Stuffcool is an Indian manufacturer that makes a wide range of charging accessories, including wall chargers, wireless chargers, portable power banks, and charging cables. It has branched out into other areas in recent months, and the Earl is its first USB-C hub that lets you add three additional ports to your Chromebook, MacBook, or Windows notebook.
Stuffcool is known for making products with great build quality — like the Centurion and Neutron chargers — and the Earl follows in the same vein. The metal chassis gives it durability, and it doesn't take up too much room.
As for the port selection, you get one USB-C port on the side along with two USB-A ports — one for USB 3.0 and the other USB 2.0. The USB-A ports are great for connecting storage accessories or a keyboard and mouse, and the USB-C port is ideal for high-bandwidth devices like SSDs or charging.
The USB-C port sends up to 100W of power via the hub, so you can easily charge your notebook while using the hub without any hassle. The Earl also has an HDMI port that goes up to 4K at 30Hz, allowing you to connect your notebook to a monitor or TV. If you're using a Chromebook or another notebook with limited ports, you can get a lot of extensibility with the Earl, and the fact that it has an HDMI port means you can use the hub to connect to an external monitor.
The USB-C cable that connects the hub to your notebook isn't detachable, and that's a good thing — it's not a particularly long cable, and it would be easy to lose if it were detachable. I used the Earl with Xiaomi's Mi Notebook Ultra, and I was able to connect my keyboard and mouse via the USB-A ports without any issues, and the USB-C port came in handy for transferring data via an external SSD and charging the notebook.
I would have liked to see more ports — particularly an SD card reader, as that's something I use daily — and an additional USB-C port so I can plug in an SSD while I'm charging the notebook, but other than that, there isn't much I don't like about the Earl. Like the best USB-C hubs, it does a good job providing additional ports to connect accessories, and thanks to the metal chassis, it is built to last.
You can get your hands on the USB-C hub for ₹2,999 ($38) via Stuffcool's website, or if you prefer Amazon, you'll have to shell out ₹3,299 ($42). Stuffcool got a lot right with the Earl, and I'd like to see the brand offer more products in this area in the future, possibly with more ports.
Stuffcool's first USB-C hub ticks all the right boxes: it has a USB-C port in addition to USB-A ports, allowing you to easily connect accessories. The HDMI port means you can connect to an external monitor, and if you're looking for a USB-C hub to extend the ports of your Chromebook or Windows notebook, this is a good option to consider.
