Cables Unlimited Retractable USB 2.0 Mini5 Pin Cable - Black

by Cables Unlimited

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches ; 1 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 ounces
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0008ESG8G
• Item model number: ZIP-USB2-C05
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,367 in Cell Phones & Accessories (See Top 100 in Cell Phones & Accessories)

Product Description

ZipLINQs high-speed retractable USB 2.0 Compatible cable allows you to connect your digital camera or mp3 player to a computer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Good for USB Drives that Need Power, November 6, 2005

By 

Flash 76 (Washington DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cables Unlimited Retractable USB 2.0 Mini5 Pin Cable - Black (Wireless Phone Accessory)

It wasn't clear (at least to me) from the write-up in Amazon that the cord isn't thick enough to supply power to a USB hard drive. Says so right on the package, but too late. So BEWARE if you were hoping to use this cord with an external USB drive (as I was)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Second one, March 1, 2008

By 

Bryan J. Harris - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cables Unlimited Retractable USB 2.0 Mini5 Pin Cable - Black (Wireless Phone Accessory)

My second one. Works with my Blackberry, BT Headset, and other cell phone. Only reason I did not give it five stars, was due to over time the stress of pulling it to get it to retract caused it to wear the cord out on one side. With that said, the first lasted 2 yrs.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars CAVEAT: These retractables will NOT power up larger devices such as external drives, August 20, 2009

By 

Tony Polito "TonyPolito" (Greenville, North Carolina) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cables Unlimited Retractable USB 2.0 Mini5 Pin Cable - Black (Wireless Phone Accessory)

What Flash76 said is exactly correct. This cable will NOT supply sufficient power to more demanding devices such as external drives. It works fine with my older MP3 player however ... and does appear to be handing both data and power to the player adequately.

Though the Amazon description does not note this fact, the manufacturer DOES do so right on the back of the back of the product packaging, stating:

"NOTE: Because of wire size limitations, External drives must be self powerd." [sic]

I'm no electrical engineer, that's for sure, but I suppose you just need a larger, more 'regular' gauge cable to 'carry' sufficient quantity of power back to the more demanding devices. When using such a cable with my external drive, I have no problem.

But when using these retractables with the external drive, the power light comes on, then the platters can be heard click-click-clicking away, trying to start up a spin unsuccessfully. Eventually, I get a "device not recognized" message from Windows (since it can't fire up to send the drivers downline).

I bought three of these retractables and also I have two external drives, and no matter how I pair them, I get the same result. Regular gauge OK -- these retractables, not enough power.

Other than that, these Zip-Linqs work well and are of good construction. They retract and extract easily.

So for MP3 players, cameras, cell phones, etc., these retractables are probably going to do you just fine.

Shame they don't make the same kind of device in the larger gauge for those that want them for travel/portable/temporary use to power up larger devices.

I am going to use this 12-inch 'Shortys' cable from Ziotek for now. Wish it were a bit longer, though, maybe 18-inches.