Go2Link 8-Port USB Hub Review

USB Hub lacking instructions and details, but provides additional ports for connection.

More and more devices charging via USB, or plugging into the computer via USB. The USB port real estate thus starts to become quite valuable. Luckily, my desktop has 4 ports on the front (two 2.0 and three 3.0) and 8 on the back (four USB 2.0, four USB 3.0). Even with all of this access, I still have the issue of the port placement. The majority of the ports are on the back of the computer and are hard to regularly access. What is worse, my wife’s laptop only has a total of two USB ports and both are USB 2.0.

I received the Go2Link High Speed 8-Port Round USB 2.0 HUB for IMAC, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mad Mini, Desktop and Laptop to review. The device comes shipped in a rectangular box with black Go2LINK written on the top. The box is rather boring and leaves much to the imagination. Lifting the lid off of the package, you will see a round white HUB with a 2 ft cable (listed at 23.6 but measured at 24 inches). There are 8 ports on the surface, which are labeled in silver ink. The device measures at 3 1/8 inch diameter 7/8 inch thick. There is no included instruction manual. So I turned to Amazon for description/specs. It states a working voltage of 5V, current of 500MA. The device does weigh 11.6 ounces (listed as 11.63). The page states that one of the 8 ports is a decoration. I plugged in a multimeter to evaluate the voltage and found that each port showed 5V. The device does have over current protection, short circuit prevention and complies with FCC certifications. Here is where the page gets interesting. The reviews are all demonstrating a straight stacked style USB HUB. This is not the same HUB that I have been given to review.

I was able to transfer data to and from memory sticks via each of the hubs. These seemed to follow standard USB 2.0 data transfer rates of about 48MBps. USB 2.0 can transfer up to 60 MBps (480 megabits per second mbps). Transferring Guardians of the Galaxy from jump drive to desktop, I checked transfer rates and averaged about 40MBps, which is not terrible. This does make me miss the transfer rates of USB 3.0 at about 640MBps or 5gbps (more than 10x USB 2.0 speed). This device is a good way to add data port access to your computer but this is not a good way to charge your devices. The positioning of the ports allows the user to place multiple USB drives without running into the issue of limited space.

There is, what appears to be, an AC adaptor port along the side of the USB port. I would assume that this would allow this device to not only transfer data but it would then be a powered system and allow charging. At present this HUB is not going to provide much option to charge devices. Personally, if you are looking for a device to charge multiple USB powered devices, find one that has a standard A type plug and has multiple slots. Also look for a device that can charge 3-4 devices at a rate of at least 2.0Amp. Our devices tend to be smart and current is on demand, meaning it will pull the amount of current that it needs.

I would personally rate the device at 4/5 stars. The packing is lacking, there is no instruction manual, there is no information about the stats of the AC port. There is no included AC adaptor or information about where to obtain this adaptor. The Amazon page has this product with reviews for a different product. It appears that there are multiple items under the same skew. Simply click the options and you see a round and linear version. I tried to search the Internet for more information and could not find anything more. This works well as a data HUB, but is not meant/designed to charge your devices.
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