Which USB 2.0 pen drive will be best durable if I install Ubuntu in it?

Question

I want to install 12.10 in a USB 2.0 pen drive. I just want to know which brand will be more reliable? I want to use it for long time purpose. I also want good reading and writing speed from the drive and onto the drive.

Answer 1

I do not believe that this is an issue anymore. To quote wikipedia on this

As of 2011, newer flash memory designs have much higher estimated lifetimes. Several manufacturers are now offering warranties of 5 years or more. Such warranties should make the device more attractive for more applications. By reducing the probability of the device's premature failure, flash memory devices can now be considered for use where a magnetic disk would normally have been required. Flash drives have also experienced an exponential growth in their storage capacity over time (following the Moore's Law growth curve). As of 2011, single packaged devices with capacities of 64GB are readily available, and devices with 8 GB capacity are very economical. Storage capacities in this range have traditionally been considered to offer adequate space, because they allow enough space for both the operating system software and some free space for the user's data.

Just go for a common brand like Verbatim, Corsair, Kingston, Sandisk. They probably get those made in the same factory anyways. All of them will get you at least a few years from the pen drive. Long enough for you to get a new one (with alot more capacity) anyways.

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Regarding the second part: speed. There is a very long list of USB drives here but do not expect USB 2.0 to be fast. I myself have a corsair gt, patriot quad channel, jetflash 330. None of these 3 are slow.