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Brando's 4-in-1 desk lamp completes your workstation
Oftentimes, Brando's assortment of "must-have" doohickeys don't actually do much for your productivity level. This particular gizmo, however, bucks that trend in glorious fashion. The $23 USB 4-in-1 Web Cam is a fairly standard desk lamp with built-in LEDs that also acts as a webcam, voice input device and fan. Best of all, this one's USB-powered, though that could spell disaster (or "USB hub") if your sockets are already occupied with other Brando gear.
Nyko's Media Hub for PS3 inelegantly adds USB ports, multicard reader
Nyko's got a knack for delivering some of the ugliest, most preposterous third-party peripherals on the planet, yet -- for whatever reason -- we can't help but love 'em. The latest abomination from the outfit that begins to grow on you almost immediately is the Media Hub for PlayStation 3. For those that went cheap on the 40GB PS3 and missed out on a multicard reader and the full array of USB ports, this here adornment presumably connects to one of those USB sockets and adds three more while tossing in the card reader you've so dearly missed. Thankfully, Nyko's only charging $19.99 for this, so you should be okay even if your ship has yet to come in.[Via Joystiq]
Video: Darth Vader and R2D2 hubs fulfill your dork destiny
Put down that Lego nerd, it's time to give your (only?) other interest a poke. Meet the $68 animatronic Darth Vader and R2D2 USB hubs. Just stuff a USB Princess Leia into Darth's neck and watch the dark lord's eyes glow red as he scans side-to-side for the pretentious scowls of your contemptuous co-workers. Sounds effects? Oh you betcha, listen in after the break.[Via Oh Gizmo!]
Crapgadget: revolving USB hub, revolting MP4 watch, lavish amounts of lameness
Consider yourselves fortunate. You've had well over two whole months without an episode of Crapgadget, but today, that grace period ends. The most recent laughable load includes an absolutely vile wristwatch that supposedly plays MP3s / MP4s if you can manage to glance away from the bezel and band. Furthermore, we've got a TV tuner and webcam -- in one -- alongside a way-too-expensive WiFi sniffing pen that doesn't do 802.11n. Bringing up the rear is Connectland's 180° X2 Revolving USB Hub, which clearly raises the bar in USB hub design stupidity. Per usual, we're begging for your vote on the crappiest below, but we'll understand if you just can't bear the thought of spending another moment thinking about these pitiful creations. %Poll-15846% Read - Golden MP3 / MP4 watchRead - Plustek TVcam VD100Read - Revolving USB hubRead - WiFi sniffing pen
Brando's four-port USB hub comes with on / off switches
This four-port USB hub cube from Brando almost makes sense. You see, the top two ports have on / off switches which, if you use USB to charge things, may be a useful feature. But then we gotta wonder what kind of USB device doesn't either shut down automatically or stop charging once it has gotten all the juice it needs. That all said, if you're looking for a 4-port hub with on / off switches, this could be yours for $12.
USB hub brings Japanese exit sign to your desktop
We love exit signs in Japan. They frame just about every door and hallway: guy with briefcase freaking out and bolting out an open door. This is clearly not the first USB hub in an unusual form factor, but Donya has fed our love for the panicky icon. Complete with ports on the little guy's feet and briefcase, he's available for about $10 or ¥999.
