Power-Strip USB Hub Lets You Switch Ports On and Off
August 3rd, 2010
I’ve never had much luck with USB hubs, especially the cheap ones. It doesn’t take them long to fry so I found that it’s best to plug in/out ports or spend more on a decent hub. This hub is made to look like a power-strip, complete with switches.
These power-strip USB hubs made by Elecom [JP] come in two varieties, 4 or 7 ports, which can each be switched off individually to stop your gadgets from consuming excess power.
They even have neodymium magnets on the back so can be attached to any steel surface (although you wouldn’t want to stick one too close to your hard drive if you care about your data). They also come with a bunch of stickers to allow you to identify which device is powered by which port.
They’re available now in Japan, but you can get one imported from Geek Stuff 4 U for $40.70 (USD) for the 4-port version. The 7-port version sells for $106.15.
[via Crunchgear]
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Categories: Computing Gadgets Strange + Wonderful Weird Science
Tags: japan power strip usb usb hub
dealextreme has switchable USB hubs which look like power outlets with 4 ports for just 5$ shipped. i have them in use and like them: http://tinyurl.com/34tx9xt (white) http://tinyurl.com/38ntb8o (black)
Hmmm…. Seems like a slightly better deal.
Errm.. crucial difference. These ones allow you to switch on/off each port independantly, not all at once.
So you can pay $106.14 for a net-gain of 6 ports (you lose one to plug in the 7-port version), or you can get the same thing for $81.40 (savings of $24.74) and get two of the 4-port versions for the exact same net gain (6 ports).
Not only that but two of the 4-port versions would take up two different ports on the PC so all of your devices aren’t all sharing one. I guess most computers’ USB ports are all connected to one internal port anyway though.
i noticed that there’s no independent power supply (either 2nd usb hookup or a power adapter) for the 4-port one here… so it’s not going to be able to run all the devices if they need more than a trickle of power.
There are versions of the 4-port with and without power supplies. Prices as of today are $31.08 for the 4-port without power supply, $49.21 for the 4-port with power supply, and $86.77 for the 7-port with power supply.
This is a waste of money. Monoprice has them for $7. They have independent rocker switches and an AC input. Looks to me like the one above is just for power. This one is for power and data, I have had mine for almost a year now and it still works great.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=103&cp_id=10307&cs_id=1030702&p_id=6442&seq=1&format=2
While I’m here I thought I would add that the product mentioned above doesn’t come with the power adapter. It was made for a 4 port usb hub. If you want the extra volts (ie. the ability to charge a cellphone without it stealing all of the power available.) Than you need a power cord for it. Not sure what the cord is but it is very thin and about 5mm long. I have like 3 from various devices so they shouldn’t be hard to find.