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ZOMOI 9-in-1 USB C Digital Multiport Adapter review

REVIEW – Many new laptops and tablets are smaller and lighter than models sold in previous years. While this change is great for your back and shoulders it usually comes at the expense of peripheral ports. The ZOMOI 9-in-1 USB C digital multiport adapter provides a large selection of useful ports in a small footprint. Read on to see what I think!

What is it?

The ZOMOI 9-in-1 USB C Digital Multiport Adapter includes the following ports:

  • 2* USB 3.1 ports
  • 1* USB 2.0 port
  • 1* HDMI port
  • 1* Gigabit Ethernet port
  • 1* USB Type-C PD port
  • 1* SD slot
  • 1* TF slot
  • 1* Audio (earphone and microphone) jack.

What’s in the box?

  • Multi-port Hub
  • USB Type-C to USB Type-C 3.1 cable, 8.5″ tip to tip
  • User Manual

Hardware specs

Upstream:

  • USB-C 3.1

Downstream:

  • Display: HDMI up to 4K@30Hz, 1920x1080p@60HZ
  • USB: 2*Type-A USB3.1 Gen1, 1 Type-A USB2.0, 1 Type-C with Charging
  • Ethernet: RJ45 gigabit Ethernet
  • 3.5mm Jack: headphone/speaker; microphone
  • Operation Temperature: 0-40°C
  • Storage Temperature: -20-70°C

Design and features

The adapter comes in a small white flip top box that is not much wider or thicker than at the actual port adapter.

The box has an adhesive label on the back that demonstrates the features and ports available.

The label also identifies that the product comes in black, silver and space gray. This review is of the space gray model. Inside the box, the adapter is packaged with cardboard that keeps the attached USB cable neat.

The adapter is mounted upside down in the box. as discussed below, the labeling of the top and bottom of the device goes against convention.

The design of the adapter is very sleek. It is an elongated prism with beveled corners. As such it is the perfect shape to prop up the back of a laptop. I’m not sure that the designers thought of or intended this but it seems a useful shape for enhancing the airflow to underneath my Dell.

The top, bottom, front and back sides are aluminum, which helps with durability and heat dissipation. The left and right sides are plastic. The front side has an SD card and microSD card slot.

The rear has the HDMI, Three USB type A slots and a USB Type C slot.

It is easy to identify the USB 3.1 and USB 2 ports by their color and by the additional 5 contacts at the front of the USB port.

The left side has an Ethernet port and the right side has the audio jack, upstream USB Type C port and a small blue power indicator LED.

 

The aluminum on the top side is beveled and printed with the ZOMOI logo. The bottom side has compulsory markings (CE, FCC, WEEE Directive, SAMR logo, RoHS Directive) and a statement that the product is made in China.

I cannot determine how this is put together or how to take it apart, which is a testament to the build quality and apparent durability. However, the device has one peculiarity – the USB, memory card and Ethernet ports are all upside-down with respect to the ZOMOI label. Is this viral cross-promotion with Stranger Things? More likely is that the engineers and the marketing department are not on the best terms. This doesn’t impact the adapter’s normal use, but more often the adapter will be used with the ZOMOI logo facing the table.

The fact that the upstream side USB Type-C cable is removable helps with storage and packing since the removed cable and adapter can be put into a smaller area than both items can be with they are attached. The other benefit is that this port adapter can be used with a Type A to Type C cable to provide audio, memory storage access, and Ethernet access. On an older android phone, the multi-port adapter still provides memory card and audio access.

When the Ethernet port is used the activity and connectivity lights are blue, which is much cooler looking than the typical green and amber.

Setup

The port adapter does not come with any drivers. The port is either supported on your device or not!

Performance

I downloaded a 4K MP4 movie and played it with VLC on my laptop attached to a 4K set with the laptops HDMI port and with the ZOMOI port adapter. I compared the number of dropped frames on each playback. While the movie had 32 dropped frames when playing through the local port, the movie only dropped one frame when it was played back using the ZOMOI.

