Kensington USB Type-C Adapter and Hub Roundup Review

Bohs Hansen / 8 years ago

Conclusion & Pricing

Pricing

The Kensington CH1000 hub can be yours for $36.09 through NewEgg or £36.02 through Amazon UK at the time of writing.

The Kensington CA1000 adapter comes in a little cheaper and can be found for $15.43 at NewEgg and £14.99 at Amazon UK.

Conclusion

Whenever a new standard comes out, there is the trouble with backward compatibility. That is also the case when it comes to Type-C USB connectors and it can be especially tricky if the device only has one Type-C and nothing else. This is where the two Kensington devices I tested today come into play by bridging the new generation with legacy Type-A connectors.

Whether you go for the CA1000 adapter for a single device or opt for the CH1000 hub instead, you’ll get the above need filled and it allows you to use storage drives, input devices, and other USB devices with modern systems – even smartphones and tablets.

While the whole idea isn’t groundbreaking technology wise, the Kensington CA1000 and CH1000 fill a need and a hole in the market. I have no doubt that a lot of people will find them helpful as they can increase their daily productivity.

At the same time, the CA1000 and CH1000 are both very light and very portable. Short cables can at times be an issue with some tower chassis, but portable systems benefit from short cables. And that is the real intended area of operation for these tow devices.

Performance wise there weren’t any noticeable impacts on storage the storage connections. We did see some increases and some decreases, but all within a normal margin for the drive used in the tests.

Pros

Bridging generation between legacy USB device and the new Type-C port
Light and Portable
Universally usable
Plug and Play

Cons

None

Neutral

Short cables.

“Kensington’s CA1000 and CH1000 are perfect for any Type-C system, whether mobile or stationary. The simple way to connect almost any USB device to the new Type-C ports.”