All Spark Cube gets turned into a talking USB hub
That USB missile launcher you had to have is one thing, but a giant 4 port USB hub in the likeness of the All Spark cube the Transformers movie? Did we mention it talks, spouting off classics like "We must protect the All Spark Cube," every time you plug in a device? This surely-authorized product will run you about $35 US, although the toll on your dignity may not be calculable.[Via Everything USB]
Zoltrix PMP smells like a USB hub
Nah, Zoltrix Technology didn't actually merge a 4-port USB hub with a PMP, but quite frankly, it may have been more worthwhile if that were indeed the case. As it stands, this totally unsightly unit merely plays back MP3, WMA, MPEG, AVI, ASF, WMV and VOB files, rocks a built-in image / text viewer and includes an FM tuner for whatever it's worth. Apparently, the unit can be had in 256MB, 512MB, 1GB and 2GB sizes, but seriously, don't be caught dead with this one.[Via PMPToday]
iMONO 4-port USB hub rocks individual on / off switches
These days, it takes some serious differentiating to set your 4-port USB hub apart from the rest, but iMONO's latest actually doesn't do a half bad job at standing out. This alternative arrives in a trio of colors, sports 5 LEDs, weighs 30-grams and offers up four individual on / off switches in order to power up / down each socket separately. Sure, not everyone would find such a feature immediately useful, but why would you want to waste energy on that USB seat cooler when those G-Gloves are what's necessary to keep you from slipping into hypothermia? Grab yours now for $18 -- we're sure you'll figure out some clever use for it.
Five-port USB hub does SATA and eSATA, too
Brando, e-tailer of products that you didn't even know existed -- and some that probably shouldn't -- has just released a new USB hub capable of handling SATA and eSATA drives to boot. That's right, along with hooking up five USB peripherals of your choice, you can also use the combo hub as a quick and easy way to swap out external hard drives without dealing with enclosures, RAID controllers, and the like -- at the expense of transfer speeds, of course. Available immediately, the mutant hub is going for a mere $33, or $43 if you want Old Man Brando to bundle in a power cord, too.
Synchrotech ships 13-port USB 2.0 hub
If you've been wondering how you'll use all those USB-powered gizmos you've been collecting at the same time, ponder no more. Synchrotech is now shipping its 13-port USB 2.0 hub, which barely falls short of the 16-port alternative we peeked earlier this year. Notably, this creation boasts a much smaller, sleeker design that isn't likely to attract too much attention (until all those ports are filled, that is), but the baker's dozen is (obviously) backwards compatible with USB 1.1 and will cost you just $45. Oh, the possibilities.[Via MacNN, thanks RD Skeels]
LaCie Hub gets reborn, goes USB-only
No need to fix something if it isn't broken, right? Apparently LaCie is feelin' said mantra, as its latest version of the Hub differs very little from last year's iteration in the design department, but it certainly shows preference for the tried and true Universal Serial Bus. The revamped Hub sports a totally round base for maximum wobbling, but maintains the white polycarbonate finish and strung out ports just like last time. If you'll notice, however, each of the seven cables are some form of USB 2.0, and no, there's not a production line snafu to blame. LaCie is betting that some of you out there would actually prefer an all-USB Hub, and if you just so happen to fit that mold, you can grab one now for $79.[Via Electronista]
Xbox 360 Rock Band USB hub revealed
While we're already fairly well acquainted with most of the Rock Band kit, the much-need Xbox 360 USB hub has so far been kept under wraps, leaving the amount of clutter soon to be occupying many a living room entirely up to the imagination. The folks at 1Up have now changed that situation, however, posting a slew of pictures of what they say is the finalized four-port USB hub. As you can see above, it's a powered-hub, meaning you'll have yet another cable snaking its way to your power outlet and, for those curious, it's apparently made by a company called ViPowER. If that shot above isn't enough to whet your appetite, you can find plenty more by hitting up the read link below.[Via Joystiq]
Medusa Hub provides ports galore, doubles as conversation piece
Far too many peripheral hubs are cranked out without a single thought given to design, but thankfully, the creators of the Medusa Hub realized that aesthetics do matter. This interesting piece, which is sure to claim a section of prime real estate on your desk, boasts a trendy white finish, four USB 2.0 sockets, a pair of FireWire 400 connectors, a fan and even a light. All of the strands are connected to your PC / Mac via an upstream USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 jack, and the unit is available now for a lofty (but respectable) $79.99. Click on through for a few more snapshots.[Via Engadget Japanese]Update: Yeah, look familiar? Seems a lot like these guys swiped LaCie's Huby images or concept to us. You be the judge.