The port is indeed able to display 4K@30Hz. I’ve also had no problem reading and writing to any of the ports or memory card slots on the device. I even used this to copy a file from one device to another with very little lag.

The only type C power adapter I had to power a laptop was itself from a hub, and when I tried using this as a pass-through power source, it provided power. You can see the computer registers “plugged in” when using the power through the power direct port.

What I like

  • Small footprint
  • Many useful ports
  • Inexpensive

What I’d change

  • Reverse the top and bottom of the unit (in terms of printing)

Final thoughts

The ZOMOI multi-port adapter is a great addition to your computer gear, especially for those who have models with fewer number and types of standard ports.

Price: $44.86
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by ZOMOI.

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ZOMOI 9-in-1 USB C Digital Multiport Adapter review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 25, 2019 at 9:30 am.

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Mophie Powerstation Hub Portable Battery review


REVIEW – By now, those of you that regularly read my reviews can likely conclude that I am a USB power hub gadget junkie!! :-). I use numerous devices that can either run off of a USB power pack and/or can be recharged via the same. Since I shoot many photography gigs at various locations, I always carry several accessories including my iPad, etc, that depending on the length of the shoot, need “juice” at some point. The Mophie Powerstation Hub Portable Battery looks like another nice addition to my growing USB power pack arsenal. Let’s see if it ends up in the “HOT” or “NOT” pile.

What is it

The Mophie Power Station Hub is a portable hub with built-in battery and Qi-enabled wireless charging that features multiple fast charging options and includes a USB-C Power Delivery port.

What’s in the box


1 x Mophie Powerstation Hub
1 x User Guide

Design and features

Specifications
Battery capacity: 6,000mAh
Compatibility: Qi-enabled devices
Dimensions: 3.31 x 3.31 x 1.16 in (84 x 84 x 29.5mm)
Weight: 9 oz (255.15g)

Features
Fast Charge USB-C PD: Use the USB-C PD port to recharge the Power Station Hub or use that same port to charge a device at the fastest speed possible.
AC Power Prongs: No cable needed to charge the Power Station. With the built-in AC power prongs, you can recharge it by plugging into any wall outlet.
Wireless Charging: Simply place you QI-enabled smartphone on the Power Station Hub’s charging surface and push the button to power to your device.
Charge Multiple Devices: Conveniently charge multiple devices simultaneously with the two USB-A ports, USB-C PD port, and wireless charging surface.
Compact and Portable Design: The ultra-portable design allows the Power Station Hub to fit easily in your bag so it can charge your devices anywhere.
Check Your Status and Save Battery: Turn the Power Station on and off with the LED Status Indicator button or press it to display its battery levels or charge status.

As shown below, on one side of the hub there is the power on/off button, four LED charging status lights that show the level of charge at 25% per LED, 2 USB A ports and 1 USB-C port.


The hub has a foldable 2-prong AC plug built into the device.

On one flat side of the hub, there is the Mophie brand name engraved. This is the Qi wireless charging side.

Performance

The Mophie is very easy to use right out of the box. For most situations, the foldable built-in AC plug adds ease to the use. I say for most situations because, in a tight space such as on a power strip with other devices plugged in, space becomes an issue. As shown below, it just about takes over 3 outlets on that power strip and while it can be reversed to face the opposite direction, it then became an issue with the on/off power switch for the strip that I was using.


When the hub is on, there is a LED status light at the top that indicates the wireless charging status. See the photo and illustration below.


Qi wireless charging

What I like

  • The compact size
  • The built-in folding AC plug
  • The charging options including the Qi wireless charging option

What I’d change

  • Increase the capacity of the built-in battery
  • Include a USB-c to USB-C cable

Final thoughts

The Mophie Power Station Hub is a handy device to add to your EDC gear bag. It is not too heavy and offers the convenience of charging via USB including USB-C Power Delivery fast charging. It also offers quick charging via USB cable and Qi wireless charging. The fact that the AC plug is built-in means that there is no additional power supply and cable to carry with you to recharge the device. It would be nice if the internal battery was a higher capacity battery,  but I am guessing that there may be some trade-off in regards to weight. While this is a nice device, it is up to the consumer to be satisfied with the cost to feature ratio.

