StarTech 4-Port USB 3.0 Hub Plus Dedicated Charging Port - 1 x 2.4A Port

Bought this item to use with 3 video capture usb inputs, and had trouble using them when all three were plugged into this hub. I had to plug one directly into the laptop, and the other 2 into the hub to make the setup more reliable. Haven’t tried using hub in any other scenario, so I’m unsure if it’s possible to use all 4 ports simultaneously with solid reliability.

Just getting the obligatory part out of the way, StarTech was kind enough to ofer me this in exchange for an unbaised review. They legitimately mean it when they make the offer which shows a lot of character for a company. I was already a big fan and can understand why they can make sure offers.First off although not required it does offer the ability to run directly against a USB port or use a power source. This is big these days when you constantly find yourself in need of a charger. Nothing earth shattering about that but why I figured it's worth mentioning is they kept the size small. Again, I'm thinking of another similar item I had purchased that is about 1/2 inch less wide, virtually the same lenght, but only supports 3 ports and always gives the "Slow ... MoreJust getting the obligatory part out of the way, StarTech was kind enough to ofer me this in exchange for an unbaised review. They legitimately mean it when they make the offer which shows a lot of character for a company. I was already a big fan and can understand why they can make sure offers.First off although not required it does offer the ability to run directly against a USB port or use a power source. This is big these days when you constantly find yourself in need of a charger. Nothing earth shattering about that but why I figured it's worth mentioning is they kept the size small. Again, I'm thinking of another similar item I had purchased that is about 1/2 inch less wide, virtually the same lenght, but only supports 3 ports and always gives the "Slow charge" message on most of the devices I use to charge it.The next thing, and this is SOP with them is that it just has a really nice build to it. Someone put some thought into aesthetics and making it work and I think it's just really well done. It doesn't look cheap, it's pretty much as perfect a size as you could ask for wasting no space but leaving plenty that you're never trying to struggle when keeping it full of items.Next is the connection. While you'd think that's a given, pretty much any 3.0 adapter will be faster than a 2.0 counterpart but my step-father is an engineer and we were just geeking out one day, ran some tests and saw that each port was amazingly consistent. Chances are you'd never notice or really have cause to dig that deep into a HUB but trust me ,cell phone batteries do explode and having consistent reliable connectivity and power, not to mention having them whether there's one device hooked up or all of them are, it's a huge benefit. It's one of those hidden gems they don't advertise or even highlight but you just get when you buy one of their products.Yes, I paid for the other one and this one is free but as I said, StarTech made it clear that reviews were to be unbaised and we are free to speak our minds. I am. As you can tell by my other reviews I'm a fan of the company and there's a good reason for it - they build really solid equipment at more than reasonable prices. I probably have a good 50 of their products and have never had anything even approaching a problem (I've had to call tech support b/c of an ID10T error but they can't be blamed for that).Don't waste your time with the cheaper knock offs, get the real thing. This is a phenomenal piece of equipment and worth every penny - my first one was free, but the extras I purchased to use with several different items, including the Intel Edison, the UDOO QUAD, the Raspberry PI 3 as well as my laptop all ended up being impressive

Good basic 4-port USB 3.0 hub. I highly recommend using the included power adapter to power the hub so that each port has full power available should you use a higher power draw device like a USB power disk drive. The included power only charging port is kind of silly though as it might cause confusion. The other problem for some uses is that the four ports are fairly close together, and some devices or cables might interfere with one another. It would have been better to put two ports on each side instead of lining all four ports up on the one side.