The hub works as you’d expect when you plug printers, USB drives or peripherals into any of its three ports; however, plug the other end of the cable into a second computer and the integrated software will show up a two-pane explorer window giving access to the drive contents of both machines.  Files can then be dragged between the two.

Unfortunately, devices plugged into the hub are only available to one of the two machines, and the Easy-Share app won’t work on Macs, only on Windows 200/XP/Vista.  Still, if you’re an all-Windows kinda person and want to easily transfer files without the setup hassle of a network, then the $29.99 Hawking Easy-Link Data Sharing hub may be a cheap way of doing it.

Press Release:

HAWKING TECHNOLOGIES INTRODUCES THE EASY-LINK DATA SHARING HUB FOR DIRECT FILE TRANSFER BETWEEN TWO COMPUTERS USING USB CONNECTION.

Easily exchange photos, music, movies, applications and other files between two computers! Plug-and-Play, no software installation required.

IRVINE, CA – July 30, 2009 — Hawking Technologies, Inc., a leading developer of innovative wired and wireless networking solutions for home, workgroup, and corporate users, introduces the Easy-Link Data Sharing Hub. The Data Sharing Hub lets users copy files from one PC to another PC at speeds of up to 480Mbps without the installation of any software or drivers. In addition, the Easy-Link Data Sharing Hub features 3 USB ports for extra USB devices such as cameras, keyboards or mice.

This HU2P4 is preinstalled with file exchange software and connects to the USB ports of any two PC computers. When plugged in, the HU2P4 instantly reads files from the two computers and displays them side by side. Simply drag and drop files from one computer to another to begin transferring. In addition, the built-in USB ports allow you to connect and access your camera, USB flash drive, and other USB devices. “This compactly designed Easy-Link Data Sharing Hub is a great accessory to have for a quick file transfer or to back up files from your laptop or netbook to your desktop or vice versa. Leave it at home or pack it in your bag, sharing files with your friends, classmates and colleagues has never been easier. The Hawking USB Easy-Link Data Sharing hub makes transferring files as easy as plugging in a cable. Never has file transfer between two computers been so simple. The HU2P4 makes it so that there are no software, drivers or networking issues to deal with,” says Amy Tang, Marketing Manager at Hawking.

Pricing and Availability

The HU2P4 Easy-Link Data Sharing Hub is available through retailers, direct marketers, e-commerce sites, and distribution channels at an (ESP) Estimated Street Price of $29.

The board measures 270 x 221 x 15 mm, though if you add the protection plates – as seen in these images – front and back it’ll get a little thicker.  They should stop port bending from repeated drive insertion/removal, however, and also let you wall-mount the hub should you prefer. 

You may find it’s a little cheaper to string together a long daisy-chain of budget hubs, however.  For the convenience and stability Cambrionix are offering, they’re asking £399 plus VAT ($657), though you’ll also need a separate 5V or ATX power source.

[thanks Peter!]

The Octopus USB Hub features four separate USB ports, one on the end of each of the hub’s “tentacles.” Really, this is pretty practical, and you don’t have to worry about your gizmos being cluttered all together on your desk.

The arms look to be pretty long and will keep your items at a decent distance from each other. You can get the Octopus USB Hub in black, white or purple for about $10.

The USB hub features four ports and sports a 700mAh battery that can be charged when plugged into your computer. But, if you decide to take the hub on the go, it can also be charged up by means of the solar panel.

This might not exactly be the most practical thing in the world, since solar charging is pretty much limited to the middle of the day, but the battery will store built up power, so you can used your devices even when the sun has gone down. Luckily, the Solar Charging USB hub costs $22, so it won’t be a big investment to try, at least.

Post-It notes could really clutter up your desk space, so why not opt for something a little neater and reusable? The memo pad on this hub is erasable, so you can write down your thoughts and erase them on a whim.

The USB hub features 3 ports that allow you to connect other hubs or USB devices to your computer. The memo pad comes with a marker that has an eraser built into the tip and the hub itself throws off lighting in red, green and blue. You can get the USB Moody Hub now for $14.

[via Coolest Gadgets]

 What makes this hub normal and pretty mediocre are its specs. Featuring 4 USB 2.0 ports, this gizmo can power up your peripherals in a jiffy. But what sets this one a part is its unique look. What’s especially fun is the fact that its legs are the ports.

Designed to look like a turtle, this USB hub makes for a cute accessory for your desk that’s both practical and nonintrusive. However, it also has a little hidden compartment on the top that you can use to store really small loose items on your desk like paperclips. You can get the Turtle USB 2.0 Hub now for $13.99.
 

