I'm pleased with my purchase of this product.
Some of the reviewers don't seem to realize that a USB port delivers 500ma to anything that's plugged into it. So, if you plug a 4-port USB hub that does not come with an AC adapter into a USB port on your computer, the hub itself will draw about 100ma and that will leave a total of about 400ma for the four ports. If, for instance, you need a USB hub and you have four devices that draw less than 100ma each, then you don't need the Macally AC powered USB hub. A USB hub without an AC adapter will be just fine for your application.
However, if you, like I, need four extra USB ports, each capable of delivering 500ma to whatever you plug into it, then you are going to need a USB hub like this one that comes with an AC adapter. No way around it.
I hope this helps. It worked for me. Macally TRIHUB4 Mini 4 Port USB 2.0 Hub with AC Adapter (Black)
This usb 2.0 hub has a unique style, it works nice and it looks nice. I keep my blue tooth dongle for keyboard, mouse and headset in the port to the left of the power led and use the others for temporary plug-ins. It does not have to be plugged into the ac power pack to work with low power draw items, handy when working on the go with a laptop, but should be plugged in for back-up and cd/dvd drives powered from the usb port. Finally... nice price!
The hub works as advertised. Macally also has a 7-port hub, but this 4-port one is plenty for my needs. I'm using it with a laptop running XP. No need to install drivers or anything.
I was surprised at how small and light the unit was. I'm not using the two sticky pads/feet at the bottom of the hub since it's just sitting on the ground, but the pads are a nice though if you want to secure it to something.
The thing I really like about the device is the length of the cable (about 5ft) that runs from the hub to a USB port on your computer/laptop. I wanted to set the device on the ground and connect my mouse, keyboard, and printer cables to the hub, and then run the cable from the hub to my laptop (so that I just have one cable coming up from the ground). The connecting cable is fixed and is a nice 5ft long, so it's exactly what I wanted.
This is a cute, small hub but VERY lightweight and will not stay in place unless you make use of the 2 self-adhesive pads that come pre-attached to the base.
I purchased this (locally, not via Amazon) after research to find a USB power source / powered hub for "bus-powered" 2.5" form factor external hard drives, specifically for SATA drives in external enclosures, as these drives are routinely not sufficiently powered by many computer USB ports. All indications were that the Macally hub would provide enough power. Unfortunately, this hub FAILS *that* requirement:
THE TEST: I connected one portable external hard drive (newest style Toshiba Canvio Plus 640 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive E05A064CAU2XK (Raven Black)) and powered via USB, it's recognized by computer. Then I connected a second external drive in external enclosure. (Ironically, the enclosure is a Macally PHRS-250CC FireWire 400/USB2.0 External Storage Enclosure for 2.5" SATA HDD, which, BTW, is a great quality enclosure.) SATA drives in my Macally enclosures seem to draw the most current, and it's to power these drives I needed the 'extra' power I hoped this hub would provide. The enclosure includes a separate D.C. power input for such needs, and comes with a USB power-only cable that plugs into that port to deliver (standard USB 5 volts) via a USB port to the dedicated power port of the enclosure. This way you can actually power-on the drive even before the data cable (USB or Firewire) are connected.
THE RESULT: As soon as I turned on power to the second drive, it drew so much current that the first drive (the Toshiba) lost power for a moment, clicked, and the computer registered a device disconnect. Then the computer "found" it again and reconnected. The effect of adding and powering the second drive with the Macally hub was the same as yanking the first drive out of the computer.
This hub might be sufficient for reliably powering one externally attached hard drive, but it fails my test for handling more than one without power and data disruption when a an additional drive is attached, specifically if one or more drives are SATA drives in external enclosures (older, IDE drives seem to fare better.) Certainly, like most hubs, for use with low power devices (keyboards, mice, etc.) this hub will work just fine.
I normally really like Macally products. When searching for USB hub I really liked the design and price of this hub so purchased two - a 4-port and a 7-port. Unfortunately, after a week of use both stopped working. They were on different computers and re-tried on even alt. computers still to no avail. Truly disappointing. - Powered Hub - 7-port Usb Hub - 4 Port Usb Hub - Macally'
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