Best Powered USB Hub

What can you do when you run out of USB ports to fit your computer peripherals or USB flash drive devices? Opt for a USB hub of course! This article has reviews of the best hubs in the market. Universal Serial Bus (USB) technology has made data storage and transfer considerably easier than before. The hot plugging facility that it provides is extremely valuable, leading to its extensive use in computer peripheral connections and storage devices like USB flash drives. There are only a few number of USB ports available in laptop or desktop computers. If you need more, you must buy a USB hub.

It converts one USB port into multiple ports which you may use for various purposes. There are two prime types of USB ports manufactured, which differ in the source from which they draw power for operation. They are known as powered and unpowered hubs.

Why Choose a Powered Hub?

A powered hub is ideal for connecting high power devices, while the unpowered one works well for low power devices. An unpowered hub draws power from the USB port of the computer itself, while a powered hub is supplied electrical power externally.

However, if you need to connect multiple devices like printers and external hard drives, which need high power for data transfer, a powered USB hub is a better choice. While buying one, look for the number of ports that the device offers. Also look for ones that offers high data transfer speeds, in spite of maximum ports simultaneously connected to devices. Let us have a look at the USB hub reviews presented in the next section.

Reviews

After researching all the top products offered by various brands, I choose three products that could be called the best hubs in the market at present. Here are the three devices launched by Belkin, D-Link and Targus, that offer the finest features among all.

Belkin USB 7 Port Economy Hub
With a price tag of $63, this Belkin product is one of the best USB hubs in the market. It is ideal for use with laptop computers. With 7 ports in all, you have adequate connectivity for multiple devices ranging from printers, flash drives to external hard drives.

D-Link DUB-H7 7-Port USB 2.0 Hub External
A budget buy is the D-Link DUB-H7 with a price tag of $25.22. With seven port connectivity, it is one of the best USB hubs to hit the market in recent times, in the low price category.

Targus Desktop 7-Port USB 2.0 Hub
A mid range choice is the Targus Desktop 7, with a price tag of $46. Beside 7 port connectivity, it has two special high power ports, that are meant for high power device connectivity. It also provides a speaker, microphone and headphone connectivity. If you ask me, I would go for this Targus device as it offers the best deal in terms of features and price.

So these were the contenders for the title of best USB hub in the market. You could opt for any one of the above hubs, as they are all, almost similar in their specifications and performance. Choose one which you find the most cost-effective of all three.