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Frequently Bought Together
Technical Details
- Easily share access to USB devices between two computersâżżLED lights indicate which computer has access
- Gain instant access to your USB devices by plugging one USB cable into your computer
- Simply press a button to switch individual USB devices from one computer to another
- Both computers have direct access to the printer thanks to Automatic Printer Sharing
- Plug and play set up and easy to use with no network required
Product Details
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Product Description
From the Manufacturer
No more plugging and unplugging computer devices. With the Kensington ShareCentral 2, two computers can share a printer, hard drive, scanner—any two USB devices—and switch between them with the touch of a button. With a small footprint and cable management, it fits seamlessly with your computing environment.
Sharing at Home
With different family members using different computers to access the same peripherals, sharing devices can be difficult. The ShareCentral 2 lets everyone access the printer or other device quickly and easily. By plugging in a USB cable to your computer you instantly have access to all the shared peripherals; truly plug-n-play.
Swapping Made Simple
To get access to a desired peripheral simply push the button associated with it. Color coded LEDs let the user know which computer is enabled.
Features
What’s Inside the Box
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Technical Requirements
- PC and Mac compatible
- No software required for basic features
- Automatic Printer Sharing supported with included software and for computer running Windows XP or Windows Vista
- Two USB ports
- LED indicator lights
Product Description
Kensington ShareCentral 2 for USB Device Sharing (
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this ShareCentral 2 to share a keyboard and mouse between two computers. In short, the device delivers. You plug everything in and it works, without need to install any software. Switching control between computers is easy, just press a button on top of the device.
I have purchased a couple devices from Belkin and others in the last few years that promised USB switching capability, but none of them worked all that well, so I'm happy to see something finally accomplish this.
Note that, as the other reviewer indicates, the documentation is pretty worthless and there is nothing more detailed online. All it really includes is a setup diagram. The diagram is sufficient to connect everything, but includes a step where you place the included CD in your computer's drive. And then you do nothing with that CD and do not need--what? Just ignore the CD and you'll be fine.
I have purchased a couple devices from Belkin and others in the last few years that promised USB switching capability, but none of them worked all that well, so I'm happy to see something finally accomplish this.
Note that, as the other reviewer indicates, the documentation is pretty worthless and there is nothing more detailed online. All it really includes is a setup diagram. The diagram is sufficient to connect everything, but includes a step where you place the included CD in your computer's drive. And then you do nothing with that CD and do not need--what? Just ignore the CD and you'll be fine.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this so I could share a printer with one other.
Once you install the software on both computers and the
"mutual" usb device is hooked up, then you are on your way.
Works well for me, just click on the button that corresponds
to the computer you are using. I can't find any real fault
in this so it gets all 5 stars. It's not perfect but like
my title suggests, it works as advertised and now it's only
$10. Consider that since I paid $40 for this last year.
Once you install the software on both computers and the
"mutual" usb device is hooked up, then you are on your way.
Works well for me, just click on the button that corresponds
to the computer you are using. I can't find any real fault
in this so it gets all 5 stars. It's not perfect but like
my title suggests, it works as advertised and now it's only
$10. Consider that since I paid $40 for this last year.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this device a few weeks ago to share my keyboard and mouse among two computers (one desktop and one laptop). The device works very well and I have not had a single problem. It even works with a USB hub!! How cool is that!
I bought the device for $8.50 on Amazon which I think is really a bargain. What I really don't get is why the 1 port USB share (Kensington ShareCentral 1 for USB Device Sharing (K33903US)) is more expensive than this one, which shares 2 USB ports. Anyways, after using it for a few weeks, I like the device so much that I bought another three. I don't really need that many myself but I'm sure my siblings' families will love this device for their home. I mean, who doesn't have more than one computer these days.
There are few things I want to bring to your attention before you consider buying this device:
1) Switching Scheme
Initially, I was a little confused on the nature of the sharing scheme. This devices shares USB devices, NOT computers. I originally thought the two buttons are for Computer 1 and Computer 2. But actually, it's for USB device 1 and USB device 2.
How is that different you might ask. Well, when I plugged my keyboard and mouse in to the two shared ports, I pressed the first button thinking that both keyboard and mouse will work on Computer 2. But in actual fact, only the keyboard switched to Computer 2, the mouse is still on Computer 1. This is because the button is for switching the shared device (Device 1, which in my case is just the keyboard). So if I want to switch BOTH keyboard and mouse, I have to press both buttons once to switch both devices to the alternate computer.
