USB Illuminates Your Computer Experience

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 02:55:09 GMT

By Pratik Mahbubani

Brookstone

Product: USB Light Buy it?: $9.99 each at Brookstone or www.brookstone.com Best Uses: working in thedark, taking notes from a video, DJ’ing xD$0 Overall Rating: 4/5 stars Easily the smallest, most lightweight lamp (emphasison “lamp”) I have ever had, this simple USB light does virtually everything it’s supposed to with minor drawbacks. While its features are very much like“The Wink”, this happens to be more of a smaller, single-utility product. However,that adjustment is reflected in its price. Advantages Thisproduct is first and foremost a lamp, and as I expected, it illuminates perfectly. Attached to the stem are two miniscule LED bulbs that, while extremely bright, aren’t so overwhelming that they light up the entire area around you. I discovered this during a class when we were taking notes from a video;it lit up my keyboard, but didn’t ruin the dark atmosphere that made seeing the video easier. Instead of projecting outwards like a light bulb, this light projects forward, in the direction it is positioned towards. This brings me to Brookstone’s signature feature in their lamp series – flexibility.The LED lights are attached to a stiff but flexible coil that can be pointedand rotated in any direction, as well as elevated high enough off your laptopthat it lights up your entire keyboard. This feature proved its use to me personally at my last DJ gig, whereI was able to seamlessly shift its focus from my laptop to the mixer and back again, not only making the night easier in general, but also eliminating the need for a handheld flashlight.Always a useful feature, I’m glad to see that Brookstone decided to incorporate it in yet another one of their products. The biggest surprise for me was the lamp’s on/off switch. While it might not seem like much, it is an extremely useful feature. Unlike most USB devices, this one only drains power from your laptop when it’s turned on, which means that you can keep the light constantly plugged in and only have it use power when you’re using it. It just makes life easier and less cluttered. Speakingof power, this lamp doesn’t take power from a wall, or batteries, but rather a USB. This allows it to be super-light and also makes it truly portable, with no outlets to look for or batteries to replace. There is simply no external source to take under consideration. However, while USB power gives way to great benefits,it also contributes to this lamp’s only weakness… The One [main] Weakness Although this obstacle does not present itself much in my laptop, it probably will in most others. Guess what it is? BATTERY POWER. The tragedy of laptop batteriesis that their unplugged life decreases over time. With a 6 or 9 cell battery,it doesn’t make too much of a difference. However, on a standard 4 cell battery that you’ve been using for a couple years, this lamp will probably take a significant part of your already lower-than-optimal battery life. Yet, if your laptop is always charging though, this doesn’t affect you at all. The only other potential problem I see is a lack of USB sockets. Now this should only affect you if you have an old laptop with just two USB sockets. Anything made within the past six years should have four sockets, which hopefully leavesyou with one to spare. My advice: Ona product that does everything it says it will, how can I say anything exceptto buy it?! It’s on sale for $10 right now, and would make for a perfectstocking stuffer. A special thanks to the very helpful people at Brookstone who made testing this product possible.

FreshAngles

USB Illuminates Your Computer Experience