This little beauty came from my random box of stuff from Bigpockets.co.uk and as the name suggests it enables USB use anywhere. But what does that actually mean? This nifty little device is meant to allow data transfer on the go removing the need for a computer which would make it easier. However the limitations seem to damage it’s purpose and what seems like a half finished product has made it to the customer.

On first look Belkin have done a good designing job and the silver finish makes it a modern decoration.  The control interface is simple and clean and the ports are all in the right place and feel right.  There is a battery compartment at the back hiding 3 AAA batteries which adds some weight to the device because even thought it’s built well, without batteries it seems a bit fragile.  This leads onto the next question, why would you not have batteries in it? As a portable device batteries are a must but then why would you need a power plug? The big catch with this device is that, as stated on the instructions,  certain USB plugs that draw more power than normal will not be compatible with the Belkin USB Anywhere  without the AC adapter plugged in.  Now if you need to use the AC adapter it will severely limit your ability to transfer files portably as you won’t be able to do it in the middle of a field after taking some photo snaps for instance.  On the other hand on a holiday where you will have ample electrical outlets and no need for outside transferring you’ll be alright and will save you taking a laptop/computer with you.

To control what you transfer you have to flick the switch on the left side of the Belkin device and then press the Copy button on the front and bingo you’re off.  The whole process has been simplified for quick transferring but does not allow you to select which files are transferred. It’s either the root directory or the whole lot. Now imagine when you need this it will be hard to know if you only want to transfer one file but it’s not in the root directory. It will mean having to copy the full source to the target which can waste space and time. Since the device has no lcd display the only responsive feedback you get on the transferring process is down to two leds.  A simple tick tells you when the process is complete and while it is working it but I would never trust it without plugging it into a computer first to check the file is there. Maybe it’s just me being paranoid but with something so highly prone to errors when it does finally say transfer completed I don’t want to delete the original file to see it crashed up somewhere else and I ended up losing it!

Saying that it is a good idea, just not perfected yet. With small lcd displays arriving like on portable photo printers you could easily see what files are on the source drive and which to copy. Then as the extra checking tool after the completed transfer process you could put the target drive into the source usb port and then check via the lcd display if the file actually made it over. Simple but effective and would alleviate all my worries about transferring important files on the go. As a first try I hope Belkin will learn, research and release a potentially better viable option to transferring files between USB devices.