LightWedge Original Book Light
by LightWedge
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Product Summary
Manufacturer: LightWedgeBrand: LightWedge
Edition: Tools & Home Improvement
Publisher: LightWedge
Studio: LightWedge
Music Label: LightWedge
Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of LightWedge Original Book Light
Customer Review: Good idea and usable, but needs a Rev. B to correct flaws
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a great idea for an alternative to the gooseneck-type booklights: It spreads the light across the whole page rather than just a spot; the acrylic plate handily keeps the page open with little effort, and obviates the need for a cumbersome clip at the top of your book.
The main flaw is the same as with every other booklight: The LEDs they're using for the light source are at once too harsh and too dim. Given that this product's LEDs are pointing laterally into the acrylic rather than directly at (perpendicular to) the page means it's even dimmer. I would rather have some over-engineered industrial-strength incandescents as light sources (assuming that the bizarre, retro-fascistic 2008 law "banning" incandescent bulb manufacture in 2014 or whenever is not repealed *before* it can inflict its lunatic damage,) but a better lighting solution is clearly needed to do this excellent "transparent plate" idea justice. I don't know the physics of how light behaves when directed sideways into a transparent mass, but I'm thinking that some type of refraction grating or prism application would direct the light more efficiently? Mirror coating on the outer edges?
At any rate, it's too dim and fades too quickly in terms of battery power, even with Lithiums. Which brings me to the second flaw: The unit is only powered by AAA batteries, and the compartment has this little conductive metal clip that sits between them and...it's loose, as in: Detached from the rest of the product. I don't remember if it was ever attached, but right now I have to hold it carefully in place between the batteries, then sneak the lid shut before it all springs skyward. I assume it used to be attached, which since I've only opened the battery cover twice means it's intolerably delicate. Look guys, I'm happy to pay a couple extra bucks to cover the cost of the .01 grams of extra plastic molding it would take to secure that thing. If you won't build it to last, why build it? Doubling the battery capacity too would likely increase the life and quality of the light - or maybe it would be better to just integrate a compartment that will accomodate a 9V and adjust the circuit accordingly. Or maybe incorporate the same kind of rechargable lithium/nicad/whatever that our cellphones use?
The last drawback is that the acrylic plate apparently has no scratch-resistant coating of any kind on it, which means that in less than a couple of months of careful usage, mine already has an annoying network of Nazca-like runways and swirls all over it, and a bunch of little dust flecks/pits that can't be wiped off. Eyeglass manufacturers have used scratch-resistant coatings for decades that make plastic lenses virtually impervious even to demonstration scrubs with SOS pads. Application of that kind of coating to a product whose entire function is to be a window for text ought to be a no-brainer.
So I'll continue to use this, but hope beyond hope that they'll re-think the design and build some practicality and longevity into it. I can't claim to have done any marketing studies, but I personally would be happy to pay twice the price for something that was built like a tank and provided perfect, consistent lighting. IOW, I question the assumption that no market exists for a booklight that's better quality than minimum-function plastic but happens to cost more than $25 as a result.
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Description of LightWedge Original Book Light
A revolutionary new book light for nighttime reading. Patented LightWedge technology directs all the light only on the page you are reading, without bothering someone sleeping next to you. The larger-sized LightWedge Original is ideal for hardcover books and large paperbacks. Whether reading in bed, reading on a plane, or reading in a car, the LightWedge book light is the perfect accessory for all readers and an ideal gift for travelers.Lighting
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