Upon my first glace at the Belkin Regulator Pro Gold USB, I noticed that it was very small-this is, of course, compared to the mega-sized network UPS battery backups that I am used to seeing at our school. With a stylish shape and color, the Regulator Pro Gold USB boasts a similar look and feel as other exterior Belkin components, such as their 7-port USB hub.

Two rows of four outlets can be found on the top of the UPS for easy access. One of these rows provides battery backup while the other only provides surge protection. This was disappointing to me at first, since I expected all 8 outlets to support battery backup, but after a little thought, it makes sense to only have 4 outlets with battery backup because anything more would drain out the battery too fast. The 4 outlets with only surge protection can even be thought of as a valuable extra since many other UPS battery backups lack them altogether.

Four LEDs at the front provide for a clear picture of how your power source is doing. Also at the front is the only button present, which controls just about everything such as power on and off and test modes.

The rear is where the USB jack is, which connects to one of your computer's USB ports through the provided USB cable. Also present at the rear are in and out jacks for phone and network surge protection. You connect either your network or phone line through the "in" jack, and out through the "out" jack, and the Regulator Pro Gold USB will smooth out any power surges that might travel through those lines. Belkin also included a telephone cable to so you won't have to.

Finally, one of the Belkin Regulator Pro Gold USB's unique features is the built-in cable management feature. Basically, it is just a piece of soft plastic (or maybe even rubber?) shaped like a handle (although, Belkin specifically states that it should never be used as one) that attaches to the rear of the UPS. The user then pulls all their power cables through this "handle" at the rear, to keep all the cables from flopping in all directions. I found this feature to work somewhat well, but felt that the design is flawed because of the fact that it is too large to hold down any of the cables to prevent them from tangling within the handle.

To top everything off, there's a plastic cover at the back that can be flipped out to facilitate for a battery replacement, just in case the battery that comes included with the Regulator Pro Gold USB becomes damaged or requires servicing, which shouldn't be very likely.

On to: Powering Up