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The idea behind Hitch is a good one, but how useful is it? For some, there's always going to be a PC nearby for file transfers, but we can think of few users who might need some on-the-go action. Amateur photographers might need a compact was of unloading the contents of their camera's memory card onto something a bit more capacious. College students might like to share the contents of their iPods with each other. We're not sure businessmen will be all that interested with quite a high chance of a laptop being in close proximity.
What it's important to realise, however, is that despite it being useful for some, some products exist with USB On-The-Go integrated into them. This allows a device to function as a host and another USB device as a slave. Transfers can then take place between the two without an intermediary device. Hitch, then, is only useful where this functionality doesn't exist on one of the devices in the user's possession. iPods don't have the feature, so iPod-to-iPod transfers aren't possible without the help of Hitch, as just one example.
So, when you think about it, the scope for Hitch's usage does seem more limited than at first. That said, it is going to be useful for some. In its USB-101 incarnation, Hitch's interface is simple and easy, so we reckon that's something Sima has got right from the start. We really like the 'here' and 'there' concept. However, we do have two reservations. The first is the transfer speed. Our tests show it's a rather slow and we'd greatly prefer high-speed support to enjoy USB 2.0 in all its glory wherever possible. Secondly, there's the trouble we had with connecting some of our devices.
If any software compatibility issues with devices exist, these can probably quite easily be fixed with a software update to Hitch. However, we're a bit worried about it being unable to power our 2.5" hard drive when it runs just fine off a PC's USB port.
Set to retail for around £100, Hitch comes with a 12-month warranty. The warranty is OK, but we believe it to be a little on the expensive side. If it had high speed support, then we'd probably say it was worth it. Nevertheless, its PTP support broadens the number of digital cameras its supports, which gives it an edge over many other similar devices on the market.
It's easy to use and it's useful for some, but we'd rather wait for a faster version (with a bit more juice from battery too) to surface.
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At HEXUS.net, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any of Htch's representatives choose to do so, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.We've received correspondence from Sima indicating that our review sample's lack of charging and incorrect adapter may have contributed to sub-standard performance. Sima is sending us the correct adapter and we will re-test the unit and update the performance numbers should they change.
