Trust Ultra Small Bluetooth 2 USB Adapter review

Can the world’s smallest Bluetooth adapter make a big impact?

28 February 2008 9:00 GMT / By Davey Winder

There is one compelling reason to opt for the Trust Ultra Small device if you need to add Bluetooth 2 capability to your computer, and it’s a small reason at that, literally: size.

All wrapped up in a unit which is pretty much the size of a USB connector plug alone, you get all the Bluetooth connectivity you need. It really is worth stating just how small this thing is.

Sure, you can get an idea of scale from the photo of it next to the 10 cent euro coin, but what absolutely matters is knowing how much it adds to your notebook because that’s where you are going to stick it, right? How about the truly amazing fact that when Trust say ultra small they mean it and this baby only sticks out 6mm from the surface once plugged in (we reckon that is smaller than a hamsters privates, although we are not getting the tape measure out to prove it).

In fact it is so small and works so well that once installed you really can just forget all about it and never remove it again. Which takes care of the "it’s so small I’ll lose the bloody thing" argument. If your notebook does not come with integrated Bluetooth then this will give you all the basic functionality you could want, including handsfree and audio profiles.

It worked faultlessly with every Bluetooth peripheral we threw at it from mice to keyboards, PDA to headset, camera to mobile phone. Don’t forget that this is a Bluetooth 2 adapter, which means if you are using Bluetooth 2 compatible peripherals you get connections speeds around three times as fast as the original standard.

Of course, many notebooks these days do come replete with Bluetooth connectivity built-in which makes the Trust Ultra Small obsolete. However, if your computer is sans Bluetooth then the chances are that it can be filed under either "long in the tooth" or "budget model" category, and in both cases you are not going to want to spend a small fortune on a small device to boost your small range connectivity. Which brings us nicely to the other compelling reason to go for the Trust option that we forgot to mention earlier, and that’s cost.

Truth be told the retail price is almost as diminutive as the dimensions, and you’ll not be paying more than £10 for one.

So there you have it, small on the outside, small on the bank balance but big on performance. When this arrived at the office we never expected to be blown away by such a tiny and ostensibly boring bit of kit, but blown away we were.

Verdict

We really cannot find fault with the Trust Ultra Small Bluetooth adapter, it works with Vista and XP, it works with every peripheral we threw in its direction, it is so small as to be all but integrated into your notebook PC and it costs next to nothing!

Score

Review Recap

Made by: Trust
Price as reviewed: £10
The good: Teensy weensy size, teensy weensy price, huge performance
The bad: Zilch!
Quick verdict: We really cannot find fault with the Trust Ultra Small Bluetooth adapter
Score
Winner