same purposes of Floppy Disks or CDs were once used. However, it’s smaller size with larger storage capacity created a curiosity towards it. It created a desire on everyone’s mind to buy a Pen drive. So, we call pen drive as,
“Survival of the Smallest”
How many of you are without a pen drive? I think, It’s considerably very less. Pen drives becomes a necessity as like a mobile phone or a laptop.
Benefits:

• Smaller and Faster
• More Durable
• Immune to electromagnetic Interference (unlike Floppy Disks)
• Unharmed on Scratches (unlike CDs)
• Thousands of times more storage capacity than older storage devices

What’s in it:
A flash drive consists of a small printed circuit board carrying the circuit elements and a USB connector, insulated electrically and protected inside a plastic, metal or in a rubberized case which can be carried in your pockets or on a key chain. This features of portability and attractive smaller sizes made everyone to own a Pen Drive.
Evolution of Pen Drives:
Trek technology and IBM were introduced the pen drive into the commercial market in 2000, has a storage capacity of 8 MB.
The speed of data transfer improved massively over the years, later the storage capacity of pen drives expanded up to 16 MB, 32 MB in 2003.
On January 2013, pen drives were arrived with a capability of storing 512 Gigabytes(GB).
As of July 2016, pen drives with 8 to 256 GB were unveiled into the market and frequently sold.

Design and Implementation:
A Pen drive constitute of

• USB Standard A-Plug- Physical Interface to the host computer
• USB Mass Storage Device Controller – A small microcontroller with an On-chip ROM and RAM
• Test Points
• Flash Memory Chip – Stores data (were typically used in digital cameras for storage)
• Crystal Oscillator
• LED
• Write-Protect Switch

Uses:

• Personal data transport purpose
• Safe and Secure storage of software files, Data, and Applications.
• Media storage and Marketing
• Unmatched Convenience