I bought the Targus Ultra Mini 4-Port USB Hub as I have more USB items than USB sockets on my laptop docking station.
Its compact dimensions (width 9.5 cm, depth 4 cm, height 1.5 cm, weight 40 g)and included USB connection cable allow it to fit anywhere on the desk, and its four USB 2.0 ports (480Mbps data transfer) allow rapid connection to all sorts of peripherals. It's also backward compatible with older USB 1.1 devices, and Apple devices I believe, too.
Installation (with Windows XP SP2) is a doddle, with no drivers aor anything to install, just plug it in, wait a few seconds while Windows does its stuff, and we're off. Connecting USB peripherals previously connected directly prompts Windows to repeat its "Found New Hardware" business, but this takes just a few seconds.
When peripherals are connected, the plastic around the USB socket on the hub lights up - nice, but unnecessary. The power for these lights comes down the USB cable, although there is an AC power in socket on the item. The power supply is included in the retail pack, although mine (from Ebay) came without one. Without the AC power, this "self-powered" hub may, therefore struggle if you have lots of devices connected to it that need a lot of power...
Click the "Product Information" tab above for more details, and the "Compare Prices" tab for prices and availability, where (today, 07 April 2006) you'll see that you can get it from "savastore.com" for £23.23 ex. VAT (£27.30 inc VAT), which seems a reasonable price to me, espacially as the Targus website offers it at £34.25 ex. VAT !
Overall, this hub "does exactly what it says on the tin", and if you need more USB 2.0 sockets, something like this will help you along !
I hope this helps...
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Thanks for your comment.
However, I've tried to exclude pricing details from my reviews a) because it rapidly becomes out of date, and therefore useless, and b) because this information is already available within Ciao; just one click away on the "Compare Prices" tab - as noted in my review.
Just for you, I'll add this information to the body of the review anyway.
I hope this helps...
toxicreviewer 07.04.2006 14:07
I would have found your review very helpful if you had included an average price, or what you consider to be a fair price for the hub in addition to where it can be obtained from. Having to go searching for information that could have been included in the review simply detracts from the helpfulness. If you add the above, let me know and I will very happily amend my rating for you. Thanks for sharing.
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