AVANTEK 3-Port USB 3.0 Hub with Gigabit Ethernet LAN Network Adapter

Screen Shot 2015-01-15 at 2.03.38 PMThe main laptop that I use is a MacBook Air. It is a really great device, very portable, well engineered, and very fast for the purposes of the main tasks I use it for – word processing, email, web surfing, some light photo and video editing. However, its lightness and portability come at a price – MacBook Air is extremely ports-deficient. It has only two USB ports, one SD card slot and a small headphones jack. Most of the times when I use it none of this lack of ports bothers me, but there are situations when I need to use more than two USB devices at the same time, or connect to the Internet via a wired connection. This small Avantek USB/Ethernet hub seemed like an ideal accessory to have around.

I am running Mac OS-X Yosemite on all of my computers. I’ve connected both my MacBook Air and Mac Mini to this adapter, and after a bit of tinkering it was properly recognized and it was ready to go. The speed transfers were consistent with the Gigabit transfer rates that are advertised, at least as long as you did not try to add any extra USB devices and transfer files from them at the same time.

I also connected this adapter to my Windows 8 machine. The adapter was recognized immediately without any need for the installation of the driver software. The Ethernet connection was extremely smooth and fast, and I didn’t see any difference as compared to getting online through the dedicated Ethernet port.

The three USB 3.0 ports have functioned splendidly, both on my Mac and Windows computers. They really help with the additional connectivity, without the need for external power. The USB strip is fairly compact, so you would not want to connect any bulkier USB devices to it.

This seems to be a decently made external device, but it doesn’t jump at you with exceptionally high build quality. It is a nice versatile external hub to have, especially if you are traveling.

**** Product provided for review purposes. ****

 

Bojan Tunguz

Bojan Tunguz was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which he and his family fled during the civil war for the neighboring Croatia. Over the past two decades he has studied, lived and worked in the United States. He is a theoretical physicist with degrees from Stanford and University of Illinois. Tunguz has taught physics at several prominent liberal arts colleges and has been writing about physics, science and technology for more than a decade. He also has a wide spectrum of interests, and reads and writes about current events, society, culture, religion and politics. Over the years he has reviewed many of the books that he has read, and posted his reviews on various online outlets. In 2011 he had become a top 10 reviewer on Amazon.com, where he continues to be very active. Aside from reading and writing, Tunguz enjoys traveling, digital photography, hiking, and fitness. He resides with his wife in Indiana. You can follow my review updates on the following pages as well: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tunguzreview Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tunguzreviews Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104312842297641697463/posts

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