Hubs du jour: A couple of USB 2.0 offerings
A pair of USB 2.0 hubs arrived at TUAW Central today for testing and review. If you're thinking that I may have mistyped USB 3.0, unfortunately I didn't -- for some reason, Mac accessory manufacturers seem to forget that new Macs are equipped with the faster USB 3.0 ports.
For a USB 2.0 hub, the Satechi Premium 4-port Aluminum hub is actually quite striking in looks. It's an unpowered USB 2.0 four-port hub, styled to perfectly match your Apple keyboard or MacBook Air. As you can see in the photo above, Satechi's offering even has round burnished aluminum disks on the sides like those that you see on the Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Trackpad.
It's a pretty little thing and I quite like how the ports naturally lie within easy access. You can pick one up for $28 at Amazon.
That's a bit pricey for what it is -- an unpowered four-port hub after all -- but gosh if it isn't lovely to look at, convenient to use and super-nice to feel. This is, basically, Apple candy and it would make a perfect gift for the Apple aficionado in your life.
The NewerTech 7-port USB 2.0 powered hub ($28) offers 4.0 Amps, delivering a full-powered solution for most users. It's an absolutely standard-looking hub, and its big feature is its dedicated high-powered charging port, built for both iPhones and iPads.
I plugged my aging first-gen iPad in the NewerTech hub and it had no problems charging up, even after I connected a bunch of other items to the other available ports. NewerTech's offering seemed to be better built than the cheap no-name seven-port hubs you normally find on Amazon, and the iPad-friendly super-port is a nice feature to have.
So there you have it -- two USB 2.0 hubs that might come in handy for use with your existing Mac. Stay tuned to TUAW for a future look at hubs that work with more recent Macs featuring the newer USB 3.0 ports.
