Product Reviews

As USB hubs go, United Pepper's Oscar has some unique charms. We're not just talking about the cartoon-style graphic: the Oscar is made from 70% recycled materials - 70%, apparently, because although the textile elements are fair trade, fair trade electronics are much harder to come by. The packaging is 100% recycled as well. As a USB hub, the Oscar has just a few hang-ups. With only four USB ports, it isn't quite as expandable as similarly priced hubs, and there's nowhere for a power supply to go, which is bad news if your components - particularly power-hungry devices such as portable hard disks - require a bit of juice when running. It's encouraging, however, to see a peripheral manufacturer pay attention to the origins of its wares.