[via Slippery Brick]

The unit comes with a PC app works as localized server to share, store or play media over DLNA network or attached storage, and allows a direct user interaction to create playlist, schedule and uploading contents. A remote control comes standard to enable basic navigation on DLNA or UPnP devices.

The media hub supports 720P video decoding from Mpeg1,2,4, DivX, XviD to WMV9 VC1; high resolution picture from TIFF, PNG, GIF to JPEG; and 48khz audio from MP3, MPEG1L2, ACC-LC, WMA , WAV, to LPCM. Output connectivity is provided with a pair of stereo audio to component and composite videos.

Price and availability were not announced.

The Tripp Lite USB extenders, U224-1R4-R and U224-4R4-R, allow you to locate USB devices up to 150 feet away from your computers over inexpensive Cat5/5e/6 UTP cables. Each consists of a transmitter and receiver units; the 1R4 model offers 3x USB 2.0 ports and an additional remote device, while the latter permits connection of up to four remote devices to a computer.

Both are plug-n-play, USB 1.1 compliant and require no system driver. The minor complaint is the receiving end requires AC power. Prices and availability are to be confirmed.

With ports along its spine and in its mouth, this hub keeps your desk relatively clutter-free and makes it so your devices have a place to plug in. Plus, its distinctive cat-like shape makes for a conversation piece.

The only problem here is that you can only get the USB Kitty Hub in lots of 100 directly from China. Yeah, that sort of threw the wrench in the works of our plans of buying one, too. But hey, maybe a business out there with USB hub needs has a sense of humor?

[via OhGizmo!]

 
But the IOGEAR 3-Port USB 2.0 Hub offers a solution to that pesky problem. Also known by its model number, GUH276, this Mobile Hub has a built-in mini-USB cable plus three USB 2.0 ports that face upward. They are also evenly spaced, meaning no wasted ports this time around.

This latest IOGEAR offering is stylish and simple. What more could you ask for? Plus, the price tag is a reasonable $12.95 with a limited three-year warranty. Now, you can’t beat that. If you’re always finding yourself one USB port short, this might be the right accessory for you.

[via Coolest Gadgets]

But the Flexible Chromatic USB Hub is bright and bendy, which definitely sets it apart from other hubs out there. This thing stretches out and folds up. It’s definitely a colorful accessory, that’s for sure.

This USB hub sports 4 ports with USB 2.0. It’s compatible with both Macs and PCs and is a fun gadget to have on your desk that’s not just clutter. It actually, you know, does something. You can get this flexible USB hub that looks downright nice for $12.99 from the Perpetual Kid.

[via technabob]

Okay, so there’s nothing spectacular about this cable. But it is pretty nifty and could potentially eliminate the need for an entire hub from your set up. Not too bad, if you ask me. The cable features five different prongs, each with a different gadget purpose. There’s room for a PSP, GBA, Nintendo DS and a mini-USB plug for PSP synching.

This is really a rather efficient idea and while not earth-shattering it does have the potential to free up some space on your desk. And the price is reasonable too, at $14.00. I might just have to get one.

[via Boing Boing Gadgets]

Actually I don’t know if the modder meant that part to be funny, but it is either way. I still can’t believe they added LED lights. I am all for recycling gadgets, I just prefer the finished product to actually look nice.

You can check out this 11 step mod for the Glowing Video Tape USB Hub on Instructables. The fact that they managed to get a full 11 steps out of this shows definite dedication to their tacky tendencies.

[via bbgadgets]

The Darth Vader version features red glowing eyes which can glow all through the night if you like. The R2D2 version also features flashing lights and his usual beeping from the movie, which I’m hoping can be muted.

Although the beeping would be cool on occasion, after a while it’d just become annoying. The hubs are unfortunately only being sold in Japan thus far and for $66 a piece.

[via coolest-gadgets]

Just sit it on the top of your notebook and it can tilt down to illuminate what it is you’re working on. I don’t usually find much of a use for extra light while working on my laptop, but portable task lighting is always nice to have.

To turn off the light just place it in the recessed position which also gets it out of the way when you don’t need it. It is being sold for $29.90.

[via geekalerts]

On the front the monkey actually has an LED backlight then on the back it features two more monkeys both in a very Asian style.

It is a 4 port USB hub and comes in either blue or pink. It also comes with a USB cable as well as a mini bag. It is being sold for $15.

[via gizmodiva]

I am a bit torn with this hub, yes, it has four USB ports, but its a giant block. I mean look at it, the hub takes up less than half of it, which means the rest of it is to just sit there and look pretty.

