If you have ever needed to store or transport information, files, documents, music, or pictures you probably know what a USB flash drive is. If you are unfamiliar of what they are, USB flash drives are removable and rewritable storage devices. They are used in a similar fashion to floppy disks or CD-ROMs, but are smaller, faster, more portable, durable, reliable, and have more capacity. Although USB flash drives have all these benefits, they can be confusing to purchase. There are many different kinds and brands to choose from. They all have different storage capacities, designs, and prices to suit each individual use.

A USB flash drive starts out at the small end of storage capacity with 64 MB all the way to 16 GB. Confused yet? Let me try to explain. A megabyte (MB) is a multiple unit byte for digital information storage or transmission. A 64 MB USB flash drive can hold approximately 30 photos, 15 songs, 56 documents, and 7 minutes of video. After 64 MB it goes up to 128 MB, 256 MB, and 512 MB. A gigabyte (GB) on the other hand has much bigger capacity than a MB. A GB is actually equivalent to 1,024 MB. 1 GB holds approximately 614 photos, 230 songs, 900 documents, and 2 hours of video. After 1 GB it goes up to 2 GB, 4 GB, 8 GB, and 16 GB.

Below is a chart to give you more information about the size capacities.

The size capacity of a USB flash drive depends on how much you need to store. If you need to store a lot of data, a USB with 1 or more gigabytes would be more suitable. USB flash drives give you a variety of options to choose from that fit with individual needs. USB flash drives also have the ability to be customized, whether for business or personal purposes. They can be customized with logos or can be made into custom shapes. Packaging is also available for USB flash drives.  It is amazing what these little storage devices can do.

With the ever increasing popularity of USB flash drives, also known as jump drives or thumb drives, companies are coming up with more and more creative designs for these devices. Here are some that we found at Gadget4all:

Care for a flash memory shot?

This one is a mp3 player, voice recorder, AND a flash memory stick:

Like to eat/cook? There are plenty of creative food designs:

Don’t go without protecting these valuable devices. When you need to package all of your creative USB flash drives, give Sunrise a call. We can help create a custom package to go with your unique devices that can help prevent them from being lost/damaged.

(All pictures from gadget4all.com)

Usb flash drives are becoming more and more common for schools, businesses, entertainment,  and personal use.  The face that they are rewritable with flash memory makes these devices very handy, especially for working projects on the go, temporary files, or simply just backing up your information.

With the growing popularity of USB flash drives, we wondered how exactly they were made. Thankfully, Netbook News posted a video of a tour through Kingston Manufacturing Plant showing how they are produced and packaged.  Here it is for you to see.

I saw this series of Star Wars MIMOBOT designer flash drives by Mimoco and just had to show you.

They make a variety of different character-based designer USB flash drives, such as series of Star Wars, Halo, Domo, and Happy Tree Friends.  The Star Wars series is a popular one and features various characters from the movie.

This set is perfect for every Star Wars fan.  And these aren’t just empty USB flash drives that have cute designs.  They are also programmed with exclusive digital content, such as wallpapers, screensavers, icons, and avatars.  Not only that, but they also play sounds from the Star Wars movie when the drive is inserted or ejected from the computer.  They offer these USB flash drives in 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB capacities.

If you collect these or any other series, be sure to store them in a durable case that can hold multiple drives.  Then they can be protected, kept together, and have their value displayed for all to see.  You could even make your own cover artwork for a case with a clear overlay.  Most importantly, if you are collecting a valuable series like this, you want to keep the drives together and protect them from any damage.

USB flash drives, or jump drives, can be very useful in the work environment or at home.  It can be used to back up your files, save computer memory by storing large files like music or pictures, and transferring or editing files on the go.

But USB flash drives are not just meant to be used in the office.  Some music artists are starting to use them as promotional tools.  Popular pop-punk bands, Blink 182 and Fall Out Boy, combined forces to create an “Octodrive”.  This special flash drive was custom-designed by the artists with the Fall Out Boy logo on one side and Mark Hoppus’ (bass/vocals, Blink 182) signature octopus design on the other side.

Part of their strategy was to create a major hype for these Octodrives, as well as for the bands themselves.  They did this by only creating around 100 USB drives and distributing them throughout the world.  Many are located in the United States, but others were shipped off to Australia, the UK, Singapore, Brazil, Japan, and Canada.  They would give hints online through “tweets” (Twitter updates) for fans to find where Octodrives were hidden. One was even at the Twitter office in San Francisco, others were hidden in the sand or other various locations, and even more were offered in contests and raffles.

Better yet, it was a mystery as to what was exactly on each drive.  Some were said to have exclusive content, such as remixes and videos.  The excitement came from the suspense of what was on the flash drives, attempting to get one, and knowing that there is a limited amount out there.  The Octodrive promotion was very creative and it was thought out well.  The mystery, as well as the rarity grabbed people’s attention.  Storing the content on a flash drive allowed for a fun design and a higher amount of storage capacity.  Maybe a USB flash drive promotion is right to create some excitement for your company/project. If you were one of the lucky winners of one of these Octodrives, or you want to start your own flash drive promotion, take good care of the drive(s) with flash memory packaging.  USB flash drive cases, like our sFlash, help prevent loss and damage to these valuable devices.

I came across a great ad campaign designed by Brunner for Zippo Manufacturing Co.  This collection of print ads brings perspective to the eco-conscious consumer.  It reminds people that for lighters, a refillable Zippo is the greener choice.  One lighter may not seem like much waste, but when you see these pictures, you can really see that it adds up in our landfills.

Their tagline, “Disposable.  Just another word for garbage.” can really get people thinking.  This was a very clever way to show how Zippo stands out from the competition of disposable lighters, and it reminds people to be more environmentally-friendly.

Zippo lighters are refillable and durable, making them guaranteed for life.  Just like that, we have our Dura Series of CD/DVD albums.  These long-lasting albums with extra reinforced spine hinges are made to withstand frequent opening and closing.  And since they are so durable, they happen to be our most popular library packaging product.  With the clear overlay and nickel-plated ring metals, these albums can be used over and over again.

Did you give up smoking and no longer have a need for your favorite Zippo lighter?  Reuse that lighter to make your own stylish USB drive.  Or if you have a few old BIC lighters laying around, you can turn those into USB drives, as well!  These designs make your USB drives more creative and fun, but don’t forget about USB flash drive cases to help store and protect your devices!

Looking for a creative USB flash drive for your next project? Standard jump drives / flash drives can look a little dull, but a design could bring personality to your next project, or just make things more fun at home. We did a blog like this once before, but there are so many fun and creative designs out there, we couldn’t resist showing you more!

Many of these designs were found on BlueBlots. Although we do not create these flash drives, we can create custom packaging for them, and many of these devices can be purchased at USB Geek.

For the kid at heart, there are several designs with a game

or toy theme. Here are a few:

If you’re a little on the adventurous side, there is a USB drive for you! With this carabiner design, you can hook it on your bag or pants and take it with you camping, hiking, or wherever you may go:

Love shoes? There are a few designs for you too:

Maybe you work for a church organization? This cross design shows your faith and you could personalize it with your church name:

Work for a food/beverage company, or simply just love food? We showed you burgers, pizza, and fruit before, but there are more:

There are even more options for the tech-savvy or the media world:

Not only are these flash drives fun to look at, but they can show the personality of your company for your next project. Many of these designs can be purchased at USB Geek. Be sure not to lose or damage one of these prized flash drives. Display your creativity with these flash drives, and store and protect them with USB flash memory packaging. We, at Sunrise, can customize a package to hold your creative devices.