Customer Reviews

Belkin AC Powered Ultra-Slim Series 4-Port USB 2.0 Hub (F4U040v)

Wow, this thing is super tiny.. Probably about the size of my iPhone.. works great -- it's serving dual purpose for me right now:
1. Powers my raspberry pi
2. Allows me to hook up additional peripherals (keyboard, mouse, harddisk) that act as devices for my raspberry pi

Awesome!

Edit:
For those of you interested, the power brick that comes with this thing:
Model: PSa525
OUTPUT: +5V 2.6A

I have a few favorite peripheral manufacturers, Belkin has always been high on the list, it's nice to be able to go with what you know.

But- there is no shortage of USB hubs from which to choose, so I was curious if this one had anything to make it stand out. Decision? Not really. I don't know if anyone would care about a real test of data transfer speeds - vs. another product, powered vs. unpowered, direct connect, etc.. so for the sake of brevity we can skip that. Besides, I am sure those numbers will show up here sooner or later, even if only copied from Belkin's spec sheet.

About the size of (and slightly resembling) a 10-hole diatonic harmonica, it is indeed "ultra-slim". the fact that it is powered is a plus, but it's actually hard to tell from the packaging- but if you heft it first you'll appreciate there has to be more than the unit included.

Comes with a fairly standard AC adapter and a mini-to-full sized USB male. What I found unusual about this cable was that it is white, the first non-Apple cord I have seen of that color.

Whatever.

Unlike another reviewer states, I did not find it necessary to be powered in order to work correctly- at least with USB drives; larger peripherals- printers, scanners- will probably require it.

As far as USB drives, the 4 ports are placed too close together to allow more than 4 of the slimmest you can find too fit, even at that they tend ot fan out a bit. Why anyone would need to do this is questionable, although working in IT there are times when I do in fact transfer a lot of data back and forth- it could be useful for making multiple copies across several drives, but if this became more than a once-and-awhile thing, I'd pick up a different model.

However, 4 standard USB plugs fit perfectly- obviously the design target- or 2 and a larger device. I found the perfect place for it too- it fits perfectly attached to the lower left side of my monitor, courtesy of Scotch Permanent Mounting Tape, 1 Inch x 125 Inches- so instant added four-port expansion conveniently located, as well as a mini-USB plug for a direct connect to some other devices I had. How nicely 2 Amazon products solved a problem I didn't even knew I had!

This unit is a straight-forward USB hub, allowing you to turn one USB High-Speed bus port into four comparable ports, each with data transfer speeds of up to 480MB/sec. I tested this unit with my Mac Pro and found it worked as indicated, with a Vendor specification of Genesys Logic rather than Belkin, indicating the origin of the hub's design.

I compared it against Belkin's 8.8 ounce Hi-Speed USB 2.0 4-port Hub F5U234v1, which I already had installed on my Mac. The two hubs work similarly in that the power cord probably won't be necessary for any but the most power-hungry USB accessory. I never have my standard hub plugged in, and found I didn't have to bother with the cord on this one either. That said, if you have several daisy-chained hubs, your mileage may vary and you may find the AC cord a necessary evil. The older Belkin hub is currently $18.03 while this one is $29.99. So what do you get for your extra $12?

Actually, you get less - about three ounces less. This hub is tiny, barely larger than the space necessary for the four USB ports, the mini-port to plug it into the computer, and the AC cord port. And it is very light, so this is really best suited for the portable crowd. Otherwise, there's no reason not to spend a little less and get the larger unit. The larger unit also has an advantage in that it has LED's to indicate that it is plugged in as well as to indicate which USB port is active (something plugged in AND turned on).

So if you're buying for something that will fit in your laptop case or that you'll be toting around, and you think it's worth $12 to save three ounces and a small amount of space, then this is your hub. Otherwise, its actual function differs not at all from earlier heavier models. Five stars - it does exactly what it's supposed to do in just about the smallest amount of space possible.

