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Notebook Computers
For the best deals on laptop computers visit www.Geeks.com.
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Meritline USB Notebook Light |
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Written by Mikhail Ivanenkov
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Sunday, 01 July 2007 |
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Thanks to Card Cooler for the product sample.
After using my 8200 for almost half a year, I still haven't gotten that uber-geek satisfaction, so I decided to stock up on a few more techie gizmos. One such toy was a USB notebook light (or a light for any device with a USB port really). The idea is simple: it provides keyboard visibility during the wee hours of the morning, when you just can't find that darned button. Seeing as how almost everyone nowadays knows how to type, such an attempt is a frivolous one at best, but I beg to differ. I don't use numeric keys terribly often, and even less symbols. And my laptop isn't the newest Apple so the keyboard lighting up will have to wait a bit.
USB lights in general aren't that popular because, as we'll see shortly, while they do offer some functionality and quite a bit more pizzazz, they're not justifiable enough for mass marketing, though for under $20 a pop it just might make for a nice stocking stuffer. 11 months from now. Anyway onto the kit. The packaging is pretty scarce, as should be the case; there's nothing else aside from the light itself. No software is required (and therefore it'll work on any OS, so long as your computer has a functional USB port) and although it is USB2.0 certified don't get your hopes up, it won't shine any brighter.
There are no required batteries as you're using the USB port for power and naturally, the light comes from a high-intensity LED. Due to this fact the claim of using less than 90 seconds per hour of battery life is actually believable, since LEDs are incredibly efficient at producing light and wasting less energy than incandescent or fluorescent bulbs, albeit more expensive because of the silicon involved. The silverish theme with clear and metallic tips will match pretty much any laptop, specifically Apple's G4 line.
Apparently there's also a 5 year warranty on the thing, but after failing to find the product on the website (I only know they make it because of a link from the actual package), enforcing this may not be worth it. Lengthwise it's about 17" from head to toe, perfect for the largest of laptops but not long enough to reach from the back of a PC. Furthermore, a lot depends on the USB connector placement on the notebook; any that happen to have them smack in the middle of the rear will experience some difficulties.
The standard USB connector is surrounded by a clear plastic cover. The wire is covered by expanding/contracting metal rings, with everything covered by a thick layer of plastic wrap, which looks incredibly stupid. Moreover, after several bends and twists, you can already begin to see permanent wrinkles forming on the sheath. Eventually they evolve into holes. I've only been using this light for a little over a week and I'm already starting to see plastic crinkling. At one of the tips I decided to strip some off the cover and it actually looks a lot better without it, so I'm not sure why it's there in the first place.
As for the light, it's simply an LED insert with a magnification lens on top and around the perimeter, there to spread the light across a wider angle, not just a concentrated beam on one key. There happen to be two pieces because the one closer to the tip twists and acts as the on/off switch, even though it's not really necessary since connecting/disconnecting the cable is just as easy. This entire contraption is, unfortunately, only crimped onto the cable, so it can be lifted off and left to dangle by a wire without too much effort. This can be fixed with a pair of pliers but then it will no longer look as good.
Because of the length issue (and of course depending on your laptop), I couldn't wire it to shine from above. Besides, the LED isn't bright enough to illuminate the pad from that far up anyway. Generally speaking, the USB notebook light is non-obtrusive, though it's a few slices short of a pie. On a more upbeat note, however, it does have a certain level of functionality and it's definitely a geek gift almost everyone will enjoy. Fortunately, it's not terribly expensive either.
Plug and play. And here's where it gets good and bad, both at once. Blue is my favorite color, without a doubt, and this came as a pleasant surprise. However, blue isn't a terribly intense color by nature, so even though looking straight on the LED is blindingly bright, it doesn't light up the entire keyboard as one would hope. Maybe with a cluster of three and some fancy reflective material this can be better achieved (remember the LazerLEDs?), but as it stands it's not the most luminous thing in the world.
As a matter of fact, my Samsung R225m's (cell phone) blue backlight does a better job. As for shape retention, it does a fairly good job. Extreme angles (anything over 90 degrees in a few millimeters' space) won't hold, but that's due to the nature of the rings that make up the cable: the wire can only bend until they smack into each other. In other words, nothing wrong in this department, but nothing spectacular either.
Pros
- Great geek gift idea
- Decent build
- Blue light, and relatively bright
- Looks good and matches with any laptop
- Keeps its shape when bent (duh)
- Not terribly expensive
Cons
- Not bright enough (another LED or two in a cluster would work a lot better)
- LED end not attached too well
- Plastic wrap deteriorates quickly with prolonged use.
Overall the idea of a USB notebook light is a neat one, and it does have a theoretical benefit. In my case, it helps, though not by much. The single blue LED, while intense in itself, doesn't provide enough oomph to illuminate the entire board; a couple more would do the trick. The plastic wrap has a tendency to turn really ugly after a short period of time as well, so if you buy this, you might want to take it off. Oh, and the LED tip dangles if you pull on it hard enough. That's not to say the product is a flop; it's not. It does what it's supposed to, but it needs a bit of improvement before it becomes the next iPod. I'd like to thank Card Cooler for sending over the light once again and if interested you can get yours here. Thanks for reading and enjoy the site!
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