Oregon Scientific USB Hub, World Travel Alarm Clock [4-Port USB Hub, 25 Pre-Loaded Locations, Not Much Else]

When it comes to USB hubs there isn’t really much that hasn’t been done. There are USB hubs that look like Hello Kitty, USB hubs that double as mini microwaves and planters, and USB hubs that will keep your coffee hot and massage your neck when you’re sore. OK, I made up that last one, but you get what I’m saying. So when I saw the latest product “innovation” from the folks at Oregon Scientific, I was not terribly impressed. They have basically taken a 4-port USB hub and combined it with an alarm clock. OK, a world alarm clock that will tell you the time in 25 different locations around the planet. Please excuse me while I take a moment from all of this excitement.

The Oregon Scientific USB Hub and World Travel Clock, as it’s formally known, doesn’t really do anything that would have most of us excited. Yeah it has four USB ports, that’s a good thing, and yeah, it can tell you the time in more places than anyone really cares to know, but so what. I don’t need another clock. My computer has a clock and my iPod dock has a clock, hell, my printer even has a clock. And when it comes to USB hubs, who doesn’t already have enough of those? As for the ability to tell time all over the world? Yawn.

Another misstep with this product is that you can only power it by plugging it into a high-powered USB port on your computer. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose if I have to have my computer on so that the thing will tell me what time it is in Abu Dhabi? As others have said before me, if it plugged into the wall and enabled me to charge four USB devices at once…anyway, it doesn’t so there isn’t much else to say. If you are a sucker for overpriced alarm clocks, head over to www.oregonscientific.com where you can get (taken for) one for $29.99.