Belkin High-Speed USB 2.0 7-Port Mobile Hub
by Belkin Components
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List Price: Our Price: $17.31 You Save: $12.68 (42%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Belkin High-Speed USB 2.0 7-Port Mobile Hub
Customer Review: HORRIBLE!!
Summary: 1 Stars
I purchased this hub from Target last month in an attempt to stop my small children from removing devices plugged into the tower. What a waste of money ($30), and it's totally useless! Here are the issues we experienced:
1. Both the power and USB cables are WAY too short - even for a standard-sized desk, and due to this limitation of placement, small hands can still reach devices plugged into them.
2. The power cable connection isn't tight enough, and it repeatedly falls out.
3. There are no LED's to show you that your devices are successfully connected.
4. Half the ports didn't work out of the box!
5. The other ports are crooked, or you have to pull the device out half-way and wiggle it until you get some kind of connectivity.
6. Forget plugging even two things into this hub at once. Since the connections wiggle, one device is disconnected in the attempt to connect another.
RESULT: I'm tossing this product into the trash. Belkin won't get any more money from me until they step up quality control.
Customer Review: Perfect for low-power and self-powered devices
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had zero trouble with my Belkin hub. I use it with my unibody MacBook Pro, a pair of external hard drives and the Korg Nano Kontrol, Nano Key and Nano Pad controllers.
Several other reviewers have complained about the short power cable. Since my external hard drives have their own (required) power bricks, and the Korgs are very low power devices, I haven't needed to use the Belkin brick. Rather than complain about the brick's cable, I would rather Belkin just not include it.
If this hub was lost or stolen, I would buy another one.
Customer Review: More sensitive than a psychic
Summary: 1 Stars
I purchased this item from a local store in Houston and do not remember exactly why I chose this over other products. I don't mean that in a bad way, I'm just not sure if my decision was based on cost, employee recommendation, roll of the dice, etc. I have two external hard drives connected at all times and I also use it to plug in my iPhone. There is hardly a way to exaggerate the sensitivity of the device to movement. I once used rubber bands to make sure the USB cables from my hard drives to the hub would not move but even that was of little help. There is just no way for me to get close to this thing without having all of my devices disconnect from the computer. I'm not talking about accidentally pulling out the wire when my foot gets caught, I'm talking about sneezing on the thing and having everything disconnect. I have not tried the sneezing thing yet but I have touched it with the same amount of force one would use to feel a spider-web without destroying it and my heartbeat disconnects the thing with my pulse.Customer Review: "Wait, this drive wasn't blank on the other computer..."
Summary: 1 Stars
At first, I was fairly happy with it. Then it started having issues I wrongly blamed my computer for: disconnecting/reconnecting devices at random, an external CD/DVD burner suddenly being really slow or not working, even a hard drive coming up temporarily as unreadable. Then a few days ago, a backup hard drive suddenly lost all of its files, so I figured it was dying; it was when a flash drive did the same thing a day later that I realized the hub was the culprit. I'd forgotten that 2 other Belkin hubs had died on me several years ago, or I wouldn't have bought this one.
Bottom line: it's probably OK for non-storage devices; mine is still working in that capacity. It's NOT a good idea if you plan on plugging a drive of any kind into it -- even advanced Linux tools couldn't get some of my files back. (Thankfully, they only held a few days of fiction edits that I can replicate from memory, or I would be typing with the caps lock on like a hysterical hearing-impaired auntie right now.)
Customer Review: Excellent
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very good USB hub. Several USB devices can be plugged into the hub without plugging the USB hub into an outlet with the power cord (which I agree is a little short.)
These can most likely be plugged in without powering the hub: Wireless mice, wired mice, usb headsets. I have a Microsoft Wireless mouse and I can use it with the hub without plugging the hub in to an outlet.
iPods and external hard drives can be plugged in to the hub, but you have to plug the hub into an outlet.
I would say that any solid state hardware can be plugged into the hub without powering the hub. Solid state hardware is hardware without motors and moving parts. iPods and external hard drives have motors which move the drive head to read and write data so that's why you need to plug the hub into an outlet.
I also have a wireless number pad which works very well with this hub.
This is a very excellent product and I recommend it.