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.