Good news!If you dig the gaming device design style you can definitely look at ROCCAT’s line to get ideas. Their latest is the Apuri, a USB hub with 4 easily accessible USB 2.0 ports. The space-age hub stands on 3 legs looking like something out of War of the Worlds. The Apuri’s high posture allows it manage cables cleanly. We’re pretty sure it’s more to look cool than for function though. There’s a special abduction style LED light beaming down from the under belly of the hub just for effect. The blue glow matches the other peripherals in ROCCAT’s lineup well.
The kicker on this hub is its stinger. The stinger is a cord guide that keeps your high resolution optical mouse moving without getting hung up. This should reduce the accidental frags ruining your stats. The mouse Bungee as it’s called, holds your cord aloft and flexes in several directions to keep your mousing going at maximum efficiency. Pick up the Apuri at several online venues for around $47.
Tempted Heart？

Kensington may have finally given accountants a reason to rejoice. In what has to be the closest thing to a USB adding machine ever created, Kensington has unveiled a Keypad/Calculator which is sure to be quickly adopted by any and all number crunchers. This USB peripheral which comes in the form of a standalone numeric keypad also carries with it 19-key financial calculator functions. The display is a run of the mill single line LCD screen. While they’re actually quite a few calculator keypads out there this is the first we’ve seen that actually integrates the two functions by the use of a “send key” which could send calculator results to the PC.

The keypad also sports a two port USB hub that will allow you to daisy chain other devices through it. since it doesn’t include its own power supply he will likely run into power problems connecting devices like extremely large hard drives or web cams. Low-power devices like mice, keyboards and flash drives should be just fine. The keypad should be plug-and-play on both Windows and Apple computers and can be had $30 and is available now.

LaCie’s USB hub with its round base allowing it to wobble back and forth certainly raises eyebrows. While it certainly is high in artistic value, but unfortunately scores low in usability tests. But the peripheral maker hasn’t given up yet. It now returns with a USB hub designed with users in mind. The aptly-named Core7 7-port USB hub isn’t quite as eye-catching as its predecessor, yet it comes with several user-friendly features as well as a recession-proof pricing.

For starter, the Core7 sports the same compact design as Little Disk; it can be laid flat on a desktop can be hung on a wall. Five ports are located on the recessed area beneath the Core7; one port on top is for flash drives and portable hard drives that require quick and easy access. A tethered mini-USB cable which replaced one of the ports can recharge compatible MP3 players and cellphones, but it can also connect to USB gadgets with a mini-B interface. Perhaps what’s most important here is the pricing. At 19.99 MSRP, the Core7 hub will appeal to a lot more people than the wobbling hub.