Verbatim

Available in 120, 128, 240, 250, 256, 275 and 480GB capacities these SATA III 6Gb/s SSDs may no longer be the fastest around thanks to emerging PCIe SSDs, but they're the most cost-effective and are still easily fast enough for most users. You'll need a spare SATA 6Gb/s port to get the most from them, and a 2.5" capable drive bay - an adaptor may need to be bought, but most cases have at least one. These drives are suitable for holding an operating system, as well as numerous programs and a healthy collection of media and games.

MicroSD memory cards expand the file storage of mobile devices such as cameras and phones and other devices with a MicroSD slot.

These particular MicroSD cards are rated as up to UHS-I Class 3 (U3), meaning they can write at up to 30MB/sec making them suitable for recording 4K or FullHD (1080p) video at 60 - 120fps and high resolution photos. Some of these cards are also rated as V30 Video Speed, labelling them as being optimised for video recording.

Some cards even feature an Application Performance Class, making them ideal for use with devices such as tablets & smartphones. Cards labelled A1 provide a minimum of 1.5k Read & 0.5k Write IOPS, while A2 labelled cards push random performance even further with a minimum of 4k Read & 2k Write IOPS.

BD-R discs can be written to only once. Disc capacities are 25 GB for single-layer discs, 50 GB for double-layer discs.

This media also known as CD-R is ideal for storage of data files, images or for the use of creating audio CD's for personal use. This media is ideal as it is low cost and can be read in nearly all normal CD drives in PC's

DVD media certified at 4x - 16x recording speeds. Each disc is 4.7Gb in size

DVD media certified at 4x - 16x recording speeds. Each disc is 4.7Gb in size

Double / Dual Layer is a recordable disc providing 8.5GB capacity on a single side (2.6GB for 8cm discs). Compliant with the +RW Alliance (Double Layer) or DVD-Forum (Dual Layer) specifications. The double / dual layer of recording has been made possible by the creation of a new substrate layer that sits in between each recording layer. This allows the laser beam to record on both layers. Once the first layer has been recorded, the laser re-focused to record on the second layer.

Loss & theft of portable devices such as portable hard drives and Thumb Drives etc. are on the rise - have you ever considered the impact of losing your portable storage device? Your data would be at the mercy of anyone who stumbles across it. Your personal videos may appear on YouTube, your business records sent to a competitor, your personal and financial information used for fraudulent purposes. These hard drives utilise government grade AES 128 or 256-bit real time hardware encryption, which encrypts ALL data held on the drive keeping it safe even if the hard drive is removed from its enclosure.

These external drives use mobile 2.5in hard disks, which mean they're a lot more portable than desktop drives. Most use super-fast USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt connections, and many include backup applications and cloud storage deals for added security.

The latest revision of the USB standard, version 3.1, doubles the theoretical speed from 5Gbit/s or 625MB/sec to 10Gbit/s or 1,250MB/sec, meaning much quicker data transfers when copying files to and from a USB device such as a pendrive. USB 3.1 devices are backwards compatible with USB 3 and USB 2 ports, but you'll need a motherboard or add-in card that supports USB 3.1 to get the full advantage of the new standard.

USB 3.0 offers up to 5Gbps transfer speeds, along with being backward compatible with USB 2.0 ports. These compact USB Flash Drives / Pen Drives / Memory Sticks are the ultimate in personal data storage. Look out for advanced features such as a ring attachment point for a keyring/lanyard, weather resistant construction, encryption/security and capless design.