When this summer BT launched their new version 2 Home Hub in stylish black the world, well BT Internet users were fairly excited. Not only was the new hub in a much desired colour, it boasted better reliability and twice the transmission distance of the original hub, to highlight this distance ... Read review
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Advantages: It looks nice, more subtle in most surroundings Disadvantages: Signal, reliability, compatability
When this summer BT launched their new version 2 Home Hub in stylish black the world, well BT Internet users were fairly excited. Not only was the new hub in a much desired colour, it boasted better reliability and twice the transmission distance of the original hub, to highlight this distance BT launched a new series of adverts featuring My Family actor Kris Marshall (fresh from a very nasty accident) experiencing the pain of distance separating ... ...was able to connect my BT Vision box, Desktop Computer, Bluray player, and XBOX 360 directly to the hub via the Ethernet connections, and still enjoy the wonder of the wireless to one of three laptops in the house, as well as my iPod. This joy was soon over shadowed by a very dark cloud, more on this later.
The hub features the new version of the Hub Phone, with this you can set up a separate phone line (free providing you don't make ... more
When this summer BT launched their new version 2 Home Hub in stylish black the world, well BT Internet users were fairly excited. Not only was the new hub in a much desired colour, it boasted better reliability and twice the transmission distance of the original hub, to highlight this distance BT launched a new series of adverts featuring My Family actor Kris Marshall (fresh from a very nasty accident) experiencing the pain of distance separating him from his partner, a relationship that has played out over the last four years in adverts, the question being will the new hub keep them together?
Having conned my new hub (I certainly was not entitled to receive BT's new beauty, and had to create a very clever story to upgrade for free) I was overjoyed by its arrival, as well as allowing wireless enabled devices to connect to the hub, the hub features a USB, and four Ethernet connections making this a great multi-function modem; I was able to connect my BT Vision box, Desktop Computer, Bluray player, and XBOX 360 directly to the hub via the Ethernet connections, and still enjoy the wonder of the wireless to one of three laptops in the house, as well as my iPod. This joy was soon over shadowed by a very dark cloud, more on this later.
The hub features the new version of the Hub Phone, with this you can set up a separate phone line (free providing you don't make any calls) which uses the Broadband signal to make calls, BT being tight gits don't really offer you the low cost value that companies like Skype, and Vonage do with this Voip phone. This being said having tried all three, BT does offer the best phone signal via what can often be a very sketchy service.
I connected up all my gadgets, and to be fair there was no difference, after all connection is more about internet signal rather than the device itself. And it's important to point out at this point I'm not reviewing the internet service provided by BT, this is as it should be a review on the Home Hub V2 only.
Everything seemed the same, and I was relatively happy about this; however something wrong was afoot. You may or may not have noticed that the success of Apple's Mac computers has meant that lots of other companies are jacking in Microsoft's Windows in favour of other operating systems. One of the more popular alternative operating systems forcing its way onto the market is the Linux system. This very basic operating system has been round for years but has become very popular this year after the launch of hundreds of super small computers on the market. The wonder of Linux is that it launches the PC almost instantly. I purchased a mini computer for my partner a few months back, as she is currently studying and needed something smaller than a Laptop computer. While on the original Home Hub the PC worked fine, with this new version I was unable to get the computer to connect to it, not via Wi-Fi anyway. When I rang BT I was told that "At this time, Linux or similar systems are not supported by the new hub!" As a result I have had to encourage further destruction of the planet by plugging in a wireless powerline extender (a special plug that sends internet signals via electric rather than telephony), yes this means a further two devices are plugged in order to do a job that one already plugged in device should do, either this or buy an extra long Ethernet cable and run it around the house causing a trip hazard.
