Kensington DomeHub 7-port USB 2.0 Hub with FlyLight
by Kensington
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List Price: Our Price: $31.25 You Save: $7.74 (20%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $19.99 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
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for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Kensington DomeHub 7-port USB 2.0 Hub with FlyLight
Customer Review: One of the few - if not, only - attractive USB hub(s) out there.
Summary: 4 Stars
The USB uplink cable (the main USB which connects to your computer) is already permanently attached to the hub (why they did this is beyond me) -- and yes, it is short; HOWEVER, the package should INCLUDE a USB extension cable (Type-A Male to Type-A Female), so it should be enough to reach your computer.
The green LED to indicate the connection of a USB is definitely a plus. Most hubs do not have this feature, yet it's extremely helpful to have. However, I find this to be odd: if you connect a USB to the very right side of the hub, you would assume the LED on the right side would light, right? Instead, the LED which it is parallel to, lights. So in this case (if you connect a USB to the very RIGHT port), the LED on the very LEFT would turn on.
As you're probably already aware, there are six ports on the back and one on the top; a total of seven USB ports. Having the one on the top is extremely convenient. I have external hard drives always connected on the back of the hub, and I leave the top USB port open for on-the-go devices like flash drives.
If you're unfamiliar with hubs: most hubs are self-powered with their own power supply (in this case it's one of those brick power supplies), so even if you turn off your computer, power will still go to it. This way, you can still charge portable devices through USB without turning on the computer. This Kensington 7-Port hub also comes with a free USB light, so you can use that too without the computer on.
The unique dome-shaped design may feel a bit awkward at first, but if you have USBs connected all the time, it shouldn't be a problem.
Overall, I'm happy with this purchase. The hub just made my desk setup look nicer too.
IMPORTANT: Like many USB hubs, not all devices work well on a hub. This is because it has to send information to the hub THEN to computer, so it's always best to connect frequent power usage devices DIRECTLY to the computer USB ports. (eg: devices such as drawing tablets, which constantly has to update the cursor). However, for most things like printers, USB flash drives, external hard drives -- it should be fine.
Update: I did notice that the power supply plug is not so secure afterall. They really should've designed that part better as sometimes when you touch or pickup the hub, you lose USB connection, later realizing that the problem was the mini power supply plug slipping out slightly. Disappointing design flaw; something to be aware of.
Customer Review: Overall, the best hub available!
Summary: 5 Stars
Tired of itty bitty lightweight USB hubs that won't stay put? This one will, and has 7 ports - including a handy-dandy top mounted port that allows use of a keychain USB flash drive without having to reach behind or fight the other cables. Front mounted indicator lites and rear mounted connectors make this a very desk friendly device.
The downsides (but see update below):
1) The wall wart is definitely NOT plug strip friendly - this the 21st century, no excuse for this one. GRRRRRR!!!
2) The input port is not connectorized, instead it has a (approximately) four foot USB cable permanently connected. This is fine if it works for you, a drag if it doesn't. In my case it was 6" too short, so now I have 5 feet too much after I plugged in an extension cable. Sigh...
3) Another minor point is that flash drives' access LED will be turned around the wrong way so you can't see them (when plugged into the top connector) - I don't know if there is any kind of standard for this so I don't know if this is the fault of this particular hub's configuration, or that of the flash drive in question.
UPDATE February 2010:
I've been using this hub daily at work for several years, and it has held up well. The top-mount connector has multiple mate/unmate cycles every single day and is still going strong!
So, I purchased a second one for my home system after a 6 port Belkin died. Kensington has listened, and improved the product! Not only is the the wall wart now VERY plug strip friendly, but the top connector has been turned around so that access LEDs on flash drives can be seen from the front! YAY!
I still think the input port should be connectorized and the silver color is so 1970s (Matches my 1979 TRS-80 perfectly!), but these are nits. Now that I'm working in an I.T. position, I won't recommend any other hub! I hope they come out with a similar USB 3.0 version when the time is right...
I have had no problems whatsoever with cables unplugging themselves, and its powered everything I've plugged into it. The front mounted LEDs have quit working on my older one (5+ years now as I write this), but the hub still works fine.
With these new improvements, I now give it 5 stars.
Customer Review: Does the job and comes with a free usb light
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this usb hub for my Mac Mini that only has two usb ports.
The dome looks pretty nice sitting next to the mac mini as it is silver and small.
