Customer Reviews

Doctor Who Collection - Time And Relative Dimension In Space - USB 4 Port Hub...

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I originally saw this product on a different website for ten dollars less. But, I noticed that some websites mentioned that it was a powered USB hub while others didn't state if it was powered or not. This was a Christmas gift for a very good friend and I wanted to get him the most authentic version. After reading the details from multiple sellers I chose this seller because they stated it was powered and in the details included that it had a power supply included. When my friend opened it, there was a sticker on the box stating that the power was for UK only and the space for the power cord was EMPTY. The seller was unsympathetic and didn't seem to care that they LIED in their description and their product title. I'll NEVER buy from them again.

I bought this for my Dad, who is also a fan of the TV show. I had really hoped that it would be able to help get rid of some of his USB items, but alas the version that showed up didn't have a power adapter. While I bought it from Amazon, it was from a different supplier. On contacting the supplier, he was unable to help me, despite the fact that the description said "powered hub" and the included documentation mentioned the "mains adapter." I strongly suspect that they are sold in the UK with adapters and just repackaged for the US without one, since we have different household current.

Unfortunately, I even tried using a "universal" adapter that "should" have worked to provide the correct voltage and mAmps, but with it connected the hub acted very strange and so I quite trying at that point. Dad keeps it on his desk, it looks cute, but not very useful without the adapter. Sellers, for future reference the adjective "powered" implies an adapter. "Unpowered" means without an adapter.

I'll keep it simple and short. It works great, looks good (though after a year and a half, I had to reglue one of the labels), and is a must for fans. I put mine on a shelf posed with my Doctor, Ace, K9, and Dalek action figures. A couple of hard drives, iPaq and cordless mouse are plugged into it. (And yes, I am really over 40 years old.)

OK, first the good: This is a fun toy, an entertaining piece of Whovian kitch. It's got the flashing light; it's got the proverbial wheezing, groaning sound; it looks really cool sitting there on your desk.

Unfortunately, it's a bit too much like the "real" TARDIS when it comes to reliability. Sometimes it works fine, but other times the signals from my peripherals are apparently arriving on Mars, or in the Middle Ages, or somewhere, because they're certainly not getting through to my computer. I eventually had to unhook my scanner from it, because it just wasn't staying powered up and connected for more than a few seconds at a time (even though the printer, connected to a different port, was fine).

Bottom line: If you're as big a Who geek as I am, and you mainly want a toy that goes "vwoop, vwoop" sitting next to your computer, it might be worth it. But I wouldn't choose this thing if what you really need is a USB hub you can rely on.

(By the way, I feel a bit bad saying this in an Amazon review, but ThinkGeek has it considerably cheaper.)

First, This is not a toy.
Many reviews refer to it as a toy but it is by no means a toy.
There are toy Tardises available but this is not one of them.
Doctor Who Micro Universe Tardis Carrying Case for Micro Figures (35mm)
Doctor Who Underground Toys Electronic Tardis Money Bank
Doctor Who - Tadis Playset
This is a hardware addition to your computer.
I had read a customer review that claimed it is not an actual hub
and you cannot connect a external hard drive through it but that is not true.
It is a fully functional Hub and I have two 500 gig external hard drives attached to mine.
Five inches tall with excellent volume on the sound effects and powerful flashing blue led on top.
This hubs effects will activate when you plug in a USB cord into it or when you activate them by pushing a door panel in the front of the Tardis.
Very light weight but solidly built device.
Speaker,sound effects switch and external power adaptor outlet in rear.
This device is powered through a three foot long USB connection to the computer.
I am very pleased with this item.

The sound is of a decent volume, and can be triggered manually. Great office toy for the doctor who fan.

I like looking at the Tardis no matter what, but it would have been nice if it actually functioned. I've been looking for the right power adapter to use with this, with no luck. I've tried it plugged directly into the computer and plugged into another hub, but it won't actually run anything. It lights up briefly - that's it. The description mentions sound - I never heard any.

I have had a picture of the Tardis on my computers desktop before but nothing compares to having the Tardis on my actual desktop. I love to hear the sound of the Tardis in action as I plug in my USB hardware. Every desk needs this cool Doctor Who Tardis! It works great as a USB 4 Port Powered Hub Station too; it's the only toy on my desk.

I didn't really get this for the hub but as a cool showpiece, which it works very well.

I know the point of the light is to flash only when its making the sounds but I would like to have the light always on when its plugged into my computer. Yeah, wishful thinking...heh.

I received the TARDIS USB hub as a Christmas gift. It's very sturdy, probably able to survive a drop, though I'm going to try to avoid testing that belief. There's a lot of attention to detail, it's not just a chunk of plastic with USB ports and some stickers, it actually looks like the TARDIS, with a door handle and keyhole along with depressions for the door panels just like the boxes the BBC prop is based on. Whoever made the mold for this clearly cared about what they were doing.

As other reviewers have noted, no power cord is included, which is annoying, but bearable if you're not planning to use it with devices requiring extra current. Thumb drives, or a mouse and keyboard should all work fine, but USB-powered scanners and hard drives won't work without tracking down the recommended power supply.

The biggest overall disappointment however (aside from it not being a functional spacetime vehicle) is that there are no drivers available for Windows 7. When you plug the TARDIS hub into a Windows 7 computer, Windows will look for drivers and eventually announce that none are available. Plugging it into a Windows XP machine is a bit more satisfying - the drivers install and thumb drives, etc. appear to work.

Of course, Windows XP is no longer available and most new computers are running Windows 7, so the lack of supported drivers reduces this device from an amusing bit of technology to just another decoration on your desk.