This was not the only issue I had with the Hub, let's move on to the wireless signal. Remember that distance according to BT's advert was no longer a problem, "The new hub gives up to twice the transmission distance of the original" WooHooo! My response to this would be to fall down on that great expression "And if your Aunt had balls, she'd be your uncle!" Imagine my surprise when my iPod signal was half of what I used to get with the original hub when I was in the shed. Worse still I now could not get out of the grounds of my property (grounds sounds so posh don't you think, look at me in my two bedroom bungalow mansion) I find this most annoying, because with the old hub, I could get into the next street and still access my Wi-Fi. Why the restriction? Are you ready for the unwritten rule? BT founded something called Fon, Fon was designed in order to allow BT users free access to Wi-Fi all over, BT had a dream that you could walk down the high street and thanks to their burgeoning network of users you could access Wi-Fi signals nearly anywhere, in fields, in the next street, cafe's; Fon would change the world! Trouble being us Brits being a touch selfish do not want to share our internet with others willy nilly, what on earth would we benefit from it? Well now your being forced to join Fon in order to get this improved signal, only when you join Fon allowing potentially thousands of users to piggyback your internet connection will they unlock your hub so you can access this enhanced signal, but nowhere does it tell you this. While on the phone to a tech guy in Kuala Lumpur, he let slip (while trying not to) that Fon was the only way to get double the distance, no mention of that in the advert.
The last flaw is not so major and this is in respects of the hub phone. Every time my home phone rings so does my hub phone, even though it has a different number. You know when you have two phones and it rings and you answer it only to discover it's not for you, with this set up you call out to the person who the call is for and they might shout back "I'll pick it up here!" Not with this baby, when your home phone rings and you pick up the hub phone there is no shouting, no you have to get up and take the phone to the person the call is for. The hub phone also has a tendency when separated from the base for a period of time (say two hours) to lose its signal, and getting it to reacquaint itself with the base unit is far from the easy job it was with the original.
The sad fact of life for me was that greed was not good, in order to get my new funky hub I had to part with my old trusty white one, sacrificing signal distance and the ability to use a Linux PC. So to conclude, my advice is simple, despite sleek appearances the new hub at this moment in time is very much something to avoid. If you're sick of your white hub, look at it with hatred no more, instead turn round and give it a big kiss, it is your friend.
Should you decide not to heed my warning the Home Hub Version 2 is available free to all new BT option 3 users, subscribers of over two years (with existing hub or modem), or available to buy outside of BT for around £100.
Advantages: Wireless, its wonderful! Looks syoopa too!!! Disadvantages: price - notg cheap, but you get it free with upgrades and first time orders!
Bt Total Broadband Equipment - Home Hub Review
I've had Bt Broadband for a long time now, and when the new hub equiptment came out I jumped at the chance of upgrading my connection system. I'm not an overly technical person, so this is not an overly technical review, but I hope it helps!
Bt Total Broadband comes with free equipment if you order it online - and with Option 2 this means a Home Hub, and with Option 3, you get the Home Hub, plus a ... ...coloured world that is the BT logo now. DIMENSIONS
6.5cm (d) x 19.4cm (w)
23cm (h)
Its quite slender width-ways, and not very heavy at all, but tall, so you have to think about where it will go to be out of the way. Compared with my old router ( a BT Voyager 205) its about twice the size, but it does a much better job so I don't hold that against it!!!
The Hub's ports are hidden away at the back, behind a panel that sort of flips outwards to ...
phoenixgreen 10.01.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of BT Home Hub
Advantages: It works! Disadvantages: Cheaply made but expensive to buy, can get free from BT
The BT Home Hub is a Wireless Broadband Router from British Telecom. It's IEEE 802.11b standard (best known under its marketing name WiFi) and features compatibiliy with a wide range of other WiFi devices. Though not the first of BT's broadband devices it does happen to significantly mark the provider's departure from traditional telecommunications and towards a modern media and internet communication. The Hub connects using the standard ADSL connection ... ...a fantastic essential to the BT Fusion package and also the VoD (Video on Demand) service available at the present. The BT Home Hub is free for new customers, free to upgrading customers and can also be bought online from a wide variety of web retailers (just don't buy it from BT's online store - they'd charge you your first born child if they could).
So what soes the consumer/user get with their BT Home Hub package? Well if I'm honest it's pretty ...
arry2007uk 30.01.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of BT Home Hub
I had a BT line installed purely to get broadband after many years of dial up modems and slow downloads.My cable phone was two years away from installing such equipment within my postcode so as you can imagine i was rather excited when the phone line was put in.I then received my box and was like a kid at christmas.
The Product......
