A UK based company [Cambrionix Limited]  has mapped out a single PCB board to house 49 USB ports.  Using the typical cascading style of USB typology, the main 7 port hub is then wired to another set of 7 hubs with seven ports…giving you 49 total.

The device is originally designed for testing USB devices in bulk, which is fine, but I see a fundamental flaw in all this.  If one Hub chip goes south, the entire board [or portion of it] goes bad as well.

Typically a cascade style is fine because if one hub goes bad you simply replace that one hub, but in this case it’s not so easy.  With an entire PCB board, you need solder rework – that takes time and expense.  It’s a great concept, but I don’t think it’s very practical.  Here at GetUSB

Some things sound better on paper than real life.  Take, for example, this stylish wrist watch that doubles as a USB storage device.  First, it is so clever, you always need a watch, you always need your USB drive, put the two together and it’s a perfect match.

Aaaah, but wait, there is a flaw.  The USB flash drive is on the wrist band.  This means you [most likely] need to remove the watch from your person to use the USB stick for any length of time.  What a waste.

Couldn’t they put the USB flash drive on the other side of the of the wrist band?

So what are some basic elements you need to overcome to use the USB spy camera packed up as a cigarette lighter?  First, you need to be someone who smokes…or looks like someone who smokes.  It wouldn’t be easy to use this product on your friends, if they know you don’t smoke.  Second, you need to be willing to let the world know you’re a smoker.  This probably isn’t a big deal for most people in the world, but being from California, it’s something no one approves of.

So if you’ve gotten past the stigma, then the cigarette lighter spy camera is a viable option to bust your best friend, wife or boss with suspicious activity.

With 2GB of built in memory, you’ll never have a shortage of memory for audio or video surveillance.  In addition, the video quality is fairly good at 640 x 480 pixels and a respectable 16 frames per second [respectable given the size of the device at just 5.3 x 3.7 x 1.2 cm].  Once your mission is complete, and you feel something good was caught on tape, simply download the content via USB and make your case.

NEC has been the leader in USB host controllers over the past five years, and now they are gearing up for USB 3.0 with their uPD720200 USB 3.0 host controller chip.  You can expect hard drives, flash drives and solid state memory devices to use the NEC SuperSpeed chip.

EverythingUSB reports the small quantity price will be around $15 USD and include Windows drivers for quick integration.  NEC forcastes sales to be several million per month by September and rapid adoption in 2010.

Stay up to date with USB 3.0 SuperSpeed with GetUSB.info

Not that we’d EVER see a USB device in Star Trek, but if we did, it might be a USB communicator like the one from Gadget4All.  The Star Trek USB Communicator comes on the heels of the most recent release of Star Trek [May 8th].  The movie is a chronicle of the early days with James T. Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members.

“The Original Series” Replica USB internet phone plugs in and plays to allow users to transfer audio signals via USB. With built-in microphone and earphone, works with Skype, MSN, AIM, Ichat, etc. Includes built-in speaker with 21 different sound effects.

What sound effects you ask?  Click the video to find out or drop $44 and experience it live.

Star Trek USB Communicator product page.

Today Sunland International introduced their self powered Blu-ray DVD writer.  The unit doesn’t need an AC connection to burn a disc, but it does need a PC connection for the software to control it.  You can think of this as a USB connected Blu-ray burner, but it’s ultra portable because it doesn’t require AC power or laptop power to burn a disc.  Rather, the self-powered DIG-78102 [nice name guys] uses an Li-Poly battery to get it’s daily dose.

The self-powered Blu-ray burner uses a “smart charge” approach via USB to power the device.  With an intelligent power manager to auto trickle charge the internal Li-Poly battery you can get up to 3 hours of use without a charge.

All this for an on-line price of just $599 [ouch].

Self powered USB Blu-ray burner product page.

USBFever rolled out a Gothic looking Skull shaped USB hub.  Almost good enough to be a prop for CSI, the skull hub includes a tray for collecting your cr&p.

Nothing too extraordinary except the shape…you have 4 high speed USB ports, two on each side making it easy to connect your cables, USB sticks and other gadgets.

The Skull USB hub retails for $35.  Shipping is just $3 from Hong Kong.  GetUSB.info has received plenty of items from USBFever and you get the shipment within 5 business days of placing the order.  Not bad for $3 shipping cost.