Price: $99.95
Where to buy: Mophie website and Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Mophie

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Mophie Powerstation Hub Portable Battery review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 15, 2019 at 11:00 am.

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Voamoko Type-C Wireless Numeric Pad with USB Hub review

REVIEW – Do you wish your laptop had a real number pad on it? There are definitely times where I’ve had a project pop up during a trip where a full size keyboard was nowhere to be found. Voamoko’s Type-C Wireless Numeric Pad with USB Hub might just be the solution that you can keep in your bag without taking up much space.

What is it?

The Type-C Wireless Numeric Pad with USB Hub is a portable number pad that you can use with your laptop for the feel of a full size numeric keyboard without the bulk. The built-in USB hub adds some needed backwards compatibility to newer computers.

What’s in the box?

  • Numeric key pad
  • USB cable (Type-C to Type-C)
  • User manual

Hardware specs

– Support: Windows/macOS/iOS/Android (Some shortcut keys are not supported on macOS & iOS)
– Keyswitch life & response: 500 million strokes times & 5 millisecond
– Design: 34 key aluminum keypad
– USB hub: Two USB-A 3.0 ports (when connected with USB-C cable)
– Wireless: Bluetooth 3.0 for keypad only functionality
– Controls: Power switch, BT pairing button and LED indicator
– Power: Input of 5V at 100mA, Output at 900mA per port
– Duration: 2 hours to charge, 50 hours use, ~2 months standby
– Dimensions: ~ 5.5″ x 4.5″ and 0.5″ at top of the ramped design

Design and features

Voamoko’s numeric pad was clearly designed to aesthetically match MacBooks from Apple. It’s available in both silver and space gray so you can complete your kit. It’s also compatible with PCs running Windows and iOS devices.

The solution provides a true number pad for anyone craving that extended keyboard feel that’s missing from almost all laptops. Because it’s Bluetooth you can move it exactly where you need it.

The bottom is plastic which helps with wireless signals and the four rubber feet keep it from moving around.

It also adds two USB-A ports when connected with the included USB-C to C cable, which makes it easier to continue using any peripherals you haven’t upgraded to USB-C.

A power switch and a paring button can be found on the right side where you can see the tapered design very similar to the Apple Magic Trackpad.

Setup

First you’ll need to connect the keypad’s USB-C cable and connect it to your computer or a wall adapter.

You’ll see a solid red light at the back of the keypad confirming it’s charging. Allow about 2 hours for a full charge. Note that you will not be able to use the keypad until you setup Bluetooth.

Slide the switch so that green is showing (instead of red) and then press the small round button to place it in pairing mode. On the back you’ll now see a flashing blue light next to the red light. On you computer open your Bluetooth preference panel, look for “Bluetooth Keypad” and click connect.

Performance

I use a standing desk and a large monitor at work with Apple’s Magic Trackpad 2 and full-size Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad. It’s a great setup as I work in spreadsheets and gantt programs regularly. The funny part is that I’m actually not at my desk for the majority of the day. When I’m in meeting rooms and elsewhere I’m limited to the numbers along the top of my Macbook Pro. Definitely works, but it’s just not the same as having a number pad when you’re really trying to enter numbers quickly and accurately.

The Voamoko Numeric Pad straight up solves this problem. It’s lightweight, small and fits in a back pocket or between your hand and the laptop you’re lugging around anyway. Just place it next to your computer and switch it on.

When placed directly next to the right side of my 15″ laptop it’s lays out just like the keys on my Magic Keyboard.

The USB hub is a great feature as you likely have some hard drives, peripherals or that USB-A to lighting cable that came with your iPhone that you connect to your computer with some frequency. It’s a welcome benefit that doesn’t add volume to the keypad in any negative way. It does mean that you need to keep that cable handy or always hanging out of the back of the keypad.

