The Ultimate Guide to USB Flash Drives: Part II

How to find (and buy) a cheap USB flash drive. The best deals appear when you least expect it...like in this article.

April 2nd, 2007 at 6:00am — Comments: (1) — By: Jonathan Danylko — Tags: General

In the last part, you answered the question why you needed a USB drive and we discussed the different types of USB Drives available. In part 2 of this series, we talk about where to get the best deal on a USB drive.

Where are the deals?

I've seen 1GB USB flash drives at your local Wal-Mart for $30-$50 (UPDATE: ok, they dropped the price on it, but it's still too much), and I wonder why people pay so much. Recently, I just purchased a 2GB SD Card for $4.99 ($20 rebate). Yes, $5!. Ha-HA!

Obviously, the best way is through the Internet. Some brick and mortar (B&M) stores are lowering their prices to compete with the Internet, but I've only seen a couple of stores that compete with the Internet. The deals for USB drives are everywhere.

One place that has their act together is DealNews. They have the entire site in a hierarchical format. When you visit their site, you drill down to the Computers/Storage/Flash Storage/USB drives. They collect all of the deals around the Internet and place them in their own Flash Storage section. They even have an RSS feed or email you can receive when new deals arrive.

Another great place to find deals is at Fat Wallet. Fat Wallet is a bargain hunters dream. At the top of the site, click Forums. On the left hand side, you'll see a section called Hot Deals. The Hot Deals section is where everyone posts the great deals found EVERYWHERE on the Internet. As soon as a community member finds a hot deal, they post it at the Fat Wallet forums. It's like throwing meat to piranhas.

Best Deal Sites

I know I listed two above, but there are tons of other sites out on the Internet. The best way to keep up on the deals are through RSS Readers. If you don't know what an RSS Reader is, I'll refer you here.

For the rest of us, every deal web site (at least the good ones) has one or more RSS feeds exposed so you can syndicate their feed into your own reader and track the deals. Currently, I have 14 deal feeds I receive with deals updated every single day. I'm passing the savings on to you. :-)

• AntiRebate.com (RSS)
• BensBargains (RSS)
• DealDetectives (RSS)
• DealNews (SD Cards - RSS)
• DealUniversity (RSS)
• Digg.com Tech Deals (RSS)
• FatWallet Hot Deals (RSS)
• GRUPARE.COM (RSS)
• Gunn's Deals (RSS)
• Mr. Cheap Stuff - Coupons and Deals (RSS)
• NewEgg - Daily Deals (RSS)
• ResellerRatings.com Deals (RSS)
• RetailRetreat (RSS)
• SlickDeals.net (RSS)

When you purchase your USB flash drive through the Internet, the only downside is that you have to wait for your purchase to come through the mail. Gee, a sacrifice I'm willing to make. :-)

What to look for?

Ok, you've decided what type you want (Shell or Stick) and where to buy them. Now just buy them.

The USB shells drives are just coming out (excuse the pun) of their shells and starting to appear on the most popular retail web sites. Here are a couple of sites that have the USB Shell Drives in stock (at the time of writing this). Naturally, if you are looking for a USB Flash Drive as a stick, they're very easy to find and simple to pick up at any local store.

• Buy.com - I/O Gear USB Shell Drive
• Walmart - MediaGear USB Shell Drive
• Walmart - International Ally Card Reader/USB Flash Drive
• Walmart - 512MB SD Card with Bonus Card Reader (not really worth it for a 512MB)

Conclusion

Finding a USB drive is almost like looking for a phone. When you see the types of USB drives available, you'll know what you need when you see it. The USB Drive may even match your personality and style. Who knows?

In the last part of the series, we'll examine how to use your USB Flash Drive for various uses and the software available specifically tailored to your USB Flash Drive.