This device would be terrifying if it weren’t such a remarkably cool idea. Thank heavens they didn’t decide to make a USB kraken – because we’d all be in trouble (and, besides, I can never remember how many arms and legs a kraken actually has).If you’re like me than you often find yourself trying to figure out which peripheral device to unplug and which one to plug in. Most laptops these days only provide two or three USB ports, which means you’ll probably need some sort of hub to attach all your goodies to your computer.
Thus: the more ports you can squeeze onto one hub the better. As the name implies this little gadget has eight “arms” that allow you to connect seven different USB devices to one hub. I know what you’re thinking: eight arms but seven devices? Yep. One of the arms connects to your computer. I guess you could probably also call this device a USB spider – but that’s a little bit creepier than the USB Octopus. Same idea and same number of “legs.”
I’ve used a variety of hubs in the past, and many of them are bulky and inconvenient to use. This creature – er, device – utilizes one main body with seven cords that extend from one end, the eighth extending from the opposite end to suction into your computer. I mean “attach” to your computer. When all’s said and done, however, this device is not quite as cute as the animal shaped USB drives we looked at a while back, nor as monstrous as the 16 port hub.
Although there a variety of other devices with similar names (some of them actually resemble octopi), this device is the only one that lives up to the name. That is to say, for whatever reason most of the other USB hubs with the same name actually only have four ports. The USB Octopus is USB 2.0 compatible and measures about 9.5 inches (25 cm) in length. The USB Octopus is backwards compatible to USB 1.1, and features plug and play installation. The hub utilizes bus power from the USB but also features an AC power adapter should it be necessary for older systems.
Most of the customer reviews of the USB Octopus are glowing – noting the ease, low price of only $20 and ability to hide the device behind your desktop computer. The size of the device would also make it relatively convenient to use with a laptop, since you could drop this hub into your laptop bag for on-the-go USB galore.