When I first tried to plug in some usb cables, it was a little tricky since the hub is dome-shaped and you have to plug in the usb cables parallel to the base. It makes you want to plug in a cable downward towards the base instead of parallel to it. But once you figure it out, you get the hang of it. The cables don't come out on their own, they seem to stay in tact.
I was very excited to see that the hub came with a free fly light! It was the first thing I plugged in, but it didn't work! It only flickered on and off. I messed with it and disconnected other usb ports and still nothing. So, that was pretty upsetting.
The hub comes with a power adapter that is the size of a box of crayons, about 2.5" long, 3" tall, and 2" wide. So, you need to make more room on your power strip for that.
I plugged in three usb cables at once and they all work just dandy. The hub was plug and play so I didn't install any drivers. I did read, however, that the hub will disconnect certain ports if one port or more are drawing too much power. I connected my external hard drive, drawing tablet, digital camera cable, and printer/scanner. Worked good for me, nothing turned off.
The manual was a little bare. I wanted to read some more info on the lights on the front of the hub, but it didn't say much about anything in the manual.
There are seven lights on the front of the hub (one for each port). There are six usb ports on the backside of the hub and one usb port on top of the dome. It's very light, but doesn't move around much as it has little feet to keep it in place.
Overall, I think it's a great product especially for the price. Too bad the fly light didn't work though.
Customer Review: Is it OK to love a USB hub?
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't usually get all misty about peripherals, but the Kensington 7-Port USB 2.0 Dome Hub solved a couple of major usability issues for me and is possibly the best, most intelligently thought out USB hub made. Why?
1) This hub replaced an older 4-port hub that had too few ports even when it was new. This makes me ask: Why do others even bother to make a 4-port desktop hub today? If you're on the fence as to whether it's worth spending $12 more to get 7 ports instead of 4, the answer is Yes, Yes, YES! Even if you don't use all 7 right away, at some point -- like when you need them most -- you'll be glad they are there.
2) This hub's dome design actually makes it more compact than my old 4-port hub, so it takes less desktop space while doing more work.
3) It's weighted, so it stays where I put it. As with other hubs sold even today, my old one was not weighted, so it moved whenever a USB cable did, which in turn often made cables come loose. But the Kensington Dome is rock steady and the cables stay put.
4) It worked instantly right out of the box, and still works flawlessly. Note that I run a Mac OS X system, so no driver was needed for this hub. If you run OS 9 or older, or a PC with Windows, you'll need to load the driver provided on a CD that comes in the package. I can't vouch for how it runs with those systems, but it worked so well with mine that I see no reason it shouldn't with yours.
Finally, keep in mind that although this is a USB 2.0 hub, if you plug it into a USB 1.1 computer port, like those in an older computer, it can only do USB 1.1 work. This may seem obvious, but unfortunately isn't to some, and it's an important point in order to give this little beauty it's due respect.
Go for it. You'll love it, too.
Customer Review: Nice price, great product, and it's so cute too.
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a good price for this duo (I shopped around at some local office stores before purchasing), and for me is absolutely perfect for my needs.
Maybe it goes without saying (considering "weighted" is in the title), but this is NOT something you'd want to cart around with you, say in a bookbag, on a daily basis. It's maybe about a pound? It feels substantial. For my purposes though, it's perfect. I can set it up in my home office and plug in my keyboard, mouse, usb drive, pen drive, and all sorts of other randomness without the plugs bumping into each other. I haven't yet experienced any pulling out of the plugs like another reviewer, but mine is situated really close to my left hand, so I can easily pull things out. However it doesn't feel after a week of light use that it's going to be a problem. The whole setup connects to your laptop/desktop by a skinnier cord than your normal USB cord. It looks pretty durable and I rather like this feature - makes for less bulk on my desk. Being a Mac laptop user, I should say the looks factor is high (cute next to my white mac), AND I have noticed absolutely no hiccups in speed accessing all of my devices. In fact, I think the printer starts up and spools faster when connected to this than directly to my laptop, but maybe that's just my wishful thinking since I'm no longer waiting to plug something back in while it does its work. Oh, yeah, and the light's pretty cool too - not exactly a reading lamp, but nice to throw in my school bag and pull out at necessary times (like library reading sessions perhaps). It coils up pretty small and is handy. All and all, I think it's a great product if you're looking for something pretty and fairly permanent on your desk to connect all those peripherals. Thinking about buying a second one for my office at the U.