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Watch That Tiny $74 1.5GHz Android-Powered Thumb-Puter In Action Brando has given the quirky R&D team the week off. In the meantime, they’ve actually got the innovative group into replace them, and the new clan has come up with something that’s actually useful—a three socket USB hub, with a USB charging cable. The two nice features here are 1). The price point of $12 and 2). The fact that there is no need for an external power supply. Instead, the hub will connect to both USB ports on your laptop and draw enough power to charge up a device via USB mini cable, whilst simultaneously offering up 3 non-powered ports. So, you lose two ports, but gain three and one power positive cable—Kreb’s cycle, eat your heart out. [Brando via Gadgetell]
The itsy bitsy spider ran up the water spout. Someone grabbed its limbs and tore them all right out. Up came the modder holding USB, Until the itsy USB Spider killed him in his sleep. [MAKE] UPDATE: Yes, it appears to be a crabbbbbbb. How humiliating.
Do you need a constant reminder that you’re always late? Perhaps in a four-port USB hub form? Then this USB Running Man Hub is the perfect gift for your birthday, with its four distinct USB 2.0 ports in the guy’s base, arm, leg and briefcase. No? You wanted a nose hair trimmer instead? Guess that’s too bad then, isn’t it Adam Frucci. [Brando]
Remember that BlackBerry Bluetooth music hub we saw on the FCC? It’s made a silent (but deadly) entrance into the marketplace over at Tessco, where it’s now available for US$79. It still works the same—plug in your speakers to the output jack, then stream music wirelessly from your BB. [Tessco]
Remember that 62-formats-in-1 card reader for your desktop PC from last week? Old Hat. Check it out: an extra three formats, including SDHC, are apparently readable by this little number, though we’re still at a loss as to what they all are. The next edition will also read your mind and your future in tea leaves. Oh look, there’s a MacBook Air on that Earl Grey! [Akihabara news]
This 62-in-1 USB hub can read just about any memory card you can throw at it, and maybe some that don’t even exist. Seriously, I had no idea that there were even this many formats out there. It also features an internal 3.5″ connect bay, USB, Firewire and SATA slots, and audio in / out. And the best part is that it only costs $US39.99 —which seems a little too good to be true. [Product Page via TRFJ]
There are plenty of unique looking hubs on the market, but there is something about this colorful USB Star Hub that sets it apart. And the fact that each hub can rotate 180° to adapt to your work environment is definitely a plus. The device is USB 2.0 compatible and the product site claims that it has a low power consumption, but it is only available for Windows 98/98SE/ME/2000/XP/Vista, which is a little bit of a turnoff. Still, you can pick one up for only $US12, so there really isn’t much to complain about. [Product Page via GeekAlerts]
The petite Venture Mini Bluetooth car hub is a combination FM transmitter, speakerphone, A2DP streamer and 12V charger. It can pair with up to four devices simultaneously and features in/out audio ports to connect your DAP. There’s also a standard USB port for charging. For an improved speakerphone experience, there’s a noise isolating mic. Its coolest trick is the ability to display incoming call info on your car’s radio display using RDBS technology. Look for it in December for $130. [Venturi]
Wireless USB is all well and good if your house is free of things like walls, but for everyone else, this Gefen Fiber Optic USB Extender manages to boost USB connectivity up to 500 meters. You can use it for any device, such as USB hard drives, burners, keyboards, printers, or humping dogs—fiber optics degrade much slower than standard copper cabling. However, this kind of advanced tech won’t be able to be picked up at Fry’s on your way home from work—it costs $16,000. [Gefen via Everything USB]
We were starting to get bored with USB hubs and flash card readers, but just when we thought we’d seen them all, along came the Podera Luxe USB Hub and its comely sister, the Luxe memory card reader. There is just something pleasant about this USB hub, even though it only has four ports. Sure, it’s going to look much uglier when you plug your own USB cables into it, but we like that elegant Colorado Red colour and the hub’s gently rounded corners. There are other swank-looking colours available, too. And oh yeah, check out this matching flash card reader.
