Belkin 4x4 USB Peripheral Switch ReviewFebruary 25th, 2004
Pros: Compact & attractive; smart management software; automatic printer sharing.
Cons: No Hi-Speed USB support; device ejection error during switching.
Verdict: All in all, the Belkin 4x4 USB Peripheral Switch works as advertised. Indeed, it has more features than one would expect as long as Hi-Speed USB support is not a necessity.
A USB switch works like a hub except that it allows more than one PC (or Mac) to share a single or multiple USB devices. The Belkin 4x4 USB Peripheral Switch (F1U400) is a remarkable product supporting 4 PCs and 4 devices.
How Smart is this Switch? The switch comprises of a 4-port powered USB 1.1 hub one hand and 4 switchable inputs on the other. You can manually (by mechanical button) transfer all USB devices to one of 4 PCs or inputs. What makes the Belkin special is the included management software, which allows any combination of devices to be used on any single PC with drag and drop ease.
The software display accurately represents the current device status on all PCs with the software installed. If the PC hosting the devices drops offline, the display on the other PCs will show the devices as offline. These USB devices can then be dragged and dropped to where they are needed singly or in total. This software makes what would otherwise be a dauntingly complex device management prospect a simple one.
Another feature of the switch is what Belkin calls Automatic Printer Sharing. Basically, printers connected to the USB switch does not have to be assigned to a particular PC. All PCs can print to any printers that are connected to the switch as long as drivers are installed. Hence, one does not have to drag and drop a printer to their PC to use it. Both software control and Automatic Printer sharing work as advertised - very nice!
Two additional features of the software are "Courtesy Alert" and the ability to rename each PC. The former allows you to right-click a device icon and display it as "in use" so that the other PCs can see that it is reserved. The device icon will then turn red in color. Unfortunately, the software does not prevent another user from taking the device anyway. In the renaming feature, you can be more descriptive than the standard "PC I", "PC II" offering.
Limitations There are two small issues and a known limitation. The first is that this is essentially a standard powered USB hub and is subject to the same limitations of any hub - it is particular about which USB port it is connected to and cannot host all known USB devices. Some devices will not work on it, but the vast majority do. It did handle a bus-powered USB Zip drive quite well. It also handled 3 USB drives simultaneously. That is not bad at all.
The second issue is that USB devices with drivers that specify that the device must be ejected before unplugging complain when that device is switched from one PC to another. The only way to avoid the "unplugged warning" is to eject before switching. That can be a bit cumbersome. The known limitation of the 4x4 is the fact that it is USB 1.1 only. One would assume that a Hi-Speed USB version is in the works.
The Bottom Line All in all, the Belkin 4x4 USB Peripheral Switch works as advertised. Indeed, it has more features than one would expect as long as Hi-Speed USB support is not a necessity.
By William DeVercelly, Contributing Editor
Where to buy Belkin 4x4 USB Peripheral Switch?
User Review(s)
"Lighten up, Mr. Chen." Do you know of *any* PC pepripheral that can be used on two PCs simultaneously? I don't, so please enlighten me.
You didn't understand USB itself, much less this product and I'm sick of watching you pan it because of your own misunderstanding.
There is nothing wrong with this switch - period. The only deficit here is a human one. From BillyD, May 19, 2004
"Didn't work as expected" "The Belkin 4x4 USB Peripheral Switch (the Switch) lets you access four USB devices-such as printers, cameras, scanners, and external hard drives-from up to four computers simultaneously" - this is a complete lie. It doesn't share devices simultaneously. Don't buy this product.
[update]
Apparently Belkin disagree with you (John Lawler) because according to their advertisement, it is a GREAT FEATURE to be able to share USB devices such as printers, cameras, scanners, and external hard drives simultaneously. Which by the way is a FALSE statement. Not wanting to share a USB mouse doesn't mean that I don't want to share other USB devices. ok?
[2nd update]
I just wanted to clarify what this product is really capable of doing.
This product works well as a usb hub but its marketing tag line advertised that it can lets you access four USB devices-such as printers, cameras, scanners, and external hard drives-from up to four computers SIMULTANEOUSLY.
It is indeed capable of letting multiple computers share a usb printer SIMULTANEOUSLY without hitting the button but that's really limited to just usb printers.
I bought this switch thinking that I can also share a usb harddisk SIMULTANEOUSLY between multiple computers without having to hit the button but obviously this cannot be done with this product.
To be fair to all users,
they should just say that it is limited to printers if you want to share usb devices among multiple computer SIMULTANEOUSLY or just take out the "SIMULTANEOUSLY" word all together in their advertisment. From kharpoh chen, January 20, 2003
We're currently upgrading our user review system; so we won't be accepting new reviews for now. 4x4 USB Peripheral Switch Specs
Interface(s)
Original USB
Released date
May 2003
Platforms
Windows 98 SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP, MacOS 9.1