That included cable is short (only x inches) with straight connectors. I connect it to the right side of my laptop since I’m right handed. Does that mean that this could be a great solution for left handed users? As “I’m am not left-handed” (Princess Bride sword fighting scene playing in my head now), I can’t speak to if that would actually be a benefit since you’re likely used to standard key layouts. But back to my previous point, connecting it to the right side ports pushes it further away from my laptop to a point that it starts to feel awkward.

This is either not an issue at all, or an easily remedied problem. If you are only using the number pad functionality and charge the keypad when not it use, you won’t run into this issue. If you want the USB hub functionality, a cable with a 90º connector on the computer end of the cable, or just a longer cable that can reach around to ports on the left side will solve the problem.

As for the actually hub functionality, the USB 3.0 seems to work great. I connected a 3.0 Seagate drive through the keypad and moved a large file (1.36GB) from my computer to the drive in about 10 seconds.

There also seems to be no issue using both USB ports simultaneously. As with any hard drives, make sure your cables are fully pushed in and try not to bump things around while working with them. They all tend to disconnect way too easily.

I was also able to easily pair it with my iPad Pro. I’m not sure I’ll be using it in that scenario very often, but it’s great to know that it can. Finally, there is no backlighting on the keypad which is to be expected, but just wanted to make sure you know.

What I like

  • Number pad with my laptop!
  • Lightweight and low profile
  • Wireless in number pad only mode
  • USB 3.0 hub when used with cable

What I’d change

  • Longer cable to reach to far side of laptop

Final thoughts

If you miss having a numeric pad when you’re on your laptop, this is a great solution. If you need a USB-A 3.0 ports on your laptop, this is a great solution. Either of those alone plus the solid build quality, portability and price puts the on the Voamoko Type-C Wireless Numeric Pad with USB Hub on the recommended list for me.

Price: $49.99
Where to buy: Amazon or Voamoko
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Voamoko.

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Voamoko Type-C Wireless Numeric Pad with USB Hub review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 6, 2019 at 8:00 am.

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VOAMOKO Mouse Pad with USB Hub review

REVIEW – Our family computer is a MacBook Pro that lives on the kitchen table but floats around the house wherever it’s needed.  It’s not a particularly powerful laptop, but we only use it for ordinary things, like banking online, writing documents, and checking Facebook.  In general, our setup works, but it does have a couple of drawbacks.  One, our table isn’t a great mousepad, and two, our MacBook doesn’t have enough ports.  The perfect solution to our problem would be a mousepad that doubles as a USB hub, and that’s exactly what VOAMOKO’s gadget is!

What is it?

The VOAMOKO Mouse Pad with USB Hub is exactly what its name says:  It’s a metallic mousepad with a built-in USB hub designed to work with laptops.

What’s in the box?

The only two things in the box are the mousepad and a 7-inch-long USB cable.  Atypically, there are no manuals, quick start guides, or any warranty information.

Hardware specs

The mousepad is made of an aluminum alloy.  It’s available in gold, rose gold, black, space gray, or silver. It’s 10.5 long x 8 inches wide and has 6 ports on the back:

  • 1 x RJ45
  • 3 x USB 3.0
  • 1 x SD
  • 1 x Micro SD

Design and features

I have the silver mousepad, and it matches the silver on our MacBook Pro pretty well.  The main part of the mousepad is a flat surface, like any mousepad, but the back part that houses the hub is a raised, triangular shape.  The connector to the host is indented on the left side.  It almost looks like something that Apple would have designed.

Installation and setup

Installation is super simple.  I connected the USB cable to the port on the left side of the mousepad to the USB port on the right side of the laptop.  Done.  No power supplies or drivers required.

Performance

The mousepad is a slick, metallic surface, which means it’s very fast and not very tactile.  Personally, I prefer this to the slower speed of a cloth mousepad, but if it’s too fast for you, you can adjust the tracking speed of your mouse, if it supports this feature.  The mousepad seems very rigid and sturdy to me, and I expect it will work very well for a long time.

The great thing about this design is that when I need to use the laptop somewhere else, I only need to disconnect two cables, the USB cable to the mousepad and the power cable.  Everything else can remain right where it is, ready for whenever I bring the computer back.