I can see how this works better for peripherals such as printers and scanners where if you just press the printer icon, it will switch the printer; if you press the scanner icon, it will switch the scanner. However, this is a pain for sharing keyboard and mouse since every time I want to switch, I have to press two buttons!! Yup, I'm just that lazy ...
Thankfully, my keyboard is also a two port USB hub (which is standard now on most keyboards) so I plugged my mouse to the keyboard and keyboard to the USB share unit so I only have to press one button (i.e. the keyboard share button) to switch both devices. Pain free!
Oh, I should also mention that I use a PC (Windows 7 on Dells).
2) Magnetic Icons
If you are NOT sharing printers and external hard drives like me, you can take the default icons off very easily! The icons are magnetic, NOT stinky stickers. You can take them off and put different icons on in a flash while not leaving any sticky residues. I think this design is awesome!! Well done Kensington!
3) Switching Latency
There is a small delay when you do the switch (about ~2 sec). I'm a trigger happy guy and 2 sec seemed like eternity. I expected things to work as soon as I press the button, but this is not the case for this device. Therefore, you can't play CounterStrike and also MSN at the same time using two different computers because it just can't switch back and forth that fast...
4) Manual Override
There is an auto/manual button at the bottom of the device. So if you set it to auto, it will automatically switch between two computers (if one of the computer is turned off, or un-powered like in hibernation mode). This is a useful feature but I like mine set on manual. It's sorta like buying a car with tip-tronic transmission. It's just good to know that you have an option to go both ways.
5) USB Cable Length
One of the USB cable is fairly short (I think it's the orange one). It works out for my laptop/desktop configuration but I imagine it would be a problem if you have two desktops that are located at opposite edges of a large table, the short USB cable will NOT reach. However, USB cables are fairly cheap (~50 cents) so I don't really see this as an issue and I think most people nowadays probably do have a laptop and a desktop so it may not be a big deal.
6) Cable Organizer
The cable organizer is utterly useless! It is provided in the package as an add-on but I think Kensington should just not include that in the package and reduce plastic waste. I mean, really, most people run their cable at the back of their monitor so what's the point of having a cable sorter on the side of the device???
7) Weight
I consider the device having a near perfect weight. It is not too heavy to carry around when I need to. It's also not lite enough that if you fiddle with the cables at the back, the cable moves the position of the box on the desk.
8) Color
It is dark in color. Like the picture shown it is dark-dark gray, which matches very well with my computer systems but I can see this may be a problem for Mac users since most Macs are either silver or white.
9) Size
It is not the smallest USB switch I saw while shopping but I think the size is not too big to fit on my desk.
10) Price
The price is just unbeatable. Just do a search on USB share and you'll see what I mean. Similar devices costs around than $20 if not more.
I bought the device for $8.50 on Amazon which I think is really a bargain. What I really don't get is why the 1 port USB share (Kensington ShareCentral 1 for USB Device Sharing (K33903US)) is more expensive than this one, which shares 2 USB ports. Anyways, after using it for a few weeks, I like the device so much that I bought another three. I don't really need that many myself but I'm sure my siblings' families will love this device for their home. I mean, who doesn't have more than one computer these days.
There are few things I want to bring to your attention before you consider buying this device:
1) Switching Scheme
Initially, I was a little confused on the nature of the sharing scheme. This devices shares USB devices, NOT computers. I originally thought the two buttons are for Computer 1 and Computer 2. But actually, it's for USB device 1 and USB device 2.
How is that different you might ask. Well, when I plugged my keyboard and mouse in to the two shared ports, I pressed the first button thinking that both keyboard and mouse will work on Computer 2. But in actual fact, only the keyboard switched to Computer 2, the mouse is still on Computer 1. This is because the button is for switching the shared device (Device 1, which in my case is just the keyboard). So if I want to switch BOTH keyboard and mouse, I have to press both buttons once to switch both devices to the alternate computer.
I can see how this works better for peripherals such as printers and scanners where if you just press the printer icon, it will switch the printer; if you press the scanner icon, it will switch the scanner. However, this is a pain for sharing keyboard and mouse since every time I want to switch, I have to press two buttons!! Yup, I'm just that lazy ...
