It looks lovely when it is open and lit.  Plus, it has a switch to turn the lights on and off.  I think the best feature is the height of the crank to open the umbrella.  On my last hand crank umbrella, the crank was positioned too low and bumped the table top when I tried to open it.  This hand crank sits higher; thus, opening and closing the umbrella is much easier than before.  i think they thought of everything when they made it