The ports on the back of the hub work great!  I connected an SD card from my Canon EOS 60D camera, a SanDisk USB drive with some files, the wireless dongle for my Logitech mouse, and my SanDisk SSD drive for Time Machine.  Everything just works without any fuss or drama, which is exactly what I want, and there’s plenty of space between each port.  It should be noted that the 3 USB ports implement the older, slower USB 3.0 specification, so the max throughput is only 5 Gbps.  If you consistently need to move lots of large files, you may find this to be too slow, but for normal, everyday usage, it’s probably just fine.  Amazon has an alternate version of this mousepad that connects to the host computer using USB-C, but as far as I can tell its ports are still USB 3.0, so you won’t see any difference in performance.

There are a couple of constraints that you should be aware of.  First, the port for connecting to the host computer is only available on the left side of the mousepad, which means that the mouse pad only works on the right side of your laptop.  Unfortunately, all of you “lefties” out there have been left out.  If you want to move the mousepad to the left side of your laptop, or if you don’t want your mousepad to be right next to your laptop, you’ll need to buy a longer USB cable.  Second, the cable is fairly rigid, which means that the mousepad is exactly 6 inches away from my laptop.  My personal preference would be to move it closer, but the cable won’t let me move it very far.  I wish that VOAMOKO had included a braided cable, which would provide the flexibility to adjust the mousepad’s location.

The bottom of the mousepad has a black, rubber surface attached to it, which provides good traction.  I never have problems with it slipping around while using it.

One final consideration is the price, which is currently $59.99 on Amazon.  You can buy an aluminum mousepad for less than $20, and you can buy a similar USB hub for less than $20.  That means you’re paying an extra $20 for the convenience of merging these into one product and decluttering your workspace.  I’m a fan of simplicity, so this seems like a good deal to me.

What I like

  • Solid construction
  • Nice aesthetics
  • Functional ports

What I’d change

  • A braided USB cable for connecting to the host computer

Final thoughts

I like this mousepad from VOAMOKO.  It does everything that I hoped it would do without any problems.  The functionality of the extra ports and the convenience of only having to plug in the one USB cable are good things.  If you’re in need of a mousepad and a hub, then I commend the VOAMOKO Mouse Pad with USB Hub to you.

Price:  $59.99
Where to buy:  Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by VOAMOKO.

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VOAMOKO Mouse Pad with USB Hub review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 17, 2019 at 10:03 am.

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ORICO 4 Port Clip-Type USB 3.0 Hub review

REVIEW – Our family has a shared Mac Mini tucked behind a monitor. Unfortunately, plugging in USB accessories can be a little tricky when you hide the CPU, but the ORICO 4 Port USB 3.0 Clip-Type hub could solve just that.

What is it?

The ORICO 4-Port USB 3.0 Clip-Type hub does just what it says, allowing you to add four USB ports to the edge of a monitor or the edge of a desk.

What’s in the box?

  • USB hub
  • USB-A to USB-A cable

Hardware specs

  • Four USB 3.0 ports
  • Clamp opens between 10 mm to 33 mm

Design and features

The hub’s exterior construction appears to be aluminum. A tiny hole on the front panel hides a blue LED. On the rear is the USB port that connects to your computer, and the set screw.

Setup

There’s not a whole lot to it: Simply unpack and plug in the provided cable…

…and clamp to the edge of a monitor. Here’s the product under a 20″ LCD monitor.

If you look closely you can see the blue LED on the front panel. Doesn’t quite cover the DELL logo, but that’s OK.

What I like

  • Sturdy, sleek design
  • LED isn’t too bright

What needs to be improved

  • I wish it came in black as an option.
  • Not powered (see note below)

Final thoughts

Despite the color mismatch, the ORICO 4 Port USB 3.0 Clip-Type Hub installed easily. A powered version is also available.

Price: $21.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by ORICO.

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ORICO 4 Port Clip-Type USB 3.0 Hub review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 16, 2019 at 8:30 am.

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