USB Hub for Macbook Air

May 13, 2011 10:12 AM

USB hub for Macbook Air - can you recommend one? I just need something I can plug the usual array of peripherals into: iPod, iPad, SuperDrive, camera, external keyboard, mouse, printer, etc. (not necessarily all at once). I don't think I need anything fancy like extra hard drive storage built in, but open to all ideas. Thanks.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell to Computers & Internet (6 answers total)

I assume this is not meant to be a portable device for you, correct? If so, make sure you get a hub that has a power cord (not "bus powered"). Otherwise, you'll have trouble with more power-hungry devices. You can also easily charge devices that use USB for that (like your iPhone and iPad).

Beyond that, it's mostly a question of how many ports you need. Belkin and Kensington both make good products in this space. Amazon has this Belkin at a good price, and its 7 ports can connect all your stuff.
posted by mkultra at 10:30 AM on May 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

I've had this Cables Unlimited hub for six months now and it hasn't given me any trouble so far. You never know when you might want everything plugged in at once.
posted by asperity at 11:01 AM on May 13, 2011

Response by poster: Thanks, mkultra. This is indeed NOT meant to be a portable device - it will sit on a desk.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 12:53 PM on May 13, 2011

One thing to consider: as far as I know, the SuperDrive will not work when plugged into a hub. It only works when connected directly.
posted by expialidocious at 1:33 PM on May 13, 2011

Response by poster: We decided to go with the Plugable Technologies USB 2.0 10 Port Hub, which appeared to be the best rated USB hub on Amazon. I'll post a review here after we get them and try them out.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 10:08 PM on May 15, 2011

Response by poster: We received the hubs (one each for me and my wife) and they seem to be working well. My wife's iPad (version 1) would not charge through it, though that seems to be a common problem (at least, particularly for iPad 2s). An iPod Touch, an iPod Shuffle, a classic iPod, a Zaggmate iPad case, a Droid Incredible, a Kindle, and a very old Blackberry all appear to charge without any problems. Our Apple keyboards (which have different types of mice attached) also work just fine. We didn't try the SuperDrive, though as expi notes, it's not likely to work.

The only hiccup was our very old HP LaserJet 1100 printer (which requires an extra converter to use USB and doesn't really work well with Macs even plugged in directly). OS X only seems to recognize the hub itself, and not the attached printer. We'll probably have to get a new printer.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 7:15 PM on May 19, 2011