Thankfully, my keyboard is also a two port USB hub (which is standard now on most keyboards) so I plugged my mouse to the keyboard and keyboard to the USB share unit so I only have to press one button (i.e. the keyboard share button) to switch both devices. Pain free!
Oh, I should also mention that I use a PC (Windows 7 on Dells).
2) Magnetic Icons
If you are NOT sharing printers and external hard drives like me, you can take the default icons off very easily! The icons are magnetic, NOT stinky stickers. You can take them off and put different icons on in a flash while not leaving any sticky residues. I think this design is awesome!! Well done Kensington!
3) Switching Latency
There is a small delay when you do the switch (about ~2 sec). I'm a trigger happy guy and 2 sec seemed like eternity. I expected things to work as soon as I press the button, but this is not the case for this device. Therefore, you can't play CounterStrike and also MSN at the same time using two different computers because it just can't switch back and forth that fast...
4) Manual Override
There is an auto/manual button at the bottom of the device. So if you set it to auto, it will automatically switch between two computers (if one of the computer is turned off, or un-powered like in hibernation mode). This is a useful feature but I like mine set on manual. It's sorta like buying a car with tip-tronic transmission. It's just good to know that you have an option to go both ways.
5) USB Cable Length
One of the USB cable is fairly short (I think it's the orange one). It works out for my laptop/desktop configuration but I imagine it would be a problem if you have two desktops that are located at opposite edges of a large table, the short USB cable will NOT reach. However, USB cables are fairly cheap (~50 cents) so I don't really see this as an issue and I think most people nowadays probably do have a laptop and a desktop so it may not be a big deal.
6) Cable Organizer
The cable organizer is utterly useless! It is provided in the package as an add-on but I think Kensington should just not include that in the package and reduce plastic waste. I mean, really, most people run their cable at the back of their monitor so what's the point of having a cable sorter on the side of the device???
7) Weight
I consider the device having a near perfect weight. It is not too heavy to carry around when I need to. It's also not lite enough that if you fiddle with the cables at the back, the cable moves the position of the box on the desk.
8) Color
It is dark in color. Like the picture shown it is dark-dark gray, which matches very well with my computer systems but I can see this may be a problem for Mac users since most Macs are either silver or white.
9) Size
It is not the smallest USB switch I saw while shopping but I think the size is not too big to fit on my desk.
10) Price
The price is just unbeatable. Just do a search on USB share and you'll see what I mean. Similar devices costs around than $20 if not more.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Horrible
This product is horrible. I purchased the ShareCentral 2 to print on one printer with two computers. I couldn't get it to work after following all the instructions. Read more
Published 3 months ago by G
Just in case no one else said it...
Something I don't think anyone else has mentioned in other reviews (and that I discovered completely by accident) is that this switch will flip both of the USB connections from one... Read more
Published 4 months ago by W. Jacobs
Life saver
We are on netware and we already have few network printer setup so I cant use netware printer sharing or window networking to share the printer between two computers only. Read more
Published 8 months ago by BobP
Does its job, but it's not without its quirks
After about 6 months of use, I believe I have enough experience with this device to provide a few comments. Read more
Published 13 months ago by S. Jentsch
Cheap and fits the bill
For those of us nerds with multiple computers and lots of USB geekery, these USB switches really fit the bill. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Daniel Esmond
Good, but not usuable for my USB sound card due to interference
Product works as advertised. Takes about 1-2 seconds for switch to happen though. Also, (maybe due to being powered?) cannot use for my USB 7. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Benjamin Vear
Great to share devices between my desktop and laptop
I hooked this device to 2 dell Ultrasharp monitors that have an integrated USB hub. All my devices (Webcam, keyboard, mouse, USB headset and printer) are connected to the two... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Paolo
Plug and play. No problems
It works just fine. We are sharing two printers between two pcs (one on Vista, the other Win 7). I agree that labels of which LEDs are for which pc would be very useful. Read more
Published 18 months ago by ONPAR
Great device for sharing USB devices
I had a older PC that I wanted to share a keyboard and mouse with my primary PC. This device worked like a charm and eventually I will probably use it to share my printer. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Todd C. Keyser
Fnatastic Gadget
I have been wanting to be able to share my Seagate 1TB and printer with with my wife's PC. I spent some time reviewing the experiences of others before purchasing this product. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Oldtater
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