I love this hub! I'm currently using it on wall power with a night stand organizer to power my phones, bluetooth, and kindle overnight. This powered hub is nice because I can eliminate several wall jacks and use the short micro-usb cables to neaten up my night stand and keep everything charged. I also bring it to my desk occasionally when I have several things that need charging, and am in fact using it right now to charge my bluetooth, phone and my daughters mouse. I've had flashier usb hubs that look like they belong on star trek, but this one does the job in a very small size. It can also be used without the power source but your devices will not charge as quickly.

I'm using this on my iMac with three iPhones, and an iPad. I was able to update the software on two of the phones, and sync data on all devices, all at the same time. It does charge the iPhones (all at same time), but does not charge the iPad (but the iPad has never charged off my keyboard due to its power requirements). It has a nice, slim design, is compact and doesn't take up much room. The performance is great. This is a big improvement over the USB buss in the keyboard, which only allows for one device at a time. I plugged this in on my iMac keyboard USB buss connection, and the power supply is plugged into an outlet (very simple to install and operate).

The Belkin 4-Port Ultra-Slim Desktop Hub comes complete with the USB connecting cable and a power adapter. The label states that it is "powered" so I expected to need the power adapter for it to work. Yes, that's all I needed, another cord to add to the already tangled mess near my computer plus finding a spare outlet to plug it might be a problem. I am happy to report that this hub works perfectly on my desktop PC WITHOUT the power adapter. The hub does not include any instructions whatsoever but that is also not a problem. My Vista (I know I need to upgrade) computer instantly recognized and installed the hub when plugged directly into the computer and also when piggybacked onto another hub. USB devices plugged into the hub were also instantly recognized and functioned properly in both instances.

I would not hesitate to recommend this USB hub. It appears to be well made and in my opinion lives up to quality standards I would expect from a Belkin product. The hub is small enough to fit into a laptop case for portable use. Although it seems to work well without the power adapter, I like the fact that one is included to support devices that might require more power than the computer connection alone can provide.

After only a few months of use one of the ports is dead. Just one, which is really strange. Until that happened, it would have gotten 4 stars (lacking enough power to charge an iPad was my only complaint).

This is one slick little USB Hub. I mean, they all do the same thing, but this one LOOKS great. The case is black in the picture, but what you don't see is the white accents on the side, plus the USB cable provided is white. A+ for aesthetics.

Hub works great. It's tiny and lightweight, perfect travel piece for a laptop. You do have the option to power it for devices that need that and a wall-wart power supply is provided. I use mine at my desk PC so I keep it powered and plugged in. I honestly think it makes my klunky Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 5000 with the egg-shaped RF receiver work smoother!

There are other hubs out there that probably cost less, but this one has it all. Works great, looks great, tiny and light, and the option to power it if needed with the included power supply. I'll be buying another one of these for my wife's PC and probably one for my laptop. I'm getting old and cranky, and don't want cheap things in my life anymore, lol. I'll spend a bit more for quality. Good job Belkin!

UPDATE 9/23/2011: It's true, this little powered hub solved the signal issue with the Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 5000 - Metallic Black (63A-00001). Plugging the receiver into this hub with the power supply attached is what the mouse receiver needed. Maybe any powered hub would have worked, but I do like the quality of this Belkin hub, cheaper devices have literally fallen apart in my hand. This one feels well made.

As the title implies, i've tried several el cheapo usb hubs only to have problems with them not recognizing usb devices, usually after fairly short period of use. So when I saw this Belkin offering and noted that it is powered i thought why not give it a go. That was 6 months ago and that is 6 months of trouble-free operation.

I'm not technically saavy about usb matters, so I don't know what is the advantage of having a powered hub, maybe to take current load off the computer. I noticed that one reviewer here said the hub would work without being connected to the power supply. I haven't tried that.

Anyhow, the hub works reliably and for that reason it's worth 5 stars.

Works great for my Raspberry Pi, highly recommend if you need a hub for your Pi. I would buy again.