Mobile Storage Devices

Mobile Storage Devices - Smart Card Reader - Smart Card - Data Storage - Flash Memory - Compact Flash - Memory Cards - Card Memory - Storage - Flash Drives

There are numerous types of mobile storage devices. The most important ones are:

1. Online Storage
2. Smart Cards
3. Flash Memory Devices

1. Online Storage

Online storage is a website on the Internet that offers the storage of data for free of cost or against some payment through credit card. The capacity of storage depends upon the packages offered by the website owner. Through the website, data is stored on a computer which remains online 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

When you connect to the website, you can browse through your allocated memory space just as you browse with the help of Windows Explorer on your personal computer. Thus you can access your data/information wherever you travel throughout the world. National or international travelers having laptops or handheld computers mostly enjoy the online storage facilities. Many companies offer online storage facilities but www.webdepositbox.com is a famous online storage service that allows users to store, access, and organize files.

2. Smart Cards

A smart card is a small card normally of the size of credit card or ATM card. Thus you can store data/information in the card and sometimes miner processing of data/information can also be made by its built-in microprocessor. In order to read and write data on a smart card, you need a special device called smart card reader.

There are two types of smart cards:

1. Intelligent Smart card
2. Memory Smart card

An Intelligent Smart card contains a built-in microprocessor and has input, processing, output, and storage facilities. Whereas a Memory Smart card gives only data storage facility. Many digital cameras, laptops and handheld computers nowadays use smart cards.

3. Flash Memory Devices

Flash memory is a type of non-volatile memory that can be erased electronically and reprogrammed, similar to EEPROM. Most of the PCs also use flash memory to hold their startup instructions.

Flash memory is also known as Flash ROM. The Flash memory is used to upgrade I/O devices by upgrading the new software purchased from market into the Flash memory. The early I/O devices were upgraded by replacing the old circuit board or chip with a new one. It was a time consuming and costly method. The Flash memory solves this problem of the user. When new hardware devices are added to the computer, the information about devices are configured and stored in the flash memory. It is available in size up to 512MB. It does not require a battery to maintain its contents. It is more expensive than the hard disk storage.

Flash memory chips are also used in mobile computers and devices to store data and programs. For example, these are used in PDAs, digital cellular telephones, set-top boxes, digital voice recorders, pagers etc. When you enter names and addresses into PDAs, a flash memory chip stores the data. The flash memory chip in a digital cellular telephone stores names and telephone numbers. The flash memory is also used in digital camera. When we take pictures with digital camera, these are stored in a flash memory rather than on photographic film.