Even with a couple extra USB ports built into the keyboard, most Mac users will quickly find themselves wanting for extra serial bus, what with all the docks, hard drives, speakers and printers vying for your computer’s attention. These days a hub is as necessary as an optical mouse, and the field of offerings is just as fertile, from simple 4-port boxes to bendable characters and colorful desktop ornaments.

But for all Apple’s galleries of clean, uncluttered workstations, most Mac users have grown accustomed to twisting, contorting and snaking cables leading to various peripheral devices that absolutely need to be connected — and that’s not to speak of the need for a spare port to plug in a camera or iPod for a quick sync. Any old USB hub can solve the need for extra ports, but few offer any real enhancements over the slots available on your computer. Enter the Twister, a portable, 180-degree revolving 4-port USB 2.0 hub that eliminates fumbling (and still hides those unsightly permanent connections).

The design is simple: Two ports point to the back and two ports swivel 180 degrees. What seems as a useless gimmick, however, is surprisingly useful for cameras, flash drives, iPods or card readers that need to be connected and disconnected in a jiffy (along with bulkier drives that won’t fit in your keyboard). The hub hooks up to your computer via USB and plugs into the wall via an AC adapter (the one it ships with is European, but Brando is kind enough to send a U.S. adapter upon request).

The ports turn easily and independently of each other, and the hub is small enough to fit on the edge of a desk or pocket of a laptop bag. (If you plan on hooking it up permanently and are as compulsive about neatness and wire clutter as we are, you’ll need to stick the underside to your desk with velcro or tape to prevent it from sliding. We used a 3M Command mounting strip.)

Simply put, the Twister is small, sturdy and handy, looks sharp dressed in blue aluminum, and will make your digital life that much easier.