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Thinking about buying a USB 2.0 hub? Whenever buying a hub, the 3 most important things you should be looking for are: power, ports and speed.

POWER
Always buy a powered USB hub. Any hub that comes without an AC power adapter is a total waste of time. As soon as you plug in a power hungry USB device (like a memory card reader) you will probably get a low power warning. I got an un-powered USB hub as a corporate gift last year and eventually just threw it in the garbage. It would just randomly give me a low power warning and disconnect all USB devices connected to it including hard drives that I might have been working with at the time. Total pain in the ass.

PORTS
Besides power, the other thing you should be looking for is ports. The more, the merrier. Seriously, you can never really have too many USB ports these days. My PowerMac G5 has 3 USB 2.0 ports in the back and 1 in the front. But I still had to buy two powered USB hubs to connect all my external devices to my computer. I have an iPod Video, Chub City charactor, Kensington Turbo Mouse, Apple Mouse, Apple Pro Keyboard, a Cannon scanner, lava lamp, Christmas Tree, and a SanDisk memory card reader. I try to keep the USB port on the front of the computer free in case someone comes by with a USB keychain. Most USB hubs only have 4 ports. The Iogear GUH227 hub has 7. I always want the most ports possible.

SPEED
Another factor you should consider when buying a USB hub is speed. The Iogear GUH227 hub has 7 Hi-Speed USB 2.0 ports capable of a data transfer rate of up to 480 Mbps. Have no idea what that means? Don't worry about it. Just know that as far as hubs go, this baby is pretty fast.





The MiniHub also supports USB 1.1 devices. In general, most USB devices are backwards compatible but not always. I have a EP USB 2.0 memory stick that's not backwards compatible with USB 1.0 devices.




Features

• 7 USB 2.0 ports for easy expansion
• Supports data transfer rate of up to 480 Mbps
• 40 times faster than USB 1.1 products
• Plug-n-Play, hot swappable
• Backward compatible with USB 1.1 specifications
• Supports Windows 98, 98SE, 2000, ME, XP, and Mac OS X or later version
• 1 USB 2.0 A-B cable included
• 3 Year Limited Warranty

Requirements

• Windows 98SE, 2000, ME, XP
• Available USB 2.0 port
• Mac 8.6 or greater. Requires OS X for USB 2.0 support
• Available USB 2.0 port

Package Content

• GUH227 - Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Hub
• Power Adapter
• USB A to B Cable (6’)
• User Manual
• Warranty Registration Card

The Iogear GUH227 USB 2.0 hub supports Windows 98SE, 2000, ME, XP, and Mac OS X 10.2 or later.


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Labels: gadgets, review