Customer Reviews

USB-A/MINI5P-B Rtc Cable, A/b;(pwr/data); 3

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I purchased this to replace 3 inch mini USB that came with Sony ICD-MX20 Memory Stick Pro Duo Digital Voice Recorder which I use 5 out of 7 days to transfer audio files to computer. All other mini USB cables that I have and came with other gadgets like camera, cell phones, USB hard drives, GPS are at least 3 feet long, and when you are carrying multiple cables in your bag - iPod, Cell phone charger, micro usb for Droid etc. - they get tangled. Of course, I could never understand why portable hard drives need a 6 feet long cable, but Western Digital has improved - new cable is 3 feet long, for a device which will be next to your computer!

Ever since I used retractable charger for Palm Treo, when I buy any cable on my own, I always go for the retractable ones. They are compact, easy to carry in your bag, do not tangle, and environmentally friendly by using less non destructible materials. And you save time by not untangling the cables.

The retraction mechanism in this Belkin cable can be improved but other than that it works well. I used it with Digital recorder, camera and hard drive without problems. My other complaint is that it comes in one of those hard plastic packages, that most people hate because they are environmentally toxic and very hard to open. But at least you can open Belkin package without cutting your fingers.

If you buy Universal Apple iPod USB Charger Kit - USB Retractable Hotsync Cable - USB Home Travel Charger - USB 12V Cigarette Lighter Charger which includes a wall and a car USB charger with a retractable iPod cable and one more Cables Unlimited / ZipLINQ ZIP-DATA-A03 32 Inch Round Retractable iPod/iPhone USB Charge & Sync Cable (White), a couple of these mini USB cables and two Amzer Micro USB Retractable Data Cable (Black), you will have a fairly compact, tangle free and complete set up to charge most devices in car and home. Lowepro 4.3-Inch Navi Shield GPS Carrying Case (Black) is good case to store, each home and auto charging set of cables with the chargers.

This unit works with my Sony DSC-H5 camera, Maxtor One Touch III 160GB USB mini external hard drive, and Sony NV-U94T GPS. Got a couple and tossed one into my camera bag, and the other in my laptop bag.
If you also find yourself often needing a USB cable (with mini 5-pin connector on one end) at your desktop, this one's nice to have as it takes up little space, and the retractable feature makes it fast/neat to store!

Most of these negative comments are clearly made by folks who don't have a good understanding of technical issues. That's partly their own fault, and partly due to Amazon's descriptions not being adequate. It is NOT the fault of Belkin, however. The low ratings are, for the most part, TOTALLY erroneous.

These cables are designed to provide power (500mA max, per the official USB specification) and data connectivity, for fully-USB-compliant devices. They do so without any issues whatsoever.

However, many devices are not fully USB-spec-compliant. Apple devices, in particular, tend to be that way, and there are NO external USB hard drives or USB CD/DVD/BD drives which are fully USB compliant. All of these devices require a "modified USB" application. Many of the newer versions of these devices actually have twin USB plug on the "PC" end, meaning that with a powered USB hub or a direct PC USB port, you get 500mA per plug, giving a total of 1000mA (aka "one amp") of delivered power. This is sufficient for hard drives, optical disks, or Apple devices.

Those who saw this fail, most likely, were using an Apple device, or other device, or a "bus-powered hub" (which was splitting one computer USB port's 500mA between multiple devices). The problem therefore really isn't with the CABLE at all, but rather is with the setup of the rest of the system.

That said... this device is intended for low-power-draw devices. That should be OBVIOUS. I mean, would you try to wire your house with thin cable like this? No... you know that you need heavier cable for devices with greater power requirements. Right? If you review the actual Belkin info (unfortunately not posted on Amazon, but present on the packaging for the device) you'd know the rating of the device. Over-draw across it, and it will heat up like any other copper wire when too much current is passed through it.

It's ideal for most (non-apple) USB-chargeable phones. It works perfectly with my Motorola device, for example. It works just fine with my Archos portable media player (though charging takes forever, so I don't depend on that, and instead us a high-power charger). It works just fine with my external keypad. It works just fine as a connection to my external, wall-powered USB hub.

