Portable media is one of the most popular things that can be used. Whether it is for an MP3 player, a digital camera or something that is just used to transport files around, portable media can be used to easily transfer information from one computer to another. There are numerous portable media inputs to look into.

The most popular of the portable media inputs for computers is the USB input. The Universal Serial Bus input is used to improve plug and play compatibility so that devices can be easily connected to a computer without having to restart the computer or install additional software. Flash drives are especially popular among USB inputs, but various other programs and hardware will use this. This includes MP3 players that use USB connections to connect the player to the computer or portable video players that work in the same way. Hardware for the computers have been using USB inputs too, including computer speakers, monitors and printers.

An SD card is another of the portable media inputs for computers. Short for Secure Digital, this is a popular method of data storage for all different types of digital media. This includes digital cameras, GPS devices and PDA computers. Many of the top cards can hold multiple gigabytes of information. SD cards are becoming popular in these devices and more computers have built in SD card readers. SDHC cards, which are Secure Digital High Capacity cards, are also popular and can be read on these computers. These cards are known for using the FAT32 file system and can handle more than ten gigabytes of data.

Most computers will have memory stick compatibility. This is one of the most commonly used portable media inputs for computers because it can be easily transported and can carry large amounts of data. This media input can write around two megabytes of information per second and can transfer more megabytes per second. This is one of the portable media inputs for computers that is continually evolving. Whereas an original stick would be able to handle sixteen megabytes of data, a Memory Stick PRO can handle more than a gigabyte of information and the Memory Stick Micro, which is smaller in size but can fit into a typical memory stick input, can theoretically fit up to thirty two gigabytes of data.

CompactFlash is another of the portable media inputs for computers. This is an input that is used especially with digital cameras. Many computers today will have built in inputs for CompactFlash cards. Some of these cards will be able to handle data with sizes as great as that of four gigabytes. Professional film development stores that have machines that can read CompactFlash cards can even handle this type of portable media. Because of the ease of reading the data on the card, it is affordable to print pictures from a CompactFlash input at one of these stores.

The last of the portable media inputs for computers is the SmartMedia card. This is a flash memory card made by Toshiba that is popular among digital cameras. Several considerations should be used with this input though. In addition, some devices will only be able to handle five-volt cards and not 3.3-volt cards. Some readers can handle cards of either voltage, and this is the case for most computers that have these portable media inputs for the SmartMedia card.

Portable media is popular in that it is easier to store and move data between computers. These five portable media inputs for computers are among the ones that can be found on a typical computer system. Not only will these portable media inputs for computers read the data that is stored on cards and other devices, but in many cases they can be used to connect equipment that uses these cards and devices with ease.