Belkin starts shipping the Network USB Hub
It was supposed to ship in June, but it looks like Belkin is finally shipping the Network USB Hub this week. The five-port USB hub "simulates a direct USB connection" that allows you to use all your USB devices over the network -- and special caching software even lets you use USB 2.0 devices at full speed. Looks like Windows users can nab one of these now for $129 -- Mac users are still waiting on driver support.[Via PC World]
United Pepper unveils eco-friendly webcam, USB hub
At first glance, suckers for all things cute may fall for Lili and Oscar even before knowing the story behind them, but these two peripherals not only provide animalistic replacements for those vanilla USB hubs and webcams, they promote eco-friendliness, too. According to United Pepper (which is partnering with EuroTech), Oscar (the USB hub) and Lili (that'd be the webcam) arrive in four different colors, are constructed from recyclable materials, and are produced "in a fair trade environment." Moreover, the webcam touts a 1.3-megapixel sensor and a built-in microphone, while Oscar boasts four USB 2.0 ports for connecting up an array of input peripherals. Both creatures are slated to land in the UK this month, and while Lili will cost £30 ($60), Oscar will be available for just £20 ($40). [Warning: PDF read link][Via SciFiTech]
Logitech's new AudioHub Notebook Speaker System
Logitech is filling a questionable "gap" in the world of USB peripherals today with its new AudioHub device. The 2.1 unit parks itself behind your laptop and pokes out a pair adjustable satellite speakers on each side while the subwoofer hides in the back. There's also a three port USB hub built in, no doubt to make up for the fact that the AudioHub is blocking most of your connections in the back of your laptop. You can of course mute the speakers while continuing to power your USB devices, but that's about all for functionality -- other than a bit of cable management in the back. AudioHub does seem like a decent "dock" solution for most casual users, and the $100 price isn't horrible, but we're not expecting this guy to revolutionize the cheesy USB gadget industry just yet.%Gallery-7285%
Lindy's Data Dock hot swaps all kinds of junk
Do you ever find yourself staring down at your drive bays, watching as the lazy, single purpose hard drive does its work and think, "Man, I wish I could swap that thing out for a USB hub when it's done spinning."? Well, the clever folks at Lindy have answered your prayers by creating the USB 2.0 Data Dock. The premise is simple: the Dock installs into your standard, 3.5-inch bay and provides two open "slots" which you can use for either a 2.5-inch swappable drive enclosure, a four port USB hub, or a multi-format card reader -- all of which are provided. Additionally, once the modules are swapped out, they can be plugged directly into another system (or the same system) via a typical USB connection. Available now for £49.99 (about $101).[Via SlashGear]
D-Link intros DUB-9240 wireless USB kit
Hot on the heels of several other wireless USB hubs, D-Link is making sure it joins the party with time to spare as it unveils the DUB-9240 kit. The two-piece assemblage consists of the DUB-1210 wireless USB adapter and the DUB-2240 four-port wireless USB hub, and together they enable your machine to connect to USB peripherals sans wires. The unit promises to function within a 30-foot range, and operates on a frequency range of 3.4GHz to 4.5GHz in order to not interfere with any surrounding WiFi signals. Additionally, up to three more DUB-2240s can be connected to the first for a wireless USB overload blowout, and you'll have plenty of time to dream up such a setup while waiting for these to ship in Q4 for $119.99 apiece, or $219.99 for the pair.[Thanks, Allen]
SolidAlliance's USB 2.0 Engine HUB drives up your geek cred
Oh dork lord incarnate, meet the SolidAlliance 3-port USB Engine Hub. Modeled after a motorcycle engine, SolidA's latest features a kick starter, gear shift, and enough faux-engine revving effects to drive everyone around you nuts. No word on price yet, but it's available starting tomorrow in Japan. Now check the video action after the break.Update: Priced at ¥5,250 or about $43, vroom vroom daddy, vroom vroom.
