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Adaptec XHub2
by litangmu
It's always the same problem. Your computer/laptop could have tens of USB ports, but there never seems to be enough available once you've plugged in the mouse, keyboard, printer, external hard drive, scanner, camera, and perhaps one of those awful novelty fans, mug warmers, or USB mini fridges (the things that companies sell these ... days!). In order to satisfy this demand for an ever increasing need of USB ports, Adaptec, a company usually concerned with manufacturing the parts inside your computer, decided to produce the XHub2. In many ways, I wish they had 'stuck to what they know'. Let's have a quick look at the XHub2 and evaluate it as we go along.
Design
First impressions are poor to say the least when you first come into contact with the XHub2. The quality seems to be distinctly lacking in this device, but perhaps this is personal taste. The USB connector and the cable are made out of that transparent plastic that seems to scratch as soon as you look at it. I personally do not like seeing the internal components - I just think it looks 'cheap'. I suppose this type of plastic is on a par with that nicotine-stain coloured white plastic which you can also find being used on these occasions. The 'box' itself used to insert your two USB connectors is opaque plastic, but this does not necessarily improve matters. It seems to produce a jarring contrast between opaque and transparent, and the quality is shabby at best. The plastic is silver in colour, with the base being a slightly darker and more matted tone.
The shape is that of an oblong which has had the rear end sliced off. On one side (and peculiarly only one side) of the 'box' are some small grooves, presumably to assist in picking up the device. I am not sure that having friction only on one finger will do much good in this regard. If not for practical purposes, aesthetically this is a bit of a dismal feature. Am I getting the message across? It looks cheap, and probably was unbelievably cheap to manufacture. The one thing going for it is the fact that the cable can be twisted and moved to suit your needs, so that your cables are not unnecessary tangled. The length on this cable however, around 20cm, will not be enough to properly create a clear desktop area, so again, think about this before you pick up the XHub2.
Functionality
A redeeming feature of this device would probably be the status lights found atop the 'box' of the XHub2. There are three in all - one confirming that the Hub is plugged into your PC, and the other two independently confirming whether the 1 or 2 devices have been plugged into the 'box'. This is surprisingly useful, especially if you're connecting a USB device that has 'had its day'. You can be sure that there is power going to the device, and if it still doesn't work, then you know for sure it is knackered, as opposed to torturing your powers of deduction trying to ascertain whether its the PC USB port, the XHub2 or the device itself that is causing the problem.
One of the 'selling points' of this item is that it does not require any external power - I cannot bring to mind an example of a USB Hub which requires one! In addition, much is said about the fact that this item is USB 2.0 compliant, bringing consequential speed benefits in terms of data transfer rates. Again, in 2010 the vast majority of devices use USB 2.0, and it is only on older devices you'll find USB 1.1 still in use. I do hope that if you see this in a shop and the salesman waxes lyrical about the fact that it will 'speed up your devices', bear this anecdote in mind: You may own a Ferrari 911, but you can only drive it at 70MPH on the motorway (by law anyway!). Seeing as this device is governed by the laws of physics, if your device is USB 1.1, a USB 2.0 Hub won't make the blind bit of difference. What I will say is that the device does its principal job well - there are no problems with data transfer speeds, and said speeds do not degrade with two devices plugged in. The XHub2 doubles the number of USB ports available to you - that is all.
Conclusion
The last sentence above really does sum it up. This is a simplistic USB Hub that looks awfully tacky and cheap. I bought this from a market seller for a few pounds, but having trawled through Google, I realise that the RRP for this device was £20 at one point! That is an absolutely obscene amount to pay for something like this and was probably a fairly large amount to pay for the device back in 2003, when it was first manufactured. If you see this around in a flea market or discount outlet and can grab it for a few pounds, then by all means do. However there are much more attractive and aesthetically pleasing devices on the market for the same, if not a lower price, and I'd implore you to look elsewhere.
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