This is a great product at a great price. I bought one of these for my laptop to add to the number of USB ports available. I liked it so much, I bought another for my desktop to simply make the ports more accessible. The supplied cord is plenty long to reach the desktop on the floor and then I simply Velcro'ed the Targus to my desk to make plugging and unplugging USB devices much more convenient. The Targus works right out of the box, no install required and it works on every computer I've tried -- no problems. I must confess, the blue LED's look pretty cool too! Targus 4-Port USB 2.0 Ultra Mini Hub PA055U (Black)
I love this product!I read the reviews of all the hubs and was confused about what would work and what wouldn't and "powered" vrs "un-powered"...So I decided to buy a cheap, un-powered hub and see if it worked and go from there.It works perfectly!I have a 2-yr old PC running Windows 98 second edition.I only have two USB ports and was ready to buy a new PC just to get more ports since every peripheral nowadays uses USB.A friend told me about USB hubs--essentially an extension cord for your USB ports.I plugged-in the Targus (the blue lights are cool), and plugged into the Targus the following--internet cable modem, scanner, DVD burner, and MP3 player. I rebooted (probably not necessary, but it never hurts), and everything is totally cool.Now, I'll get another year out of this PC before I upgrade and I WILL keep the Targus hub--it saved Christmas!
First off, note that Amazon has grouped together reviews from a number of different Targus hubs. That's why you see references to USB 1 versus USB 2, some people with 4 ports and some with 8. This review is for the Targus PA050U USB 2.0 High-Speed Hub (4-port).
The positive:
--It functions. However, almost all USB hubs do that, so that can't really be the basis for a rating.
--I do like the glowing blue lights when a device is plugged in and powered. (And it matches my Saitek Eclipse keyboard, which also has a blue glow. Unfortunately, the hub ended up on my tower underneath my desk because of the cord length, so I can't even see it).
The negative:
--The cord! It's not even three feet! Make sure you measure the distance you'd like your cord to travel before purchasing this hub. It's about 2 feet 9 inches. I wanted to put this hub on my desk, but the cord is not long enough to make it there from the back of the computer. For the price of this hub, I shouldn't have to buy a longer cord.
--It weighs almost nothing, which means it won't stay where you want it to. Plus, the cord it comes with is fairly rigid, which means that the direction of the cord determines where your hub points. I grant that the weight is a positive for those who carry it around with a laptop, but it is not good for someone who wants it to sit somewhere semi-permanently. Another reviewer had the great idea to use velcro; I will have to take that suggestion.
Overall, it does what it's supposed to, but doesn't every hub? The difference is in the details, and this hub's short cord and feather weight are disappointing. Three stars for a desktop user. I'd probably give it four or five stars if I were a laptop user, since the short cord and light wieght would be great.
This is an excellent usb hub for the price. Very compact and very light. It doesn't take up too much space at all. Also, it's powered thru USB so you do not need to deal with an AC adaptor. I have a couple of USB devices that are powered through the USB port as well and my concern was whether they would still be active through this hub. I plugged both into the hub and both were powered up!! And the 4 ports light up with a nice blue led color that's looks really cool!! Targus should show this in their ads/marketing material because it definitely makes the hub look much cooler! This is a great bargain and perfect for people that need a simple & compact USB hub for all their gadgets.Definitely recommended!!
PROS
Small
Cute
Self-powered - comes with a power adaptor. I have 6 devices hooked up to it, including 2 USB Hard Drives, and it works fine without the adapter - a big plus for me. Most hubs would not work with this setup.
USB 2.0 & 1.1 - 6 devices hooked up, 3 low speed and 3 high speed, all work very well.
Runs cool.
CONS
Not sure why, but they put the 7 ports on one side of the hub and power/uplink ports on the other. This is dumb. If you have the hub on a desk it looks awkward. All ports should be on the back and leds on the front. Here, the leds are next to each port which makes them completely useless as you don't see them.
The hub is very light so when you have lots of devices hooked up the font gets a elevated.
Overall, the best hub I've ever had and I tried many.
It's speedy and space saving and inexpensive. I bought this to replace my Belkin because the Belkin needed to be plugged in. This one is powered by your computer so there's no extra power cords, which is a big plus to me.
The only thing I dislike about this is the fact that the Hub takes up two Usb ports instead of just one like the Belkin. - Computer - 4 Port - 4-port Usb Hub - 4 Port Usb Hub'
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