The idea of this is that it's a small, portable device to connect small, portable devices to your small, portable laptop. In that role, it's idea. It's NOT ideal for the more robust applications that so many seem to be attempting to use it for.

Basically, folks, this will work for any device which was built to be fully USB compliant. If you have an arrogant company like Apple which decides to "redefine what USB really means," well... you're going to have a lot of problems, but don't blame anyone but Apple for that. If you have a hard drive or optical drive which came with a y-cable, and decide to use this instead, that's your problem as well, not the cable.

Copper wire is not "magic." Anyone with a basic understanding of how electricity works understand that this concept is just fine.

As far as the devices themself go... they're really quite simple. A four-wire ribbon cable wrapped around a spring-loaded hub, with a "computer-side" full-size USB-2.0 plug on one end and a standard "mini-USB" plug on the other end. The reel is spring loaded, and is lightweight yet adequately strong (meaning, you should treat it with the care appropriate to any electronic component, and should not expect to be able to step on it and have it work properly afterwards!)

I have four of these, in a little bag with my seven-port wall-powered USB hub which travels with my netbook. I use these to charge and sync my phone, charge my bluetooth headset, and data-connect (but not charge) my Archos 500GB portable media player. I use the fourth one to connect the hub to the netbook itself. I have a similar device which shipped with the little external numeric keypad I bought (a Manhattan keypad with an integrated 2-port USB hub which carries my wireless Logitech mouse "dongle" in one of the two ports, also purchased right here on Amazon).

I also have an external DVD player which uses a "y-cable" which is MUCH heavier, and an external hard drive (300GB) which also has a similar heavy-duty 1-amp "y-cable." And my portable Hauppauge TV tuner also draws a lot of power and uses a heavier cable. These are all powered by my wall-powered Belkin USB hub, not from my laptop, of course.

I'm quite pleased with this device, but it's so simple, I'd be shocked if it didn't work perfectly. Belkin, at least, tends to produce a pretty good yield of "good product" to "bad product" and I've yet to get a bad part from them.

But I'll grant, some of you may get the occasional bad part... if so, it'll be an open-circuit and the cable will never work at all, obviously.

But few of the complaints I've seen here could possible be related to "open circuits." Rather, they're pretty clearly "overloaded circuits" and "underpowered devices."

1. it is 34" at max stretch... so to my mind I have 2.5 feet of usable cable. (For some folks, this is not long enough)
2. It connects a USB peripheral (like an external hard drive) to a USB port.
3. One end is a standard USB end
4. One end is called a Mini USB (not to be confused with Micro USB)

It is so wonderful to have this small, light multi-purpose cable. I carry multiple external hard drives and now don't have to carry a tangle of cables for them. I love the way it stays all rolled up with just enough length that i need to connect my devices. Works great.

* Just be sure you are getting the correct connector. The Micro is smaller than the Mini. The Micro is more common for things like personal Wifi's and bluetooth headsets; the Mini is more common on portable hard drives.

It rolls up much more neatly and compactly than a normal cable and has worked with every device I have tried, providing both a data connect and power.

This cable is a little higher quality than others I've had over the years. However, it is also a little bigger too.

Very well made, no issues with connection (I have a pair of portable drives that disconnected randomly with other USB cables) and the price is pretty fair. If you travel, throwing these in a small pocket of your baggage/laptop bag is a lot less messy than rolling a normal 6' cable. Highly recommended.

This cord works exactly as expected. As with any retractable cable, it sticks occasionally when abused, but these are always easy to fix with a small tug. Works great for my truck's phone charger, keeping cords out of the way.

It is very small and works great. It has worked with Sony and Fuji cameras, Sony HG10 camcorder, external Hard drives, even with my external DVD player for my netbook that has a special cable with two USB heads at one end and a mini USB connection to the DVD player. I was able to get the system to recognize it with just one USB cable connection.

This was exactly what I was looking - but there were so many choices I was a bit afraid the ends wouldn't be the right size. I use this to connect my phone or camera to my pc and I don't have a cord laying all over my desk. Its a great little device.