Belkin has launched what it simply calls a Network USB Hub which allows you to share and access printers and USB storage devices over your wireless network. Rather ingenious, although being able to share printers on a network is hardly something new and there are already routers that can share USB storage devices. The trick here is that Network USB Hub can connect to any and all routers or even a switch or a hub.

The neat thing here is that the Network USB Hub can share some devices that traditional print servers or network sharing routers weren't too fond of, such as multifunction printers, digital cameras and scanners. It can also be used for backing up data from a USB storage device or even a digital camera to a NAS.

One odd thing that doesn't make a lot of sense to us is that it says that it can play music from an MP3 player attached via USB by using a pair of USB speakers, any care to elaborate? The Network USB Hub actually tricks your computer into thinking that the networked device is directly attached to your PC, something that as far as we know, no other device of this type has done before it.

It has one 10/100Mbit Ethernet port, which is a shame, since with the possibility of attaching so many devices, Gigabit Ethernet would've been ideal in our opinion to prevent bottlenecks. It does of course have five USB 2.0 ports and it's powered by a small power brick. You can pick one up for US$129.99 which might seem a little bit steep, but it is a one of a kind device.

You can find the product page here