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Signalex Computer Gear 4 Port USB Hub
by londonchemist
Working as a journalist and author, having a USB port hub is of the essence, as my days pretty much focuses upon Word Document after Word Document, at the same time also using my Signalex USB Hub for transporting and storing music and video files with my USB`s, several in the number. I`m no expert when it comes to these types of ... equipment, but I dare say that this USB Hub will work for everyone looking for a pretty standard "Hub", all though, as with most products, this USB Hub from Signalex also comes with its disadvantages...
This is a USB four port hub, to be spesific, a 1.1 hub. I find this size and standard to be more than sufficient for my use, but if you are in need of more, these products also come in 2.0 and 3.0. When having plugged in this USB Hub from Signalex, you will have a total of five USB ports at your service, which to most is more than sufficent. In comparison to the 2.0 and 3.0 model, this 1.1 Hub has its pitfalls and limitations. I`m not all that impressed with the speed and efficiency of this product, functioning best in terms of use for keyboards and a computer mouse, however not something I would prefer using if wanting to add to my external hard drive. Another great fact about this USB Hub from Signalex, is the fact of it being very affordable, costing no more than 1.12 at most, however I paid 0.99 for mine, at amazon. I would say as for standard use, this product will serve you absolutely fine! A standard, good quality USB Hub!
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Signalex Computer Gear 4 Port USB Hub
by cognition
INTRODUCTION
I've got the impression Signalex make low cost low budget electronics approaching low quality or low value. I have this impression because the only place I have seen their product or even heard of them is at Poundland, where they consistently have a wide range of products on offer. Even though I have this impression of ... the Signalex brand, I have bought a wide abundance of their products. I think it's primarily the price that has lured me into doing so. My point of comparison tends to be eBay and Amazon, but where a shop like Poundland wins is in the fact that there is no shipping to add to the original price. The interesting thing is that, while Signalex products are indeed cheap, I have yet to see any of them break.
THE PRODUCT
This review is of Singalex's Usb 4 port hub. Let me straight away point out, this is a USB 1.1. spec usb hub. There are several standards of USB, commonly 1.1, 2.0 and 3.0. At the time of writing, 2.0 is the most common standard, and this is significantly faster than the older 1.1 standard. Thankfully, modern Usb ports are backwards compatible with older devices, although the older devices can not run any faster in newer ports. The max speed of usb 1.1 is 1.43 MB/s, while usb 2 operates at 57 MB/s and the new usb 3 standard at 572 MB/s.
The purpose of a Usb hub is to make more usb ports available. Let's say your PC only has 2 usb ports. If you plug this usb hub into one of them, you will have not 2, but 5 ports available. However, the fact that this is a 1.1 standard hub is of very big importance. Let's say you wanted to plug in a hard drive. Hard drives typically utilize usb 2.0 standard, which is very fast and works brilliantly for hard drives. If you plugged your usb hard drive into this hub, the hard drive would be forced to operate at the speed set by the slower usb 1.1 standard.
Basically, the hard drive would operate so slow you would not want to even give it a shot. However, items like a usb mouse or usb keyboard or a usb dongle, as required by some software for copy protection (iLok, Synchrosoft, etc), are examples of products that typically can operate in their native speed with the 1.1 standard.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
I am using the Signalex usb hub for my usb mouse and keyboard and for my iLok dongle used for copy protecting my music software. The hub has never let me down. It was recognized by Windows within seconds of being plugged in. All the items I plugged into the hub were recognized, and now I keep it plugged in, ensuring my mouse, keyboard and dongle are only taking up one usb port and not three. I tried it with a usb 2 disc once, and the speed was so slow, I rather aborted the operation and freed another usb 2 port for my hard drive.
CONCLUSION
I feel it is important that someone who is contemplating to buy this understands the limitations of the usb 1.1 standard and that they are sure that this hub will fill their needs. If you don't have enough usb ports for your external hard drives, for instance, do not try to save money by buying this. In such a case, the ideal alternative would be to get a powered usb 2 hub. However, if all you need a hub for is items not reliant on high speed data transfer, such as your mouse, keyboard, dongles and probably a wide range of other items I can't think of at the moment, this Signalex hub will do as good a job as any other non powered usb 1.1 hub.
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Targus Travel USB 2.0 4-Port Hub
by Jazzy09
~ Personal Experience ~
As I travel round the country quite a bit, I tend to take my laptop along with a bag full of peripherals and junk that is required to power certain items. For example I tend to take a mouse, keyboard, USB lamp to read books, USB cup heater which keeps my coffee warm (fabulous item!) and lots of ... different USB pens which store all types of useless data but still I need them.
So when I come to plug them all in (uh oh!), I don't have enough ports to plug them all in at the same time. So what I decided to do what I do at home with my plug sockets and convert one into many. I went and bought a USB hub which allows me to plug a hub of USB ports into one USB port and it converts it from one to four in the blink of an eye (technology is wonderful when it works!).
Yes, I can hear you thinking "I haven't heard of Targus, but neither had I until I gave them a go and to be honest it works as well as any other piece of hardware I have used for my laptop.
~ Shop, Price & Postage ~
I paid around £4.26 for this recently from the www.amazon.co.uk website. It cost £5 to ship and cost around £10 in total which is roughly what I would expect to pay for a useful device such as this.
~ Can anyone set it up? ~
Yes it's the question everyone of use dreams, can I install it without having to pull my hair out, or screaming at the computer and deciding to fist the keyboard in rage. The answer is yes it's as easy as putting the kettle on, or lifting up you TV remote or even putting a CD into a computer CD drive. It's plug and play technology so all you have to is plug it in and it works... simples!
The hub itself is notebook powered to is draws power from your PC/Laptop.
~ Details about the device ~
It weighs 300g, which isn't very heavy and that's important when your carrying lots of things to your destination, the last thing you need is a hub that weighs as much as a brick.
~ To conclude...~
This device may look a bit boring and it is, it doesn't have flashing lights, but it does a very important job and allows you to plug more peripherals and devices into your computer than you thought was possible. Without this device I would to unplug and then re-plug items in, which would not be good for the stress levels.
~ Ratings ~
Quality: 5/5
Ease of use: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
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