What's the difference between ConcurrentHashMap and Collections.synchronizedMap(Map)?

For your needs, use ConcurrentHashMap. It allows concurrent modification of the Map from several threads without the need to block them. Collections.synchronizedMap(map) creates a blocking Map which will degrade performance, albeit ensure consistency (if used properly).

Use the second option if you need to ensure data consistency, and each thread needs to have an up-to-date view of the map. Use the first if performance is critical, and each thread only inserts data to the map, with reads happening less frequently.

╔═══════════════╦═══════════════════╦═══════════════════╦═════════════════════╗
║   Property    ║     HashMap       ║    Hashtable      ║  ConcurrentHashMap  ║
╠═══════════════╬═══════════════════╬═══════════════════╩═════════════════════╣ 
║      Null     ║     allowed       ║              not allowed                ║
║  values/keys  ║                   ║                                         ║
╠═══════════════╬═══════════════════╬═════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ Thread-safety ║                   ║                                         ║
║   features    ║       no          ║                  yes                    ║
╠═══════════════╬═══════════════════╬═══════════════════╦═════════════════════╣
║     Lock      ║       not         ║ locks the whole   ║ locks the portion   ║        
║  mechanism    ║    applicable     ║       map         ║                     ║ 
╠═══════════════╬═══════════════════╩═══════════════════╬═════════════════════╣
║   Iterator    ║               fail-fast               ║ weakly consistent   ║ 
╚═══════════════╩═══════════════════════════════════════╩═════════════════════╝

Regarding locking mechanism: Hashtable locks the object, while ConcurrentHashMap locks only the bucket.