Antec Iluminate Mini

Author
Aron Schatz
Posted
April 20, 2003
Views
49524
External lighting, what a concept. Is it worth it to waste a USB port on these things though? You'll have to read to find out.
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<b>Intro</b>:

You know, it sucks when you only review lights and more lights, and yet again more lights. But beggars can't be choosers right? Anyway, this is a bit different type of light. Unlike the past few lighting things I have reviewed, this one is for the exterior!

<b>The Packaging</b>:

<center>Packaging</center>

Well, well. We meet again all mighty box! Actually, in this case it is a clear packaging that looks nice. GAZE AT THE ALL MIGHTY PACKAGING! Moving on.

<B>The Parts</B>:

<center>Parts</center>

The entire thing is basically one part. Everything is connected together and there are no quick release things like you see on cold cathodes or the bubble lights. Don't be fooled by the USB connection, it only uses power and does nothing more. Yes, it does waste a USB port, so you'll need to decide if it is worth it. Ohh, if you have a laptop, don't bother wasting the battery life Wink.

<B>The Inverter thingy</B>:

<center>Inverter</center>

I'm not sure if this thing is an inverter, but we'll just call it one anyway. This box handles the functions of the lights. The switch has three positions: Off, Sound, and On. Off means that the lights are off... I'm sure you knew that. The always on position also needs another input. There is a button on the top to change the color of the lights (this kit is multicolor). The last push of the button yields a revolving color pattern in the lights. It looks great.

The sound activated part of the inverter is terrible, it isn't sensitive enough. I had to bang it for it to register, I don't know if that is indicative of other units, but this one is useless for sound activation, just something to think about.

<B>The Light Stick</B>:

<center>Stick Close Up 1 Stick Close 2 Stick Close 3</center>

The actual light stick thingy has two parts, the stick itself and the holder. The light sticks look great, and even look cool with the lights off. It reminds me of like laser beam things. The holders can move positions and stuff, and both the holders and the inverter have sticky pads that are velcroed. The wires connecting everything are nice and silver and it'll go great with a black setup.

<B>Lights</B>:

<center>Single</center>

Here we have a single color light, this one is whitish greenish (it was taken in between a revolving pattern). I just wanted to show you how it looks like with a single color. I also took a picture of all the colors.

<center>All Colors</center>

This one shows all the colors, all seven of them. Gaze at the lights. I think it is pretty nice to have all these colors at your disposal.

<center>Blinding</center>

The light is very bright, as any high power LEDs are. Don't point them in people eyes, the person may get pissed. My friend tried to punch me when I shined it in his eyes. He got blinded so it was okay Wink.

<B>Conclusion</B>:

All in all, these things are nice if you require some external lighting. They are very gimmicky, perfect for the geek that has everything. The price is around $20 and you can order them from <a href="http://www.antec-inc.com/pro_details_customization.php?ProdID=77107">Antec themselves</a>. They also have ones that are single color, but why would you get those? I'd like to thank Antec for making this review possible.

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