Hard drive maker LaCie matched appearance to performance with its upcoming Huby USB/FireWire hub.
The Huby (pronounced hub-ee) has a ball shaped base that sprouts from its top eight wires mounting three FireWire and five USB connectors. Bundled accessories include a light, fan, USB and FireWire extension cables. Each of the accessories plugs into the hub.
“Even something as simple as a hub can be viewed as a design object. It serves a function, but we also hope it sparks conversation about technology and design,” said Alexis Kobassian, LaCie’s product manager.
Each wire has a companion LED light to indicate when it is working and several Huby’s can be daisy-chained together.
The Huby will ship in early December with a $79 suggested retail price.