USB Hub With On/Off Switches for Energy Efficiency

Photo via Ubergizmo

We're all over smart power strips that allow you to cut power to individual ports and cut phantom power loads. But we haven't yet seen one for USB devices...until now. Fareastgizmos lets us know about this 4-port USB hub from Buffalo that lets you turn on or off just the gadgets you're using.

We're pretty excited about it, but disappointingly, it's only going to be available in Japan starting mid-October for about $40. We're hoping it heads west after awhile. It's a great idea for saving energy on various gadgets you'd normally have plugged in and drawing power from your computer.

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