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Best Grade Flash Memory for My USB Flash Drive

The question about the flash memory (NAND) grades or tiers have come up on occasion. When I first heard about grading being used for the flash memory, I was not sure what to make of it. I was set to learn more about this intriguing nomenclature and get it all figured out.

The Saga

Without too much thinking, Google was the first obvious choice to easily load up on the subject. However, after the clock turned a half of the dial, it was clear to me that it’s not going to be easy. For some reason, I could not get any authoritative explanations; just opinions and hearsay. This will not do; I must press forward!

Truthfully, after realizing that grading may be just hot air, my enthusiasm has waned. A couple of months later, I decided to ask a couple of USB flash drive suppliers about these grades or tiers or something that can relate to the quality aspect of the flash memory. To my surprise, I got similarly vague answers as my extensive Internet search – Bummer!

A Potential discovery

The following is a summary of the collected information:

  1. Flash memory (NAND) comes in various grading or tier systems
  2. Flash memory manufacturers can also belong to different tier systems
  3. Tier or Grade systems refer to quality (i.e. reliability of transistors (cells) or cell’s ability to retain data or Manufacturing capability and technology) or performance characteristics (i.e. MB/s read or write throughput)

A little more detail

  • It’s claimed that grades from A to D exist. Grade A being the best quality and D the worst.
  • The tiers are the number equivalent to the grades. Grade A would be Tier 1 and so forth.
  • When the tiers are being refereed to the manufacturers of the flash memory (e.g. Hynix, Samsung); the reference is to the volume, level of the technological know-how, and the level of advancement in the manufacturing process. Tier 1 is highest.

What they say

Grade A –  Original (i.e. just as it came form the original manufacturer’s production line) flash with all the manufacturing identification marks, and passed manufacturing inspections

Grade B – Original flash, potentially without manufacturing identification marks; also with passed manufacturing inspections

Grade C – Modified or upgraded flash. The controller on the PCB is modified to report a larger capacity than what really exists on the drive. The USB flash drive reports 64GB; however you only got 32GB of the flash storage.

Grade D – Recycled and/or heavily modified flash. If it’s recycled, who knows how much life this memory has left in it. It reports 64GB; but there is a 1MB worth of the actual storage.

Flash Memory Tiers (1,2,3)  – Basically Grade A = Tier 1 and so forth

Manufacturer Tiers (1,2,3) – Members of the Tier 1 are Samsung, Hynix. Tier 2 members are Micron, Nanya, Inotera. The Tier 3 members are Elpida, Powerchip, Rexchip.

So what’s the verdict?

It’s rather difficult to tell for certain. It seems that this terminology has been adopted by the flash memory traders and USB flash drive manufacturers. However, an educated guess can be made when the processor technology is compared to the flash memory technology. (What?)

Even though the technology is different, there are some parallels that can be drawn. After the dies are deposited on the wafer, they are tested for quality. Those dies that have a sufficient number of transistors to pass under the intended specifications, are marked and released from manufacturing. Basically, if you are making a 64GB NAND memory die, and the tested amount of transistors return at 549,755,813,888 bits or more, you got a solid die. The testing will also involve performance characteristics.

Future NAND MLC chips

Some dies do not pass the test  to a point where there is less than the intended amount of working transistors. As in the processor chip manufacturing, these are sorted into a different pile. In the processor world, the failed dies become your economical choice processors (e.g. Intel’s Celeron or AMD’s Duron or some other downgraded processor). A similar process must exist for the NAND dies as well.

I want the best grade!

The best grade, one way or another, is Grade A, Tier 1 or Original Flash Memory. If your source is reliable, this is your choice, if you’re looking for the highest performing flash memory with the potential of being the most reliable.

The Grade B flash is close second. It still passed the manufacturing testing, just not to the intended specifications at the time of production. The capacity of the flash memory is full, and its capacity is fully tested.

The Grade C flash is something that you don’t want, unless you’re looking for the biggest bang for the buck. Hmmm… I cannot really think of a promotional or any drive where this can be used. Why would you want to mark the drive higher than it can actually hold? That’s just mean!

Conclusion

The discovery of the grading and tier terminology was a tedious and sometimes frustrating adventure. I’m sure that more specificity and corrections can be made to the discussion; overall, some certain conclusions can be made.

