A USB Hub With A Power Strip State Of Mind

I can see the rationale for sticking the ports on the back of the USB hub: It keeps the cords hidden. But what if keeping them in plain sight meant you could cut the power to each device individually?

That’s the idea behind Japanese company Elecom’s latest attempt to re-engineer the humble USB hub, a power strip-esque block with ports facing skyward and a switch dedicated to each one.

Sure, the garden of sprouting cords won’t help you forget that the hub is sitting on your desk, but that means you won’t forget that they’re sucking up precious electricity, either. The hubs are on sale now in Japan, and they can be had via Geek Stuff 4 U – $US41 for four ports or $US106 for seven. [CrunchGear]