I need a new hub. I have a Gigaware four-port hub, but it just isn’t enough for my needs, I’ve decided. Plugged into my laptop currently are a printer, iPhone charger, wireless USB key for my keyboard and mouse, and external hard drive for backups. That’s not enough for a gadget guy like myself.

After some research, I’m closing in on this one — the Belkin USB 2.0 seven-port hub.  Seven hubs; now that’s more like it! It’s relatively cheap, at less than $50, but it has some strong selling points.

In addition to the ports on the side, there are two on top. That makes it easy to plug in things like thumb drives, that you use often. It also has a little clip on the side, which you can route your USB cables through — a thoughtful touch.

Another positive is that these hubs are stackable, so you can add one to another and double your USB outlets. For folks like me, who use their laptop as a desktop, the Belkin hub isn’t a sexy item, but a necessary one anyway. And Belkin is a name I trust, as I’ve used a number of its products over the years.

The Android mobile phone platform is no longer the sole province of T-Mobile. Sprint has announced its own Android smartphone, the HTC Hero. HTC is a large and growing smartphone maker, with many good offerings.

Adding the Hero to the line is a good sign for Android, Google’s open-source software for phones. Android is an iPhone-like operating system, with an online app store much like Apple’s. Since it’s open source, anyone can develop on the platform, and it doesn’t have to go through a rigorous (some say random) approval process like Apple’s (which has gotten Apple in  lot of hot water lately).

The Hero will sell for $179.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate (I hate those things), and go on sale Oct. 11. Since it will be on the Sprint network, it should have much better coverage than the spotty T-Mobile network.

If you’re thinking about getting your first smartphone, and don’t have to buy for a little while, give this one a spin; you may find you like it. It has the advantages of the Android with the coverage area of Sprint. It looks like a solid offering.

Hopefully you read my pre-review of the Garmin nuvi 255W GPS. Well, I put it through its paces on a 1,200 round-trip jaunt, and am much more familiar with it now.

In a word: I love this GPS. It got my family and I to Indiana from Maryland without a hitch. The display is very easy to read, with a big purple line showing you which direction to go in. The voice directions were top-notch, with almost all the road names pronounced correctly. It normally warns you of a road change, like a highway exit, in plenty of time (normally when you’re just less than a mile away) to prepare.

One of my favorite features is the detour function, and it worked perfectly. In Ohio, for example, we were about to take an exit ramp from one highway to another. But when we got to the ramp, we found that it was blocked because of an overturned tractor-trailer.

Uh-oh. We were in completely unfamiliar territory. What to do? Easy; just hit the “Detour” button on the Menu page. It immediately recalculated a detour route, and took us around the accident instantly, putting us back on the new highway just a few miles later than we would have been. I estimate that we lost about five minutes total. No stopping and looking at maps, no guessing and hoping we were going the right way. Folks, that’s awesome.

We also used it to find restaurants on the way. No having to wonder how long it would be until we could eat again; we knew exactly how far away they were, and which ones they were.

One final thing, that I didn’t expect: on each route, it lists the speed limit. I found that functionality to be highly accurate. There were a few times it was off, but not often. Very nice, indeed.

I have complete confidence in the Garmin after this trip. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone.