Since their introduction, in 1998, the USB flash drives have become one of the most popular plug and play devices. These digital media storage devices are so small and lightweight that they can be attached even to the most common key chain. Also, today, they almost replaced completely other digital storage devices, floppy disk drives and ZIP drives are obsolete and CDs and DVDs will surely become the same pretty soon.

USB flash drives come in a great variety of shapes, colours, memory sizes, materials and even application features. Custom USB memory drives can take any shape you would like, from food to cartoon characters, from full colour 3D decal of symbols to particular companies logos or simple texts, in fact any shape that could appeal your targeted market segment. Also, the casing materials are very different, so we can even find promotional USB sticks made from wood, as a green alternative to the traditional manufacturing materials.

But to stand out from the crowd, your branded items, the USB flash drive, can be designed to complement particular sports, food or other various themes. And beyond the aesthetics, these amazing devices can come with other multifunctional features to give them even more functionality, features that go even beyond the digital data storage function. These features can be a digital clock, light pen applications, audio play and so on.

With new the new advances in technology, USB flash drives can store huge amounts of data, providing ease and convenience to their users. Also, there is no longer required to reboot your system after the first connection with a host computer and no matter of the platform you own, they are fully compatible. And to make them compatible with older computer systems with no USB ports, some manufacturers even added special features to them. Plus, one of the greatest benefits of the USB flash drives is that they can retain the data stored on them for a very long time without the need of plugging it into a host computer.

Everyone that uses a computer uses at least one of these great digital storage devices. They can carry working or personal files anywhere the owner goes, making them suitable for all categories of people. Promotional USB flash drives can be designed specifically for students, teachers or corporate executives, making them attractive giveaways and increasing their use, thus your company awareness. To achieve this, the materials used in their manufacturing can be from leather to wood and from metal to plastic, the options being limitless.

Just make sure you find or design a product that suits best your business, your marketing and advertising needs.