Belkin TuneSync for iPod USB Hub Review

Nice Mac Complement
I've a new Intel iMac, and certainly it's been a difficult time finding accessories that are as stylish as they are functional to complement my snow-white speedy beauty.  Measuring at 4" by 5.75" (base), the Belkin TuneSync benefits by its low-profile and contoured shape. There are 5 USB ports on back; the cradle on top provides a perfect fit for any dockable iPods (ie. iPod video, iPod nano) with 7 different adapters.

Due to the fact that the TuneSync is already shipping before iPod video, Belkin doesn't provides the 5th generation player out of the box support, but you can either order an adapter for free from the company website, or simply share it with 20GB iPod photo adapter. Each dock also has back support so you won't accidentally break the connector by pressing the player against the hub. Compared to 6 hours of recharging via my iPod USB cable, the TuneSync can cut the time by half.

Package Content
- Belkin TuneSync for iPod USB Hub
- 11-page manual
- Power adapter
- mini 5-pin USB cable
- 7 iPod inserts

A Cradle for almost every iPod
On the right side, you will find a 1/8" line-out mini-jack which keeps tune flowing while the hub is rapidly refilling juice for your iPod. It would be interesting if Belkin also adds video out support as well. I tried with my Apple's composite cable, but I could only hear audio. The front of the TuneSync has a prominent display of 7 LEDs, five of which in green show typical USB device activity, the one in blue indicates an iPod connection, and the red in the far left lights up when the hub is receiving power through the AC adapter.

If there's one thing I didn't like about the design, it is the over-crowded back where the 5 USB ports simply sit way too closely together. The fat USB TV dongles or iPod shuffle will undoubtedly get in the way of my other devices. Tweaking the reference board may allow two ports to be moved to other sides. The 11-page manual is your only troubleshooter guide should problems arise, but probably won't help much. It does, however, tell you the TuneSync comes with multi-transaction translator (aka. multi-TT).

Words on Multi-TT USB Hub
In a nutshell, a USB 2.0 hub requires Full Speed and Low Speed USB traffic to be segregated from Hi-Speed USB traffic, such as your iPod. This task lies on a transaction translator (TT), which technically guarantees 12Mbps per port for hardware still requiring Full & Low mode. The Belkin TuneSync has 5 TTs, so it can drive a USB phone, a USB 1.1 webcam, and a high-end gaming mouse (ie. Logitech G5) without a glitch. Hi-Speed USB TVs, video cameras and hard drives can't take advantage of this as they go through a repeater. Single-TT design is slowly superseded by the multi-counterpart so I wouldn't say the TuneSync is truly unique in this respect.

I couldn't seem to find the best config in a mixed USB 1.1 & USB 2.0 environment on this USB 2.0 hub. As soon as you start connecting USB devices to the hub, the effective bandwidth will take a hit by all the overheads in the background. There's no magic formula to getting the best results with existing hardware, after fiddling around with PassMark USB 2.0 benchmark dongle. As long as you don't mix USB 1.1 & USB 2.0 stuff on the same hub, you will be fine. A simple rule is to keep all USB 1.1 to the root ports, and connect all Hi-Speed to the USB 2.0 hub.

The Bottom Line
If your desktop has only that much space left and you own a iPod as well as a number of USB gadgets, the Belkin's $50 (street) TuneSync 5-port USB hub seems to be logical choice over an overpriced Apple $40 dock and an ugly generic USB hub.

By Ian Chiu, Managing Editor