Sometimes the simplest gadgets in life prove to be the most useful. Do you find that you’re lacking in USB ports on your tablet or notebook? Check out this sweet deal on a USB hub from the fine folks at Belkin. It’s only six bucks.

No, this isn’t exactly the fanciest thing in the world, but it certainly gets the job done. The Belkin USB 2.0 4-Port Ultra-Mini Hub is exactly what you think it is. You plug into the integrated USB 2.0 cable into an available port on your desktop PC, laptop, tablet or whatever else and you effectively gain access to four fully functional USB 2.0 ports to handle your various peripherals and accessories.

The compact design makes it super easy for travel and since that USB cable is integrated, you don’t have to worry about losing it either. Naturally, it’s backwards-compatible with USB 1.1 devices too, but I can’t imagine you have too many of those kicking around anymore. The USB 2.0 transfer speed can kick up to 480Mbps. There are no need for drivers, as it’s plug-and-play, and since the design puts one USB port on each of the four sides, it can more easily accommodate devices that happen to be a little wider or taller than usual.

The Belkin Ultra-Mini Hub is compatible with both Windows and Mac and it comes backed by a lifetime warranty. Pick it up through Amazon for $5.99, which is $9.00 (60%) off the regular price of $14.99. Tack on a few more items to get up to the $25 minimum and you can get free super saver shipping too.

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USB flash drives, as you know, are useful for storing your favorite songs, videos, important documents and more. And it’s certainly interesting when folks come out with new designs for their flash drives, especially when the design is inspired by war gear. The USB AK-47 Assault Rifle flash drive lets you save your data on the go and will also remind you that your boss will kill you if the work isn’t finished on time.

But the folks over at Brando appear to have done little research before naming the new product after Avtomat Kalashnikova. It definitely does not look like an AK-47 as it’s shorter (well, nobody would want to carry around a flash drive the size of an actual AK-47) and it also doesn’t come with the signature wooden color.

But take the AK-47 part out, and it’s your usual flash drive.  Unfortunately it’s coming with the now ancient USB 2.0, probably to show respect to the aged rifle. You can choose from four different capacities including 2GB, 4GB, 8GB and 16GB, and will retail for $16, $18, $22 and $28, respectively.

But if guns are not your area of interest, you can also check out the USB Sword flash drive or the USB Hand Grenade flash drive.

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The portable storage solution follows the branding scheme of other Asus Lamborghini products. You don’t really get the keys to a supercar when you buy this drive, but it certainly has more personality than the conventional grey box of an external drive.

In terms of specs, the shiny package (which is available in your choice of black or white; no cherry red or vibrant yellow options just yet) features a 750GB 2.5-inch drive (either 5400rpm or 7200rpm) that you can access either through USB 2.0 or the speedier USB 3.0. The FlexSave tech makes for easy data backups too.

Not everyone is going to want such a gawdy external hard drive, but it’ll go well with your Asus Lamborghini notebook when you pull up to the local Starbucks in your Jetta. The 750GB model sells for $139 or you can go smaller with the $119 version with 500GB. Both of those are just USB 2.0, though, as the USB 3.0 iterations aren’t quite ready yet. I wonder if Acer will fire back with a Ferrari drive that’s “more than you can afford pal.”

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If your the guy who has to have the latest, fastest, and most up to date technologies, then Belkin’s SuperSpeed USB 3.0 peripherals may be for you. The price is steep, at $40 for a USB 3.0 cable measuring only 4 feet, but you can expect transfer speeds “three times faster than USB 2.0,” if you have any USB 3.0 devices to begin with.

The specs for USB 3.0 are to achieve transfer rates of five gigabits per second, or 10 times faster than USB 2.0 (theoretically). In Belkin’s tests they observed speeds of up to 180 megabits per second, or three times faster. Still great, but is it worth the price?

Devices launched today are the; SuperSpeed USB 3.0 PCIe Add-In Card (F4U023) – $79.99. A SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ExpressCard (F4U024) – $79.99, this connects up to 127 USB devices (through cascading additional hubs. SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Premium A-B Cable, and Micro-B Cable 4 ft. (F3U158-04) – $39.99; 8 ft. (F3U158-08) – $49.99.

They are backwards compatible to USB 2.0, availability is set for April 2010 in the US and May 2010 in Canada.

Belkin USB 3.0 products Photo Gallery

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