I had signed up with BT on a minimum contract of 12 months which i thought was reasonable and had chosen the option ... ...connected i was told by BT that my broadband speed would be based on how far i was from the server and it would then be set after two weeks to a maximum level.I thought i would do a speed test on a site i was recommended so put in the url and low and behold i had no connection.A little box popped up telling me a Lan cable had been unplugged.Damned if i had touched anything.I did a network connection check and it was all good so i had a look at the ...
tmlfc1 21.11.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of BT Home Hub
...fitted and was surplus one BT home Hub, which he had previously received from his brother. Since it hadn't cost him anything he passed it on for the same price………zilch.
They are very smart looking units being that it is basically a white box with some fancy bits on. It has an adjustable antenna in angle only and an array of pretty lights in its top right hand corner. These lights when illuminated green show that the said option is fully working. ... ...there are cheaper, and better options out there to do the same job. The only real advantage is that the BT Hub is an all in one, whereas most of the alternatives are not, so it is strictly a matter of preference. For me though it is definitely too pricey. ...
donf18 17.12.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of BT Home Hub
Advantages: Its free with some packages. Disadvantages: It is abysmal.
...- its only usable with BT Broaband, unless you read around on the internet and spend ages trying to mess with it, making it pretty useless to most people.
It does however come with a 'hub phone' in some cases. Retailing around £79.99, you might think these were good. No, they are not. The calls are generally more expensive than a standard BT corded line, and the internet call quality is appalling.
If, instead, you want to use them for landline ... ...use when a different router is used, and the bloat software that accompanies the router is absolutely useless and very annoying. Instead of "This page cannot be displayed" you have the honours of seeing BT's "The BT HOME HUB cannot display our page".
Do NOT buy under any circumstances. ...
yelliat 08.06.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of BT Home Hub
Reception & Clarity of ...
Range of features
Reliability
Value for money
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Reviews which might be of interest for "BT Home Hub"
Advantages: Colour Display, Caller display, stylish appearance, cheaper (with Home Hub) Disadvantages: you only get it in one colour
BTHub Phone is an ordinary cordless home phone. Except it is one of the best in that category. Its got a colour display (with many options), time & date display, few polyphonic ringtones,phone book that could store up to 50 entries and loudspeaker function. If you get the BTHomeHub to pair up with the Phone you can get cheaper call on land line and mobile. I have had the phone for some time now and I make all calls through the Hub Phone to save money. The Hub Phone's appearance is sleek and stylish unlike the other black-brick cordless phones. There are also no annoying aerials and the sound is perfect as long as you are with-in 200m of the Hub. With these options this cordless is almost a mobile phone.
. ...
Advantages: Great applications, superb memory + nice mp3 player! Disadvantages: Battery life and size
* USB: Yes, v2.0 miniUSB
* Messaging: SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging
* Push to talk
* Vibration Alert: Yes
* Built-in handsfree
* 8 GB internal memory
* Weight: 129 g
* Dimensions: 99 x 53 x 21 mm, 96 cc
* Talk time: Up to 6 hours
* Stand-by: Up to 280 hours
* Dual slide design
* Java MIDP 2.0
* Voice dial/memo
You may find I repeat some of these features as they pop up in my review.
--- What I love about the phone ---
a) Applications - you can upload games/software/music - just like
adding new applications on your computer! For long journeys I seem to always end up playing Who Wants to be a Millionaire on the phone!
The graphics are really good too!
b) WiFi - We have a BTHomeHub which means I can lay in bed and chat on MSN on my phone! - Fantastic. Oh I can be really sad and check Facebook or whatever else I ...
floatingclouds 11.06.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Nokia N95
Advantages: Great Features, easy to use, Awesome sound quality Disadvantages: Not so good range (distance from Hub) Doesnt look so great
The BTHub Phone is the best item ever released from BT (I wont talk about the company here, as this is a hige let down for this device).
It works as an internet phone when logged on, but reverts to a normal land line phone when the internet connection is down.
A number of options are available from the computer, including selection of ringer, so that when the landline number is called, the hub phone will ring, as well as all other phones, and visa versa for standard landline phones.
Its colour screen is attractive, and its lack of features refreshing. All thats needed is a phone, not a game console and mp3 player, and this is what you get!
The sound is brought bt digital technology, and it sounds just great, clear as a bell. Working from the BTHomeHub its a powerful companion in the communication world.
Its handsfree ...
![Hub Cap [Remastered] - Freddie Hubbard](http://imagesb.ciao.com/iuk/images/products/small/517/Hub_Cap_Freddie_Hubbard__6018517.jpg)
