Poorly designed USB hubs can yield ports too close for connection of multiple devices. The USB 180° rotating hub from Brando set out to resolve this issue.

Of the 4 USB ports, one rotates 180° and the other three are well enough distanced apart to not pose a problem. In addition the upstream port (one connecting to PC) also rotates 180°.

In the event you are still cramped for style the USB hub ships with (more…)

WUSB or Wireless USB products just began to ship and WUSB 1.1 is ramping up. Although a mild ramp, as with current transfer rates of 40Mbits/second the 1.1 spec needs to hit at least 500Mbits/second otherwise it’ll never see the light of day.

The 1.1 spec will support band groups at 6 GHz and above, including the 3-4 GHz supported by wireless USB 1.0. It aims to lower power consumption by an undisclosed amount. It also will adopt the techniques of near-field communications for letting two devices identify themselves to each other with a simple contact.

As (source) Gizmodo said: “…realistic or not, we like the ambition.”

Currently the USB Implementers Forum has certified a handful of notebooks and hubs for the 1.0 spec. The WiMedia Alliance is expected to certify the first 1.0 products shortly.

Press Release - BURNABY, B.C., September 13, 2007 - Icron Technologies Corporation (TSX Venture: IT), the developers of ExtremeUSB® places as one of the fastest growing companies in British Columbia by Business in Vancouver newspaper. Icron ranks in at 64 based upon their revenue growth between and including 2002 / 2006 which increased 213% during this period.

This is Icron’s second recognition of rapid growth in the last three months

Ranking BC’s Fastest-Growing Companies by five-year revenue growth, the BIV Top 100 Fastest Growing Companies List profiles BC’s most successful growth companies. Published in the September 4th issue of BIV, the list shows that companies in BC are excelling more than ever before in this sustained economic boom. (more…)

So Lilli is the four legged webcam and Oscar is the 4 port USB hub. Lilli keeps an eye on Oscar with a 1.3 Mega Pixel lens.

Don’t let the bright color fool you, these USB gadgets are really green. Created by United Pepper of the UK, the internal components are RoHS environmental friendly and constructed in a fair-trade workshop in Vietnam (aren’t they all tagged that way?). In the spirit of true Green, Lillie and Oscar come packaged in 100% recycled cardboard.

Due out in October for the Christmas USB gadget rush, the USB octopus webcam runs about $41 and 4 port USB hub $27.

Source: UberGizmo

Press Release - BURNABY, B.C. September 13, 2007 - Icron Technologies Corporation (TSX Venture: IT), the developers of ExtremeUSB® today announced that it has been issued a patent from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office for enhancements to its ExtremeUSB technology for high-speed USB 2.0 implementations.

This patent, titled “Method and apparatus for extending the range of the universal serial bus protocol”, builds upon earlier patents covering USB 1.1 range extension. The invention described in the patent enables long-range or increased latency communication between high-speed (480 Mb/s) host controllers and full-speed (12 Mb/s) peripherals. It also provides support for the high-bandwidth peripherals that were introduced by the USB 2.0 specification. The issuance of this patent is the third of a series of applications filed through the Patent Corporation Treaty in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom patent was issued in December 2005 and the US patent was issued in January of 2007.

Icron’s ExtremeUSB 2.0 technology allows manufacturers of PC’s, peripherals, and consumer electronics to extend the range that USB 2.0 devices can operate over UTP cable, fiber optics, power line or any wireless media at any distance without making any changes to the USB ecosystem. This ensures that users will have a “plug and play” experience right out of the box, requiring no additional drivers, host controller changes, or user configurations. It supports all USB supported operating systems including Windows, MAC OS, Linux, Unix and Solaris.

“As Icron continues to evolve our ExtremeUSB technology and implement it over more and more platforms, we will continue to expand out patent portfolio to protect our intellectual property in the USB technology space.”

commented Robert Eisses, President and CEO for Icron. USB 2.0 continues to be the most recognized and successful interface for device connectivity in the PC, CE and mobile device market. Icron continues its leadership in the USB 2.0 market with the receipt of this patent and expansion of its USB 2.0 extension product line including new long distance wired, USB over Power Line and wireless USB solutions.

About Icron Technologies Corporation

Icron Technologies Corporation’s patented ExtremeUSB® technology extends the range of USB in wired environments and enables wireless USB over any RF technology. ExtremeUSB is the only USB-IF compliant extension solution and is deployed globally in a wide range of applications including: industrial automation, medical device, aerospace, KVM and computer networking. ExtremeUSB technology is available in a variety of formats including technology licenses, OEM modules, developer kits, as well as branded and private-label products.

Icron is a publicly traded corporation and trades under the symbol “IT” on the TSX Venture Exchange. For more information on the company and its products, please visit www.icron.com.

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Contact Information
Icron Media Contact
Brigitta Shore Phone: +1 604-729-9479
brigitta.shore@icron.com

Talk about awkward. The first time I played Guitar Hero I felt like a fool - well, for about 15 seconds, then I feel in love. If you haven’t tried it - play it - and oh how Guitar Hero has grown. One of the most popular video games on the market the Guitar Hero franchise is now stretching out to Rock Band. And if you haven’t heard of Rock Band, this will explain the Guitar Hero sporting a 4 port USB hub.

Rock Band is an unreleased music video game being developed by Harmonix Music, the creators of Guitar Hero. The idea is expanding the air guitar concept of Guitar Hero to a full rock band. Rock Band will offer players the ability to function in a virtual band by providing up to four players with the ability to utilize four different instruments (guitar, bass guitar, drum set and microphone).

The 4 port USB hub gives the ability for these players to sync together in the off-line, or same room, player setting. Although Rock Band will include an on-line sync capability.

The Guitar Hero controller sports the USB ready version for both PS3 and Xbox 360. The product isn’t available yet, but is due out in late October.

Source: Kotaku

What do you get with a three chamber speaker system, three USB ports and small design? That’s right, an AudioHub from Logitech.

In the never ending quest of keeping a tidy workspace, Logitech now combines a speaker system with USB connectivity. Aimed at laptop users the AudioHub does make sense, although it would be nice to see a seven port hub rather than three for the AudioHub…after all, I’ve already got four on my laptop.

Logitech’s AudioHub offers Premium 2.1 digital audio with three chamber design and integrated sub-woofer. With a single connection send juice to the speakers and three USB devices via a single USB cable. Click the mute button to shut off the sound while keeping your USB gadgets powered. Telescoping speakers to accommodate any sized laptop and workspace.

At just $99 is this right for you? The Logitech AudioHub is available October of 2007.