If you’re ready to spend a little more and need extra performance and possibly reliability from  your flash memory, choose Grade A (Tier 1). If a reasonable price, good performance and reliability is required, Grade B (Tier 2) is your choice. Grade C (Tier 3) or Grade D should not be your choice in any situation.

In regards to the flash memory manufacturers, Tier 1 Samsung and Hynix tend to stay on top of the NAND manufacturing world. Being the leaders of the industry and with the reputation for being reliable, they are an easy choice.

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Upgrade Your Promotional USB Flash Drive

In the computer world, upgrading often means adding more functionality, capacity, or speed. The promotional world works slightly different. While the conventional meaning of the upgrade can add value to a promotional item, the right accessory to the USB flash drive can do a lot more.

The USB flash drive has established itself as a great promotional tool through customization, convenience, and functionality. There are hundreds of different models to choose from; not including the items that you can make 100% custom. However, promotion is not all about just slapping a logo on the flash drive, mug, or a t-shirt. I think many would agree that it’s about building and maintaining your brand.

Your business spends enormous amounts of money into associating your brand with values of quality, excellence, dependability, creativity, and cutting-edge. Your services and products are designed to speak the language of these incredible values; your marketing products must absolutely do the same.

A promotional product is often neglected as a simple giveaway. It’s just something that you have to have on your table because the guy next to you offers a similar product. The idea in one’s mind is that it has to be as cheap as possible – I’ll be giving these away anyway! Wait one second. What happened to all of those values that you’ve spent building into your brand?

It’s important to continue treating every product that is offered or given away as a company’s product. Every item represents your company. The cheapest pen that will break in a day, a t-shirt that cannot hold after a single wash, and a flash drive that stops working after a week just will not do.

While a single promotional product will not necessarily win any customer in a single event. With a right approach, it  will continue building your brand.

Many customers who purchase the USB flash drives tend to go with the most economical solution. It is quite understandable, especially in the current economic times. There seems to be a single focus that the value of the promotional USB flash drive is primarily in capacity, and not in the presentability of the item. While I do agree that capacity is quite important, I also think that the accessories are as important or possibly more important than the capacity.

When the promotional item is properly accessorized, it is upgraded in a way that no capacity or speed can upgrade. The item feels, looks, and speaks thoughtfulness, design, uniqueness, and style. An accessory can help your promotional item speak on many different levels and reach farther than an item alone.

One of the most effective methods to upgrade (accessorize) your promotional drive is a stylish gift box. It has to be stylish and quality made, and most importantly display your promotional item as you would crown jewels, and engagement ring, or an expensive gold pen.

These gift boxes add significant value to your promotional USB flash drive. Not only do they present your item with style, they also make your brand stand out, and be immediately recognizable.

While it is possible to present each drive in a simple clear plastic bag, the frugality of the bag does not speak the language of your brand, bar a dollar store. Right presentation is an effective investment – it may be more important than the product that is being presented. Make sure your promotional products speak the same language as the rest of your business. Upgrading your promotional USB flash drive is not an option, it is a necessity.

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Glowing USB Wristband Flash Drives For Your Party

In the past couple of months, we’ve been getting feedback from our customers that the wristband flash drives have become not as popular this season as they used to be in the past couple of years. It seems that the wristbands are going out of style.

It’s hard to tell if the wristband fashion is truly out of style this year. I keep hearing that the polka dots are back in fashion, and I am puzzled about that possibly being true.  However, if you love the polka dots or not so much, you are bound to find these glowing wristbands pretty cool even in the dark.

Photo taken in the dark to reveal the wristband glowing. It was not easy to take this photo!
Regular photo of the glow-in-the-dark USB Wristband flash drive

Come to think of it, if someone made the dots on a polka dot dress glow in the dark, that would be kind of cool.

I love these wristbands. They are silicone, printable with your logo and text, and they glow in the dark. These features alone are good enough for a fashionable revival. However, the best part is that your logo will be seen in the dark! Oh yes. The glowing material of the wristband is blocked by the ink of the logo print. This effect causes your logo to be darker than the wristband and therefore visible in the glow of the wristband. Awesome!

Unaltered photo taken in the dark
Same USB Wristband as above taken under normal lighting conditions

The USB wristbands come in many colors and are available with up to 16GB of data. It is just a couple of additional reasons why you should consider giving the wristbands one more look. Once you give these a try, you’ll change your mind about the wristbands going out of fashion. With the glowing look, they are back in!