USB hubs are devices IT gurus usually prefer to house in the small pockets of a backpack close to a power bank. The multiple USB ports appearance of a USB hub gets you on a verge of thinking its simply a flash disk with multiple expansion ports. Well, its a device with multiple functionalities you really need to own whether you own a computer or smartphone.
The Universal serial bus (USB) story draws its history during the early Pentium computer releases where owning a ballpoint mouse earned you favorable bragging rights. Well, USBs are now popular with flash disks, smartphone chargers, readers among other popular powered accessories. But then, what’s a USB hub accessory?
A USB Hub, What it is
Just like any other hub be it a network hub or display hub, a USB hub is one essential accessory that extends the power of 1 USB port. As a matter of fact, a USB hub extends the power of 1 port to 10 or even more ports meaning you get to connect many devices to one single port.
USB hubs come in many types and capability ports, you can meet a hub with 1 port or even come across one with over 30 ports extending 1 smartphone or computer port. Therefore, it’s an essential extension that revokes the limitation of having 1 port on a device.
How it works
A USB hub can be thought of like a charger with multiple ports to charge phones or even a multi-headed charging cable. By connecting a hub to a USB port, you get more redundancy to connect more and more USB devices like flash disks, USB cables, card readers, keyboards or any other USB gifted device.
Unlike converters, a USB hub gives you the power of using more devices without converting one input into an output in any way. More so, if you directly connect a hub to a charger brick, then you risk losing it since its basically an input device than an output drother.
Why you need one
If you own a computer or wish to connect some external devices to your OTG supportive smartphone. Then you need a USB hub by your side to connect a couple of devices to your limited device.
For instance, on a smartphone, you just need an OTG cable to connect all USB devices the hub can accommodate like Memory cards, flash disks or even 1 single device to transmit data.
A basic USB hub costs between $3-$10 (UGX 10,000-UGX 50,000) while others can stretch beyond the low price. You can choose to buy one online or visit a local computer accessories store to grab one for a low price.
In other words, if you own 1 or more USB devices like a flash disk, card reader or multiple phones, then a USB hub is an accessory you should own to save you from limitations of scattering your devices.
