Crapgadget: 'Gee... thanks?' edition
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted Jul 2nd 2009 1:33PM
posted Jul 2nd 2009 1:33PM
If you need a flash drive or USB hub there are many useful and, more to the point, tasteful options out there. But if you want to saddle a hapless co-worker or relative with a silly, embarrassing, or just plain crapulant gag gift suitable for the current technological moment? Look no further than the following assortment of crapgadgets. Your illustrious Engadget eds have hand-picked a wonderful assortment of devices tailor-made to evoke awkward responses at office birthday parties and the like. So, without further ado...
Read - No Green Thumb Required: USB Fever 4-Port Flower Pot Hub
Read - USB Airplane Hub with built-in fan
Read - Robot USB Drives would make a cute gift
Read - USB Artillery Hub
Read - USB Octopus Hub
Read - No Green Thumb Required: USB Fever 4-Port Flower Pot Hub
Read - USB Airplane Hub with built-in fan
Read - Robot USB Drives would make a cute gift
Read - USB Artillery Hub
Read - USB Octopus Hub
So, does the cannon physically eject your USB drive?
RTA. It plays 3 seconds of cannon sounds when you plug something in.
that would be epic. It would actually make me want to "Safely Remove Hardware".
This would be good if it fired the USB device.
many of the links to those products won't even load right now, probably because that site never expected so much traffic; traffic induced solely because engadget put up a poll asking about which one was the least crap-gadgety. lolz
I have a feeling the poll results will be completely messed up by all the people assuming they're supposed to vote for the crappiest gadget instead of the least.
I have to agree. I thought we were voting for the crappiest one. (The Cannon)
Don't Do What Donny Don't Does
-jp
No Contest. The Airplane USB hub with built in fan. Possible tag line "keeping you two kinds of cool!"
"fly high with this FANtastic USB accessory"
:D
too soon? never too soon! i loled for a good bit after reading that..
"Which of these bad boys are almost, kinda not crap?"
hey that's the opposite question from what you usually ask. i voted for the flowers by mistake :(
i think the airplane is nearest to not being crap
I voted for the cannon by mistake, thinking it was supposed to be "which is the crappiest?" But now that I know the cannon makes a firing noise, I believe I made the correct decision.
I feel the need to take a college course on Engadget Grammar 101. No offense, but really...
"Read the question before give the answer."
Is that really so strange ?
The Pink Robot USB drive kinda looks like Frankenberry.
I will take two Airplanes just for the cool factor.
I want two airplane ones, on one side and the artillery one on the other side of my notebook.
The robot flash drives don't look that bad at all...I mean there has been much worse on crapgadget before.
*grabs metallic spray paint and apple decal*
Where would you like it sent to?
lolz....
....for once.
Actually the Octopus USB Hub is kinda useful, this of course after you connect whatever you want to connect to it, and shove it out of sight behind the desk!!
Yep. The Octopus might actually be useful with the breakout cables. All the rest are craptastic.
It was close, but I voted the Robots as best. It seemed appropriate to take the legs off before you have it penetrate your USB socket, in a weird kinky way. I almost voted for the Octopus, if only so it could give my power squid some company.
Those robots look too lego-esque to NOT love them.
That's a pentapus
Actually somebody should tell the manufacturer of the Octopus USB Hub that Octopus have *Eight* not Four Legs!!! they should rename the product quadtopus!!!!
someone needs to make a Mortal Kombat themed hub with Goro and each arm is a USB port.
LOL! That'd be halarious!
+1 for the awesome idea
Great idea!
Like this Panda: http://www.gadget4all.com/prod_detail.php?prod_id=00903&cat_id=014&dept_id=003 ?
Some reason, this reminds me of the movie Dusk till Dawn...
So the same site that thinks the Power Squid is one of the best gadgets out there is now saying the the exact same concept applied to USB hubs is crappy merely because of the addition of googly eyes?
I voted for the airplane. It's obviously the not-so-bad, almost, kind of in an odd way the best out of this worst line up. That should be obviously evident, in an obscure way to anyone with the least amount of style.
And the added functionality of the fan pushes it over-the-top by understating the not so obvious.
Anybody get that?
Please don't tell me you have an Apple tattoo and somewhere it says Made in China.
I like the added excitement from the plane hub. Will your cable become entangled in the rather close fan? Dun-dun-dahhhhhhh!
The octopus hub looks silly but it is most certainly not crap. I have a few unpractically wide stick-shaped USB devices that block the adjacent ports on many of my systems, forcing me to connect an extension cable if I want to use more than one port at the same time. Of all the hubs listed on my local price comparison site, this excruciatingly expensive multi-connector LaCie hub is the only other device to address this issue:
http://www.lacie.com/imgstore/product_medium/addons_hub.jpg
Tastes may differ but I'd rather have the octopus, thanks.
Octopus is not a bad idea, like those squid surge protectors.
I don't think any of them look that bad... except the flowers, and maybe the aeroplane. The rest look okay to me.
What, no "All of the above" choice???
did nobody else consider the fact that the fan on the plane+wires=disaster waiting to happen..lol
The plane was fine until I saw the video and the noise it makes (and the chrome trim).
Canon similarly annoying (along with the chrome trim).
Octopus (Quadrapus?) is pretty practical.
Robots aren't so bad, but a USB drive competing with USB hubs is funny. The robot could plug into any of these.
First things first, Octopuses have 8 legs not 4. So it's more like a Quadropus.
Numéro deux, what's the point when wireless USB is on its way in?
Where's the transformers usb drive?
While it wouldn't be crap for $5, at $45 it was total crap.
Cow udder hub...
You changed the poll question!? It's usually 'which is the most craptastic' and today it's 'which is not crap'. Oh so sly. You got me.