USB hubs are pretty common place.  However, very few achieve “form meets function.”  The Pig Buddies is an adorably cute USB hub.  And while we’re sure you’ve figured it out, we feel inclined to tell you that the baby pigs act as a thumb drive, while the momma pig is the USB hub itself, accompanying up to three babies at a time.

No word on a price, but there is just no way they won’t manufacture this.

At this point in the USB 3.0 game we’re pretty confident no one has yet to run out of ports – the tech just hasn’t been adopted widely enough yet.   But just in case you wanna get ahead of the curve and don’t want another antiquated piece of tech on your desk Unitek now offers a USB 3.0 4-port USB hub.  It says it supports Windows and Linux only…hmmm.

Brando has it for $48.

Resembling a popular retro gaming console, the Win-Stars 10 Port USB Hub is a 2.0 backwards compatible hub with a data transfer rate of up to 480Mbps.  Using a 5V/2A power adapter, the hub is capable of working with Microsoft Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP/Vista and Mac OS X or later.

Available in the above pictured black and also in silver, the WinStars USB Hub has yet to receive a street date or a price.  I like the design and it is attractive enough not to have to hide, though managing the cords coming out of it may be somewhat cumbersome.

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Stupid product of the week definitely goes to this Chicken Burger USB Hub.  I really have nothing against Chicken Burgers and in fact, I love everything they represent.  The thing is, I’d never want to temp myself by having some chicken burger replica sitting by my computer staring me in the mouth all day.

Of course, made by Brando, the Chicken Burger USB Hub with 4 ports will cost you $19.  To learn more about Chicken Burgers, please refer to Freddy Got Fingered.

[via Technabob]

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For those of us out there daisy-chaining USB hubs because one is never enough, Sanwa has produced a 12-port beauty that will satisfy any USB junkie.

The 400-HUB009 should have the most inputs you’d ever need.  What you will need is a cord tethering system for this hub given its design as you computer will obviously only be on one side of the hub.

On sale now it Japan for about $54.

[via Ubergizmo]

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While it may look a little frumpy, it also looks pretty cool, especially for $12.  Featuring three rotary 2.0 compatible USB inputs, it also sports a multi-card reader(MS/M2/SD/SDHC/MicroSD), and a fahrenheit thermometer.

What temperature does it measure though?  The room it’s in or the heat of the actual hub?  Useful?  Who knows.  While sort of on par with the Griffin Simplifi, it’s nice to see USB hubs take on more responsibility.  This USB hub is available in three colors and is 0n sale now.

[via GeekAlerts]

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While the Elecom U2H-TC410B Wall Socket USB Hub is far from being the world’s most innovative it is a slick looking and features a magnetic backing allowing you to stick it to anything metal; perfect if you’ve got one of those old school metal desks.  You can grab one now for $39.99.

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Vampire power has long been addressed in power strips with the addition of individual kill switches per outlet, but what about those powered USB ports?  The BSH4A02 4-port USB hub from Buffalo features a power switch per port, ostensibly letting you disable select USB devices while saving power and preventing ports from being fried during start up.  Each switch features an LED light to indicate power and the hub itself is available in 4 colors.  No word on a US release date, but expect it to go on sale in Japan this October for $40.

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With the everyday clutter arising around your computer from having too many gadgets (is there such a thing?!), the Griffin Simplifi offers you an easy and compact solution to help you organize mounting untidiness.

The Griffin Simplifi is an all-in-one card reader, USB hub, and iPod/iPhone dock that lets you clear up your desktop while disguising itself as a polished Apple product.  The card reader is capable of accessing SD/SDHC/XD/Sony (pro) memory sticks and compact flash cards.  There are two USB inputs in the back of the Simplifi and it comes with six plastic moldings to fit a variety Apple iPods and iPhones.  Also included is a rather short USB cable to attach to your computer and an AC wall plug.

As I mentioned earlier, the Simplifi looks a lot like an Apple product with its anodized aluminum finish and glossy white plastic sides and moldings.  A very bright neon blue light gushes from the Simplifi denoting power and will flicker when you put a memory card in.  Underneath the Simplifi is a rubber stopper the covers the majority of the base and gives it more balance and weight to keep the device grounded, so it’s not sliding all over the place.  USB slots could be more spread out or there is easily room for two more.

The Griffin Simplifi is simple to use and requires no drivers or software.  Card reading is fast and a drive image appears on your desktop (Mac) where you can drag and drop files to their appropriate location and then eject the image when you are done.

I had no real problems with the Griffin Simplifi.  Some people may find the supplied USB cable to be mighty short but that’s nothing they can’t fix.  Card reading was fast and the USB slots reacted fine to multiple hub daisy chaining.  One downside for some will be the fact that the Simplifi will NOT charge your iPod/iPhone unless it is plugged into your “running” computer.  The AC power is only used for the USB ports.  I keep my computer on 24/7 so that’s not an issue for me.

If you are in the market for even just an iPod/iPhone dock you can’t go wrong with the Griffin Simplifi.  Add in the card reader and the extra 2 USB ports and it becomes quite the utilitarian device.  Price may be high for some but given its features I think the price is fair.

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Great use of space and features
• Aesthetically pleasing

Cons:

• Won’t charge iPod/iPhone unless connected to a running computer
• USB to computer cable is very short
• May be pricey for some

Buy it here for $49.99!

Features:

• 4 ports
• USB 2.0

Don’t forget Meritline’s 50% coupon: bp16550poff (expires: 12/6)

Features:

• Pens/cup with built-in USB hub
• Blue night light built-in as well

Features:

• 7-port USB powered HUB
• USB 2.0 and plug-n-play

Features:

• 7-ports USB hub with powered output
• LEDs in each port make it easy to see what’s going on
• Small and easy to install

Buy it: D-Link DUB-H7 High Speed USB 2.0 7-Port Hub – $16

Don’t forget Newegg’s $15 coupon: HUB10915 (Expires: 10/16)

Features:

• Powers 7-port USB hub
• Backwards compatible with 1.1

Buy it: Belkin F5U237V1 Hi-Speed USB 2.0 7-Port Hub – $15

Features:

• Includes AC adapter for power support
• LED indicator lights

Buy it: 7 Ports USB HUB – $7

Features:

• 7 ports all powered
• USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 compatible

Buy it: IOGEAR GUH227 7-Port High Speed USB 2.0 Hub – $30