Manufacturer: Eggtronic
Current Retail Price: $79.99 US
With so many electronics on the go these days it can be hard to find a place to plug them all in. Multiple-USB AC plugs, which we normally prefer, go a way toward helping this problem but they’re usually restricted to just 2 or 3 USB ports at most. Eggtronic saw a need for a highly customizable Cadillac-level option in the realm of USB hubs and charging accessories, so they launched the HUB IT. We got our hands on a review unit of this interesting product, so read on to see if we think the HUB IT is charged or running on empty.
The build quality of the HUB IT is in line with any other piece of tech that’s priced near the top of its category, with one rather odd exception. The power adapter plugs only a couple of millimetres into the device proper (as pictured below) ? I don’t think I have seen such a large amount of the metal tip of a power cable stick out of a device before, so it can be a little disconcerting at first (though probably not dangerous).
That’s as far as she goes.
The HUB IT’s modular nature is one of its most enticing features. If you pop the top off of the unit (as pictured below) you’ll see nine slots for proprietary 6-pin connector/charging cartridges. Most of the currently available cartridges feature retractable cables for extending a short distance out from the unit to your electronic devices, but there are also ones that add Qi wireless charging capabilities to the unit and ones that simply act as an additional USB 3.0 port in addition to the three built into the HUB IT’s main body. So, between the three default USB 3.0 ports and the Micro USB, Apple Dock 30 pin, Apple Lightning, and Mini USB cartridges that come pre-installed, you have the ability to hook up to seven devices up to the connected computer right out of the box.
There are optional cartridges available for charging the likes of the DS Lite, DSi, 3DS, PSP, PS Vita, Galaxy TAB and many more. Most of these will run you just under $8 with the only exception being the Qi charging cartridge that costs $30. We had a Qi cartridge sent along with our review unit so we could test out the wireless charging functionality too. Our in-house Nexus 7 charged quite happily on the HUB IT, even through the relatively thick case we have on it, so even with the plastic shell on the HUB IT’s Qi charging will work as well as any of the other higher end Qi charging mats you may have around the house.
While its general charging and hub functionality were top notch, there were a couple of smaller issues with the HUB IT that kept our time with it from true perfection. With a base footprint of around 45 square inches, the HUB IT took up more desk space than we would have liked. Its flat top, while ideal for Qi charging, was too inviting of a space in day-to-day situations and we had to stop each other from using it as a coaster for coffee cups and water bottles on several occasions. It might be wise to put a vinyl toy or something on there while it’s not being used to hold an electronic device just to avoid similarly precarious situations. Our other slight issue with the HUB IT was with the retractable cable cartridges. Not even considering their relative price to just using the USB cable you already have for your device, the retractable cables retract about as well as any other retractable cable you’ve ever used ? that is to say, spottily at best. Sixty percent or more of the time when we used one of the retractable cables it required a second, more forceful tug to get enough momentum to fully retract. This is typical of retractable cables and the reason why everything isn’t retractable all of the time, but it was a little disappointing to see that no headway was made toward ensuring the reliability of the retractions. Finally, when you’re charging a device using Qi there is no dedicated charging light on the hub to show you when its done. For people like us whose cases cover their devices’ screens while they’re charging, an indicator light would have been appreciated instead of forcing us to flip open the case to check the charging progress.
Even though its a chunky device that you need to make sure you have desk space for before buying and the retractable cables’ retractions perform in their usual sporadic way, the HUB IT is a beast of a hub and will serve most of your devices out of the box without the need to shop around in their respectably varied additional hub cartridge shop. Our wishlist for a HUB IT 2.0 would include more USB ports on the base hub, a smaller form factor, a charge indicator light when a Qi module is installed/used, and a better retraction mechanism for the cartridges. As it stands, if you have the room and want an upper class USB hub experience, then the HUB IT is a great choice for all manner of electronic devices.
[taq_review]
A review unit was provided to us by aeropostale.com