World's first 4-port USB 3.0 hub is here

USB 3.0 is poised to become mainstream soon, and more and more compatible devices have been cropping up in the last few months. Today computer equipment maker Buffalo in Japan has announced [JP] what it claims to be the world’s first 4-port USB 3.0. This comes five weeks after VIA (based out of Taiwan) has unveiled the first USB 3.0 hub controller in the industry.

The BSH4A03U3 will be available in white and black. It will work with Windows XP, 7, Vista and Mac OS X 10.4. Buffalo says the port is backwards compatible with USB 1.1 and USB 2.0, promising a (theoretical) data transfer speed of up to 5Gbps for 3.0. The 58g-device can operate as both a bus powered or self powered hub.

The new port will hit Japanese stores in the middle of next month for $88 (including an AC adapter). Buffalo sells hardware outside Japan, too, so expect the port to go on sale outside this country some day as well.