Customer Reviews

Kensington DomeHub 7-port USB 2.0 Hub with FlyLight

5 star:		(97)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

The Kensington 7 Port USB 2.0 Dome Hub is a superb piece of user-centred design.

For years I've used USB ports that technically did their job, but failed in other areas. Take the most recent that I've been using - made by GE, it suffers from design flaws that are truly infuriating. First, there is not enough space between the USB port sockets, so that USB leads that have fat plugs cannot be plugged in next to each other. Secondly, the unit is so light (despite being a seven-port hub) that it slides around my desk whenever I move one of the leads that are plugged into it. It might work technically as a hub, but as a piece of useful technology it's hopeless. It has quite clearly never actually been tested by a real end-user in a working environment.

The Kensington 7 Port USB 2.0 Dome Hub, on the other hand, is superbly designed. Its rounded shape means that the USB lead plugs are adequately separated and all the ports can accommodate a lead with a fat plug. One of the ports is conveniently located right at the top of the dome, perfect positioning for items that are frequently plugged and unplugged, such as pen drives. And, the unit is heavily weighted, and never slides around my desk. And, it looks superb as well. Highly recommended.

It's very cute, and I like the way the LEDs light up when something is plugged in and blink when data is going through. However, I have a few complaints.

1) The plugs don't go all the way in because the ports are set parallel to the base, not perpendicular to the surface. One side of the plug is seated all the way, but the other side isn't.

2) Plugged-in items slip out easily. The hub is behind my monitor where nothing moving touches it, yet I occasionally find that my printer is offline because the plug has slipped out of the hub.

I don't usually get all misty about peripherals, but the Kensington 7-Port USB 2.0 Dome Hub solved a couple of major usability issues for me and is possibly the best, most intelligently thought out USB hub made. Why?

1) This hub replaced an older 4-port hub that had too few ports even when it was new. This makes me ask: Why do others even bother to make a 4-port desktop hub today? If you're on the fence as to whether it's worth spending $12 more to get 7 ports instead of 4, the answer is Yes, Yes, YES! Even if you don't use all 7 right away, at some point -- like when you need them most -- you'll be glad they are there.

2) This hub's dome design actually makes it more compact than my old 4-port hub, so it takes less desktop space while doing more work.

3) It's weighted, so it stays where I put it. As with other hubs sold even today, my old one was not weighted, so it moved whenever a USB cable did, which in turn often made cables come loose. But the Kensington Dome is rock steady and the cables stay put.

4) It worked instantly right out of the box, and still works flawlessly. Note that I run a Mac OS X system, so no driver was needed for this hub. If you run OS 9 or older, or a PC with Windows, you'll need to load the driver provided on a CD that comes in the package. I can't vouch for how it runs with those systems, but it worked so well with mine that I see no reason it shouldn't with yours.

Finally, keep in mind that although this is a USB 2.0 hub, if you plug it into a USB 1.1 computer port, like those in an older computer, it can only do USB 1.1 work. This may seem obvious, but unfortunately isn't to some, and it's an important point in order to give this little beauty it's due respect.

Go for it. You'll love it, too.

The idea of a weighted hub was very appealing to me. My last hub, a D-Link, spent a lot of time behind my desk. Apparently, most hub manufacturers have not been introduced to physics. Attaching a bunch of cables to a piece of plastic that weighs a few ounces makes sure that it won't ever stay put.

Alas, Kensington has broken my heart with the promise of this hub. I've only had it a couple of days and have noticed two problems.

The first, and most important, is that this hub supplies almost no power. I am able to use an external hard drive, but only if I don't connect any other devices. Using my wireless mouse causes my docked iPod to stop charging. Why in the world does this thing even plug into an electrical outlet?

Secondly, it seems to be very susceptible to interference. Transferring a large file over the wireless network starts making the mouse not respond and keyboard strokes to be missed. I tried the mouse receiver in another hub, and it seems to be something specific to the Kensington.

I've always been very satisfied with Kensington's products until now, but this thing doesn't even do a mediocre job. It should only be considered by people who don't use any bus-powered devices.

The best thing... it's about apound in weight, so it will not slide around.

Next best thing... it has a port on top, perfect for flashdrives.

It also comes with a nifty little LEF light on a flexible stalk, which is long enough to be attached to a rear port and still light up my keyboard/tablet (I like to do my graphics work in the dark).

I don't understand the complaints others have made about the ports... They firmly grip all my USB connectors... So tightly in fact, that they take a little extra effort to shove in, but not so much that it feels like I have the connector backwards.

And the one complaint someone had about the length of the USB cable also seems a little odd... The pigtailed connector is a couple feet long, and the box includes a nice long extension. 99% of users should be happy with this arrangement.

Not much else to say, except I am quite pleased with it... it's different looking and not ugly, and simply works... I guess if I were to change anything, I would put blue or white LEDs on it, instead of green, but that's a personal preference.

The USB uplink cable (the main USB which connects to your computer) is already permanently attached to the hub (why they did this is beyond me) -- and yes, it is short; HOWEVER, the package should INCLUDE a USB extension cable (Type-A Male to Type-A Female), so it should be enough to reach your computer.

The green LED to indicate the connection of a USB is definitely a plus. Most hubs do not have this feature, yet it's extremely helpful to have. However, I find this to be odd: if you connect a USB to the very right side of the hub, you would assume the LED on the right side would light, right? Instead, the LED which it is parallel to, lights. So in this case (if you connect a USB to the very RIGHT port), the LED on the very LEFT would turn on.

As you're probably already aware, there are six ports on the back and one on the top; a total of seven USB ports. Having the one on the top is extremely convenient. I have external hard drives always connected on the back of the hub, and I leave the top USB port open for on-the-go devices like flash drives.

If you're unfamiliar with hubs: most hubs are self-powered with their own power supply (in this case it's one of those brick power supplies), so even if you turn off your computer, power will still go to it. This way, you can still charge portable devices through USB without turning on the computer. This Kensington 7-Port hub also comes with a free USB light, so you can use that too without the computer on.

The unique dome-shaped design may feel a bit awkward at first, but if you have USBs connected all the time, it shouldn't be a problem.

Overall, I'm happy with this purchase. The hub just made my desk setup look nicer too.

IMPORTANT: Like many USB hubs, not all devices work well on a hub. This is because it has to send information to the hub THEN to computer, so it's always best to connect frequent power usage devices DIRECTLY to the computer USB ports. (eg: devices such as drawing tablets, which constantly has to update the cursor). However, for most things like printers, USB flash drives, external hard drives -- it should be fine.

Update: I did notice that the power supply plug is not so secure afterall. They really should've designed that part better as sometimes when you touch or pickup the hub, you lose USB connection, later realizing that the problem was the mini power supply plug slipping out slightly. Disappointing design flaw; something to be aware of.

After reading all the reviews before purchasing this hub, concerned mostly with the reliability, I went ahead and bought it because it seemed be a stylish yet functional hub that was also weighted enough to keep from twisting and rocking off its base when its ports were all loaded.

As far as the form, it is perfect design and handles all stiff cabling connected to it without lifting off the table or being pulled to a particular side.

The USB cables stay tight in the ports. The power plug, however, tends to be a little loose and can accidently be pulled out when handling the hub.

The major drawback, however, is its poor power serving abilities. Hard drives, iPhone (3G) and iPod all seem to malfunction in weird ways when used with the hub. When transferring large data to hard drives, my USB speakers (Harmon Kardon) and other sometimes other ports disconnect and are no longer recognized, sometimes necessitating a reboot.

If syncing large data such as music, photos and/or videos to my iPhone 3G, iTunes will ALWAYS disconnect the iPhone 3G during the Sync.

Basically, this hub is only useful for low-to-no power consuming USB devices, such as flashdrives and printers.

To summarize, as just a "plain" hub, this works as expected. And its aesthetic design is beyond reproach, with its callout feature being a weighted base. But being sold as a POWERED hub, it fails miserably. And thus, even though this hub has more than enough ports to handle my current platoon of USB devices, for my power hungry USB devices, my search continues as I will be forced to have TWO USB hubs on my desk.

Tired of itty bitty lightweight USB hubs that won't stay put? This one will, and has 7 ports - including a handy-dandy top mounted port that allows use of a keychain USB flash drive without having to reach behind or fight the other cables. Front mounted indicator lites and rear mounted connectors make this a very desk friendly device.

The downsides (but see update below):

1) The wall wart is definitely NOT plug strip friendly - this the 21st century, no excuse for this one. GRRRRRR!!!

2) The input port is not connectorized, instead it has a (approximately) four foot USB cable permanently connected. This is fine if it works for you, a drag if it doesn't. In my case it was 6" too short, so now I have 5 feet too much after I plugged in an extension cable. Sigh...

3) Another minor point is that flash drives' access LED will be turned around the wrong way so you can't see them (when plugged into the top connector) - I don't know if there is any kind of standard for this so I don't know if this is the fault of this particular hub's configuration, or that of the flash drive in question.

UPDATE February 2010:

I've been using this hub daily at work for several years, and it has held up well. The top-mount connector has multiple mate/unmate cycles every single day and is still going strong!

So, I purchased a second one for my home system after a 6 port Belkin died. Kensington has listened, and improved the product! Not only is the the wall wart now VERY plug strip friendly, but the top connector has been turned around so that access LEDs on flash drives can be seen from the front! YAY!

I still think the input port should be connectorized and the silver color is so 1970s (Matches my 1979 TRS-80 perfectly!), but these are nits. Now that I'm working in an I.T. position, I won't recommend any other hub! I hope they come out with a similar USB 3.0 version when the time is right...

I have had no problems whatsoever with cables unplugging themselves, and its powered everything I've plugged into it. The front mounted LEDs have quit working on my older one (5+ years now as I write this), but the hub still works fine.

With these new improvements, I now give it 5 stars.

I just love this little hub. It is so functional and the domed design means that you can plug in a ton of peripherals without taking up a lot of desk space. It has been about a year since I purchased this hub and it still works wonderfully. I have not had a single problem with it since I plugged it in. The port on the top is especially useful if you have a device that you plug in and unplug often. Very highly recommend this USB hub.

I read all the reviews here before buying the hub. It amazed me how much they differed, so here's my summary. The weighted base is really nice as is the fact that the cables all exit the rear of the dome (other than the top port). I find it annoying when you have cables entering on all sides; what a mess. The dome neatened up my desk. USB connections are a little strange because of the curvature, but I have had NO problems with loose cables. The stay in place fine for me. I've tried a dozen or so different devices in different combinations; all have worked without any problems. For those that wrote earlier, I wonder if they bothered to plug in the AC adapter. They may have loaded down the available current on the PC if they didn't apply the external power. That could cause read/write problems with power-hungry moving drives. I have no complaints.