Oh! Gizmo

By Evan Ackerman

If you’re short on both physical and virtual desktop space, you might be interested in these little USB DisplayLink adapters from EVGA. They’re small, stackable, reasonably good looking, and will pump out resolutions of up to 1600×1200 (or 1680 x 1050 widescreen) via your USB port, no additional VGA or DVI ports on your computer needed. The DisplayLink USB driver takes care of all the messy parts; all you have to do is plug a DVI or VGA external monitor into the UV12 (or UV16 if you want the higher resolutions), plug the unit into your USB port, and you’ve got yourself an expanded display or a mirrored display or even an upside-down display if you so choose.

The EVGA UV12 and UV16 support XP and Vista, but don’t have an onboard GPU, so your computer will be doing the graphics crunching. They come with a DVI to VGA Adapter, and are available now for “well below $100.”

[ Press Release ]

By Evan Ackerman

I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t posting about this USB hub and card reader primarily because it calls itself the “UFO Combo Card Reader + 7-Port Hub.” I have a thing for UFO desk accessories. But, this is actually a rather practical little gadget, featuring 7 (!) powered USB 2.0 ports (including one on the top for your flash drive), a matching number of blinky indicator LEDs, and 7 slots to read CF / T-Flash / MicroSD / M2 / Mini SD / SD / MMC Micro / MMC / XD / SM / MS / MS Duo cards. And it’s all round and ergonomic and UFOish and stuff. It comes in either blue or gray and only costs $30 at Gadget4All.com.

[ UFO Hub Card Reader ] VIA [ Gearlog ]

By Andrew Liszewski

It might not immediately seem clear why someone would need a device that’s capable of copying data to 60 flash drives at once. But just think of all the promotional flash drives you’ve been given over the years that feature PR material or demo software and you’ll get the idea.

This particular model from Virtual Console features 60 ports with a maximum duplication speed of 5.6 MB per second per port. On average it can fill 60 512 MB flash drives in about 90 seconds, and it will probably take just as long to remove and attach 60 new flash drives once the copying process is complete. The duplicator itself connects to a PC via USB or ‘fast ethernet’ and also comes with the option of enabling AES 128bit encryption, though that feature is sold separately.

But the convenience of the Virtual Console 60 Port Duplicator doesn’t come cheap. The device actually has a pretty hefty price tag of $7,999.

[ Virtual Console 60 Port USB Flash Drive Duplicator ] VIA [ I4U News ]

By Luke Anderson

Most USB hubs you see are pretty standard, as they are a plastic shell (that may or may not look like something cool). They come in two categories; powered and unpowered. The former requires you to run a power cord to a nearby power outlet. At least that’s usually how it works.  This little hub is just a little different.

Instead of plugging into your wall, this little (and I do mean little) hub takes up two of your USB ports. In exchange you’ll have four ports which are powered, one of which is a mini-USB connector for your mobile gadgets. For $12 this really wouldn’t be a bad addition to one’s laptop bag.

[ Brando ] VIA [ Gizmodo ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Not that it’s a competition or anything, but Target once again proves they’re the king of really awesome gift cards. While their glowing Wii cards looked really cool, these Speed Racer themed ones that feature a USB flash drive are actually useful, to a certain degree. They include an integrated inch-long USB cable that sits flush in the card and is easily released using a mechanical switch located on the bottom edge. The cards unfortunately only have a capacity of about 62.8 MB, but 51.6 MB of that is filled with Speed Racer promotional materials. This includes a PDF coloring book featuring the Mach 5 and Racer X’s vehicles, coupons for Speed Racer toys, wallpaper, videos and even a cheat code for the Wii version of the Speed Racer game.

The cards are obviously being subsidized by Warner Brothers as part of the Speed Racer marketing campaign, but it’s not like 62.8 MB of flash memory is that expensive these days. And as far as I know Target doesn’t require you to actually put any money on the gift cards, but I still wouldn’t recommend just walking out of the store with a handful of them.

[ Speed Racer gift card with USB 2.0 Flash drive, cheat code ] VIA [ GoNintendo ]

By Evan Ackerman

Nothing too special about these USB hubs, except that they look like mice or rats or gerbils, and I love rats and mice and gerbils. Unlike this USB hub, rats and mice and gerbils are warm and fuzzy, but you can’t plug four USB 2.0 devices into them. Well, not and have them work, anyway. Trust me on that one. Available in green or pink with light up eyes and bendable appendages for $12.

[ Brando ] VIA [ Geek Alerts ]

By Luke Anderson

I’ve never really understood what the fascination it is that women have with little mirrors. It seems that they need to whip one out to make sure their face is still attached every so often. I suppose that since they always carry one, perhaps some geeky girls might like this USB Mirror Card Reader.

Basically someone has designed one of those compact mirrors to have a small card reader inside. This way if you’re snapping pictures and want to download them to a PC somewhere, you can. Since it is enclosed, you can also keep the memory cards stored inside as well. It’s cheap too, just $15 bucks.

[ Gadget4All ] VIA [ Pocket Lint ]

By Luke Anderson

How many gadgets would you say you owned that recharge via USB? I’ve got probably half a dozen just within arm’s reach of my desk. Granted, most have standard wall chargers as well, but when you’re on the road, you really don’t want to carry around all of those bulky cords. This simple device dubbed the Eneplug (does anyone else think that name sounds just a little dirty?) might make your load a little lighter when traveling.

The device looks like someone chopped off the end of a power cord and shoved in a female USB port. Actually, that’s basically what it is. Just plug this into your power outlet and plug in your USB device and it’ll start pumping it full of power. Too bad these are only available in Japan.

[ GreenHouse ] VIA [ Crave ]

By Luke Anderson

I have a lot of devices that run on AA batteries. Namely my mouse and gaming controllers, but there are others around here that need them as well. This of course means that I have a few different chargers throughout my house to ensure I’ve always got a fresh pair somewhere. If you also need rechargeable batteries on the go, I might recommend tossing this Freeloader Battery ChargerPop into your bag.

It claims to be the smallest and lightest battery charger in the world, which is always nice for a laptop bag. It will charge either two AA or AAA batteries to 75% of a full charge in three to four hours via your PC’s USB port. For $25, it probably wouldn’t be a bad addition to your gadget bag, provided your gadgets actually use AA batteries.

[ Gizoo ] VIA [ GeekAlerts ]

By Luke Anderson

Is it just me, or are people turning everything into USB devices? Seriously, who needs a calculator that is also a USB hub? Better yet, who needs a basic calculator such as this sitting next to their keyboard and mouse. Honestly I thought that the calculator built into Windows or OSX coupled with the numberpad on your keyboard was more than enough to take care of things. Not only is this gadget all but useless, it seems a bit overpriced at $23.99.

[ GizFever ] VIA [ GeekAlerts ]