Palm Discovery would like to extend a BIG THANKS to Thomas of USB Fever for providing the product for this review.

In this day and age of USB connectivity, isn’t it frustrating to be stuck with two or, worst yet, ONE USB port on your computer or laptop? And to add to the frustration, most times, the ports are so closely placed together that if you plug in your card reader, there’s no space to plug in anything else beside it since the reader has “taken up” part of the space of the port? Or, even if you have a USB hub, sometimes, the same problem arises because again, on the hub, the ports are so closely held together?

Well, here’s a solution: USB Fever’s USB Octopus 2.0 Cable 4 Port Hub.

This is a very interesting idea and possible solution to the typical problem where some USB connectors or devices may take up and block the ports of some USB hubs. The interesting design uses the “power squid” idea where each USB port is now at the end of a cable instead of fitted at the main device. So, even if you have a USB device or peripheral connector that can be as big as a computer, you can still plug in and use the other available ports simply by moving the cable around and adjusting it to fit your other USB devices. What an ingenius idea! This problem of port blocking connectors is a thing of the past!

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For those who want to skip over all the detailed review and just want a summary, you can jump to the review summary

Here are more details (taken from USB Fever’s website):

Highlights:

How should this product classified? basically it is an cable adaptor, but it has 4 USB ports at one of the sides, So it is a Hub! If it is a Hub, is it a little bit out of norm that it is not bulky, it is so soft and flexible!

Definitely, it is a Hub, just that the extended ports are made of cable leaning out of the main body that made it more flexible when in use. Of course, if you would like to take it as a cable adaptor, then it is! Just that it is more than a cable adaptor.

Features:

- Flexible and soft, not longer bulky
- Plug and Play.
- An innovative design of Cable of USB Hub
- USB 2.0 specification compliant
- Giving altogether 4 ports (one USB A Jack to 4 USB A Plug)!

Supports:

- Windows 98 / 98SE / ME / 2000 / XP

Specifications:

- Total length: 24cm approx.
- Weight: 67g approx.

Package Contents:

- USB 2.0 Octopus Cable 4-Port Hub x 1

The hub is exactly what you see in the picture. At one end of the hub is the connector to your computer’s USB port. It leads and separates into 4 individual cables with the USB port connectors, allowing easy and unobstructed access to them. You can adjust and twist the individual cables according to your needs and it is practically impossible to “block” any of the available ports since you can always move it in another direction to connect your USB device or cable.

USB 2.0?

My main observation with regards to this hub is that when I plug in some USB 2.0 devices that it comes up with the typical Windows pop up notifying me that it’s plugging into a non-USB 2.0 hub.

Considering that I am using a fairly new Dell Vostro 1700, I am “assuming” that the USB ports are 2.0 so perhaps the octopus 4 port hub isn’t 2.0? Or maybe Windows is incorrectly detecting the hub has not USB 2.0? I’m not sure. I am only providing what I’ve observed.

Click on the thumbnail images for a bigger picture

Slideshow of the above pictures

Product Video

Video at YouTube

Here are my observations:

Plug n Play

Like most hubs, this USB Octopus 4 port hub is plug and play which makes it a joy to use. Simply plug it in, let Windows detect and find the necessary drivers and away you go.

Smart design

This USB Octopus 4 Port Hub is a great idea for a USB hub, having it with flexible cables with the USB connector at each end instead of the typical fixed ones with limited spacing between each port. This flexible cable design eliminates the typical problem that some USB devices may take up too much space and block access to free ports. With the flexible cables, you can plug practically anything the size of a rock or brick and not have it block the other USB ports. Along the lines of the power squid for electrical cables, we now have one for USB ports. On the other hand, the hub is not only longer but possibly takes up much more space than other hubs with the extra cables. You may however bend or adjust them so that they take up less space.

USB 2.0?

The only negative about this product is that it may not be USB 2.0 as claimed since my Windows XP pop up keeps telling me everytime I plug in a USB 2.0 device to this hub. Perhaps my Dell Vostro’s 1700 ports aren’t USB 2.0? I don’t know.

4 Ports

It would be very nice if the hub supported more than 4 ports since it is called “octopus” and the last time I checked, octopus has eight arms. Aside from all that, the hub worked like a charm. But, there is a similar hub available at USB Fever with more available ports, but again, it doesn’t have 8 ports but 7 (go figure!). Check out USB Octopus 2.0 Cable 7-Port Hub (US Power Plug) at USB Fever if you’re looking for a similar design hub with more ports.

Review Summary

If my video review is any indication, I currently use the USB Octopus 2.0 Cable 4 port hub daily so much that I am unable to disconnect it from my computer to do the video review. It’s such a very well designed product that makes connecting any USB peripherals and devices a breeze since I no longer have to worry about blocking any port due to the size of the connectors or the device. Also for the same reason, it’s also very easy to remove the devices as I don’t have to worry about interfering with the other ports. Unfortunately, it seems that the hub may not be USB 2.0 as Windows XP would pop up the window whenever I connect a USB 2.0 device to it. Also, the limit of only 4 ports is somewhat of a disappointment. Aside from those points, this hub is a joy to use and as you can figure out, I am using it daily.

Thanks for visiting

Palm Discovery has no affiliation with USB Fever but thanks USB Fever for the provision of the product for this review.

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