Wireless USB Hub ditches the cables

I’ve been on the lookout lately for some out of the ordinary gadgets and the wireless USB hub really caught my eye. Why? Well, USB gadgets and hardware are great, but sometimes you don’t have enough ports and there’s a zillion wires – but the thing that really is hard is when you have lots of devices and a laptop. We have a laptop in the living room, and it’s kind of the “community” lap top. Granted I use it most of the time, but everyone uses it every day. We have like four PC’s in the house, but there’s something about being able to get online when you’re watching TV that’s just so convenient. Anyway – I’ve been thinking about getting some external hard drives and setting up both a backup system and some mass storage for the laptop. Storage is cheap – a terabyte or two would be nice. But the laptop is in the living room, and the last thing we need is to have 3 or 4 hard drives in the corner or on a shelf or endtable.

This post of part of The Smorgasbord Tech Reviews series!

I saw a picture of this wireless usb hub and it hit me like a light bulb – that’s it! That’s exactly what I need! I could hook up 3 or 4 external drives in the closet, hook them up to this thing and then just put one usb stick in my laptop and be connected to all the drives! I just love cool gadgets and devices that solve quirky problems – and this is one of them. This would also be really cool for a scenario where you had a regular tower PC, and a USB printer and some external drives where you had a need to have them across the room (or in the next room) and you just couldn’t get cables long enough. Maybe all you really wanted to do was put a printer in a common area or room so everyone could use it. Problem fixed again!

Looks like both Iogear and Belkin make wireless USB hubs that have both the hub and the wireless usb dongle to connect. They mostly sell for around $150. But D-link makes one that you might like better – and it’s around $100. What makes the D-link different is that you can connect to it through the wireless card of your computer without needing the usb dongle. You can buy an additional usb dongle if you need one – but the distinct advantage I really see about the D-link is that you can connect from multiple computers! With the USB dongle version you can only connect from the computer with the dongle. Either way – you can get a good deal on one new, but you might be able to find a good deal on one used on eBay as well. I’m going to give you all the options I can find, and hopefully you get a great deal!

D-Link Wireless USB 4-Port HubThe new D-Link Wireless USB 4-Port Hub (DUB-2240) enables you to attach USB devices* and wirelessly connect them to a Certified Wireless USB-enabled notebook or desktop PC. You can also enable Wireless USB connectivity to your PC using a Certified Wireless USB Adapter (DUB-1210, sold separately). Wireless USB technology provides the convenience of Plug-and-Play USB connectivity with the benefits of wireless. You can stay connected to USB devices* such as printers, scanners, digital cameras, external hard drives, and other USB devices without cable clutter around your PC. NO CABLES, NO CLUTTER The Wireless USB 4-Port Hub delivers fast wireless communication between attached USB devices and your Certified Wireless USB-enabled PC. It is designed for wirelessly connecting USB peripherals within a 30-foot** range of your PC. It unties you from USB cables, enabling wireless connection of multiple devices* for transmission of video, audio, and other high-bandwidth data. Additionally, a wireless frequency range of 3.1GHz to 4.8GHz is used to help avoid interference with Wi-Fi networks and wireless devices such as mobile phones and cordless home phones. CONVENIENT & EXPANDABLE The 4-Port Hub includes a Quick Setup Wizard so you can easily connect to your USB peripherals*. The DUB-2240 is also expandable. If you need to connect more than four USB devices*, you can attach a wired USB hub to the DUB-2240. If you have other USB devices* tucked away in another part of your room, you can simply add another Wireless USB 4-Port Hub (up to three Wireless USB Hubs to one Wireless USB Adapter), which can be purchased separately. The D-Link Wireless USB 4-Port Hub (DUB-2240) is ideal for both home and office users alike. Attach multiple USB devices* and print, transfer files, and stream audio or video content from across the room without the burden of USB cables attached to your PC.

IOGEAR Wireless USB Hub and AdapterIntroducing the one of the first USB-IF Certified Wireless USB solution, the IOGEAR Wireless USB Hub & Adapter kit (GUWH104Kit). The IOGEAR Wireless USB Hub & Adapter kit allows your desktop or laptop to wirelessly communicate with USB printers, scanners, cameras, game controllers, flash drives, external hard drives, and other USB devices. It complies with the Multi-band OFDM Ultra Wide Band (UWB) 1.0 specification, and provides users with transmission speeds of up to 480Mbps. At 480 Mbps the IOGEAR Wireless USB Hub is faster than all wireless technologies including 802.11n. Because it is Plug-and-Play, the IOGEAR Certified Wireless USB Hub takes almost no time to set up and get running. It is the perfect combination of convenient Plug-and-Play USB connectivity, blazing fast data transfers and the benefits of going wireless.

Belkin Wireless USB HubPrinters, cameras, MP3 players, hard drives-as the number of USB devices that connect to your computer continues to increase, so does cable clutter. Belkin’s Wireless USB Hub eliminates the hassle of searching, untangling, and plugging in the right cables each time you want to print, back up files, or listen to music. Now, you can easily connect up to four USB devices and access them wirelessly at any time.

Do you have experience with a wireless USB hub you own, or were you thinking about getting one? Comment now!