It seems like ages ago that I had a PC that did not have enough USB ports and the two that it did have were discreetly hidden around the back of the tower. At first this was not a problem as I hardly ever used the USB ports. As my computer grew so did the need to access these USB ports, this soon became an annoyance as I kept having to turn the tower around to access the ports and plug another device in, this also meant sacrificing whatever was in the port at that time.

A friend suggested that I should look at getting myself a USB hub, as this would not only add to the amount of USB ports that are available to me, but would make accessing the ports so much easier.

I chose the Belkin Hi-Speed USB 2.0 4-Port Hub; this was based on the price, availability and looks. The price and availability of the USB hub were my main purchasing considerations.

I got the main USB hub, a connection cable (one end plugs into the hub and the other plugs into a USB port on the computer), a transformer (this supplies power to the hub via a cable that plugs into the hub, more about this later in the review) and very limited instructions. This all gave me change from £25.

The hub itself is squircle shaped (a cross between a square and a circle) on one end are four USB ports, at one side is a socket for connecting the USB lead that connects the hub to the computer and another socket for the power supply that comes from the transformer.
On the top and directly over the USB sockets are LED's that tell me when any of the USB sockets are in use and another LED that tells me if it is connected to the transformer.

I found it very easy to set up and use, first I plugged the connector lead into a spare USB socket on the back of my PC, then I plugged the other end into the USB hub. The next step was to plug the transformer into the mains and the corresponding pin into the socket on the USB hub.

I have used this for plugging in scanners, printers, mass-storage devices (including a PSP), web cam, a mouse, high-resolution cameras and USB hard drives.

Any other uses?

I have a silly habit of using it as a must do paper weight, those all important must deal with letters get popped underneath the hub.

Finally one use I would not wholly recommend, but I did try this when I had no other way and it worked with no adverse effect. I plugged the transformer into its power supply then without using a computer I plugged a mobile phone (the type that charges through a mini USB connection) into the hub and successfully charged the phone.

The only problem I have come across when using this USB hub is all about the power supply. When to have it connected and when not to have it connected to the hub.
On a computer one of the things the USB does is send a low voltage electrical supply to whatever is plugged into it. As often as not the item plugged in will be more than happy with the supply it is receiving, however when I started adding more items to the computer by using the hub the power needed to supply them needed to be upgraded and that is where the transformer for the hub comes into play.
The problem does not end there, the only solution as to what does and what does not work with or without the additional power supply can only be solved by the tried and tested method of experimenting. That is not as bad as it sounds, the problems I that I experienced have all been solved, I now know what USB devices are power hungry and require the boost of the power supply and what devices will work happily only taking power from the computer.

Apple Mac OS, Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition / Windows ME, Microsoft Windows 2000 / XP
As with a lot of software and hardware at present Vista users need to check with the manufacturers and or retailers.