Kingwin KF-25 Data Dock

Manufacturer: Kingwin
Supplied by: Kingwin
Street Price: $34

by Dean Barker (3/05/2006)

Introduction

Kingwin shows us with their newest drive rack, the Kingwin KF-25, that the most practical devices are often the simplest.  Designed to fit in an open floppy drive bay or be used externally, the KF-25 is two devices in one; a 2.5" drive rack and a four port USB 2.0 hub. Why would you need a 2.5" drive rack you ask?  Internal and External Hard Drive Racks are almost indispensable items for the average tech.  From testing drives to carrying large setup files in a compact way makes life much easier.  A pocket sized drive rack, a la notebook sized 2.5" drive, is the smallest and easiest thing to use for those files that simply are too big for a thumb drive.  Today, thanks to the folks at Kingwin, we have an opportunity to take a look at this simple yet highly practical device. 

Specifications

• Application: Internal 3.5" bay or External

• Interface: USB 2.0 - USB 2.0, IDE - USB 2.0

• Observed dimensions: 155 x 100 x 25mm 

• Observed weight: 363 gms

• Construction: Aluminum/Stainless Steel

• Power and Activity LED Indicators

• Plug and Play operation

• Available Colors: Black, Beige

What you get

The Kingwin KF-25 package includes the drive rack itself, a 50" USB 2.0 external sheathed cable, internal USB 2.0 mainboard connector, instruction booklet and a very convenient pocket pouch for the 2.5" drive tray.

The Unit

The device itself is the same size as a floppy drive.  The front has two trays with a corresponding eject button for each.  Around back are two ports to be used for internal connection, one is for the internal USB 2.0 connection line and the other is for a four pin floppy power connector.  It struck me as odd to see a power connection port being as USB provides for data connection and power however, when you think about a hard drive and four USB devices all being powered off one internal USB header on your mainboard, it makes since.

     

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