The hub doesn’t require power and won’t be released till August of this year. Which seems a bit late in comparison to when the movie actually came out. It will be sold for $35.

[via coolest-gadgets]

The crystal ball features four different USB hubs and a plastic fish to keep you company at the office. The ball that houses the little fish also happens to glow in red, purple, blue and green.

The combination of the LED lights and a random globe with a fish really does seem pointless, but I’m sure knick knack lovers will adore it to clutter things up on their desk even more. To snag your own it will cost you $12.

[via ohgizmo]

It has 4 1.1/2.0 USB ports and is capable of speeds up to 480Mbps. It has LED indicator lights and they come in three colors: Yellow, Blue and Green. Plus they ports fold out so it looks really nifty and it only weighs 95g.

You can get one for yourself for only $12 from GizFever. I have this feeling they could expand this product into some kind of Rubik’s Cube clone that would sell like hotcakes.

Cubic 4 Ports Hub [via GeekAlerts]

This would be great for small offices or households where everyone needs access to printers, scanners, cameras, etc… It also provides faster wireless data transfers than anything before it.

Unfortunately, I got no word on pricing or availability.

The Delphi Hub is therefore a universal interface that bridges the car’s electronics with any number of customised connections around the cabin: anything from a USB port that you can hook your iPod up to, to headphone connections hidden in armrests and memory-card slots for reviewing photos on the inevitable numerous LCD screens.  What makes it special is the fact that they’re planning on using USCAR-30 compliant interfaces which should put an end to proprietary cabling. 

Having such a system pre-installed in the factory as standard would make it more straightforward for manufacturers and dealers to customise cars later on, rather than needing to order it well in advance or send it back to the factory.

They’re promising that the hubs will be appearing in Delphi vehicles by 2010.

Delphi

It’s a star-shaped hub which allows you and your friends to hook up and listen to some music, watch some videos, etc, all together. Or if you can’t agree on one, you can make your own mash-ups of all your tastes.

It will cost you $20, which I think is reasonable. It’ll be available in March.

Belkin RockStar [via CrunchGear]

The best part about buying the plans and then making it yourself is that you can use the parts of the plans that you couldn’t figure out on your own (likely the electronics) and then you can make most of the rest of the bike however you want. Apparently within the instructions they give you tips on battery selection and hub motor selection allowing you to customize top speed, acceleration, and maximum distance.

So, I reckon if you didn’t want to stack 3 batteries on top of each other and then straddle that, then you could probably cut it down to 1 and just go a third of the distance, a respectable 20 miles, which should be sufficient for a ride to and from work or school. I like the idea, and if I wasn’t so lazy, and it wasn’t so cold, I’d be dolling out the $15 bucks for plans and however much the parts cost.

LongRanger Electric Bike Won’t Win Any Beauty Contests, But It’ll Get You There [via gizmodo]

The Homer Simpson USB Desk Lamp will shed some light on any darkened, non-Simpson-ized area of your workspace. It has 4 LED bulbs and an adjustable neck to you can shine your light in just the right place.

If that isn’t enough Homer for you, you can also purchase the Homer Simpson USB Hub. The hub has 4 ports on it and an animated Homer. With just a press of a button you’ll hear Homer’s familiar “WooHoo!” as he spins around in his chair. What a perfect way to goof off at work, watching Homer goof off at his.

Homer Simpson USB Hub and Lamp [via Everything USB]

So basically this works a lot like most of the newer credit/debit cards that are coming out with the scanning technology were you just have to tap your card to the reader and off you go. The only difference it works with cell phones instead, this may not be the first mobile phone based payment system, but it definitely seems like the most functional.

Singaporean phone manufacturer iWOW has given away 1000 phones that work with the technology. The iWOW SZ1.0 phone has two chips, the EZ-Link chip for payment of transportation or really anywhere else the EZ-Link cards are accepted, except you can check your balance on the phones screen. The second chip is an NFC processor that allows you to download promo stuff, or other useful info like bus routes through a GPRS data connection or from smart tags in posters.

Using the phone to pay for bus rides [via crave]

Sure, there are wireless methods, but who wants the convenience of that? This bad boy uses fiber optics to transmit your USB signal up to 1650ft away. I’m not really sure what you’d actually want to plug in that far away, but to each their own I suppose.

There is one minor limitation of this product. It may actually cost more than your car. For $16,000 I could probably get myself a wireless USB hub and have enough left for a decent car.

Filed under USB Cables & USB Extenders [via everythingusb]