Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 22
 Great little gadget, but not ideal for everyone September 1, 2010
C. O'Brien (Scotland, UK)
I found this little gadget very useful - but it wouldn't do for everyone.
On the plus side, its level of illumination is very good, its charge lasts a long time and it's small, light and convenient to carry around in a handbag. It comes with its own cloth cover and hard plastic carrycase, about the size of a DVD. This makes it an ideal solution for plane trips, long car journeys or anywhere where you might need to read in the dark without disturbing others. The light is very localised even at the highest of the three intensity settings, so you're unlikely to wake a sleeping spouse or dazzle the designated driver. Unlike some other reviewers, I found it easy to clean - a quick wipe with a glass cloth seemed to work fine for me, but you need to remember which direction to do it or you can scratch the surface.
On the negative side, it's fairly expensive, and not everyone knows how to charge a gadget from a USB port, so if you get one of these for your granny make sure she has a computer or buy her a little USB charger to go with it. Its compact size means it's not ideal for reading large hardback books in bed - it's probably intended chiefly for the traveller or exec-on-the-move who carries a couple of paperbacks in his hand luggage.
On balance, though, I found it worked well. Maybe not an essential item, but a great stocking filler, especialy for the frequent flyers or literary insomniacs in your family.
 Good if you want to read in the car on long journeys. August 26, 2010
shaz17 (England)
I liked how it is well packaged, in the sturdy plastic case and the protected sleeve. Recharging just via PC is a bit of a disappointment, but luckily I have a usb plug which allows me to plug it into the mains to recharge. You can also buy USB Car Charger Adapter for this as well. Seeing how pricey this product is, they should have come with the package, and the price would have seemed justified.
I found it turned the bold black print of my book grey in appearance which isnt good considering how bad it could be on the eyes. I turned the light to the side and found it better that way for some reason. Being a fast reader it did irk me with the messing around, but it was better than not being able to read at all.
I liked the design and the feel of it, I never touched the pad itself I used the top part to move it to the next page, it felt nicer to grip & hold this. I sometimes had the book on my knees and held it slightly above the page and this seemed to be better as it was just like a light and I could see the print better.
My verdict is very pricey for what it is, but a good concept that needs improvement.
 Beats using a torch any day. August 25, 2010
JO
This book light by Philips is great.
The clear panel lights up at three
different brightness, and is only
1mm thick.
The gray section is 11cm wide, by 1.5cm
deep.
You get a sturdy plastic case, and a cloth
bag to protect the device.
The light thrown off from this is more
than what I expected, so if you are
using it in the company of others, you
will be lit up, especially your face.
But the throw off is not so bright that
it would prevent others nearby from
sleeping, especially on the dimmest
setting.
You first need to charge it, via usb
for 6 hours, then, after that, for three.
This would make a great gift for an avid
reader that travels a lot, who doesn't own
a Kindle.
 Not worth the money ... August 24, 2010
Cee-Gee (Northants, UK)
I wouldn't buy this unless you have no other option at all for reading. It certainly isn't worth the RRP.
What you get is a thick piece of plastic with some tiny grooves in it, attached to a USB powered battery pack (there is no option to put standard batteries in instead). There is only one button - press and hold to switch on and off, and just press to cycle through the three different levels of brightness. The LEDs illuminate the plastic 'screen' and you place it on top of the page to read.
I think that the plastic could have done with being a bit larger. I found that it wasn't long enough to cover a whole page with the battery pack at the top of the page, even on the smallest of paperbacks. I had to hold it at the edge of the page and constantly move it down the page. Really, the whole thing is a bit of a pain compared to a fixed light source, because you can't just flip the page. You have to take out the screen, turn the page, reposition it etc. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it gets really tedious when you've been reading for a while. It can also be difficult to read the left hand pages of paperbacks because they tend to end up a with a curve in them and the plastic does not bend.
As the plastic is not crystal clear, the words on the page looked a little blurred. It took me quite a long time to get used to this. You have to be really careful not to get your fingers on the plastic because they leave a finger print which makes the text even more difficult to read.
It is also really flimsy. After using it for a short while I noticed that the plastic seemed to be coming out of the battery pack and I had to force it back in. Apparently you can use the screen as a book mark. I wouldn't dare unless the book was going no further than my bedside table. I doubt it would survive a trip in my handbag unless I put it in the hard plastic case supplied. This is as big as a small paperback so it's not great if space is at a premium.
All in all, I can see that it would have its uses if there was absolutely no other light source available, but otherwise I think that it is a waste of money and you are better off sticking with a good old lamp.
It's not a lightsaber August 24, 2010
B. Ashley
When I first showed my partner this device, she asked whether it was a light-saber or not. It does look kind of hi-tech (or maybe I am just a bit simple), but I carefully explained the cylindrical nature of a light-saber, and the nuances of a rectangular back-light.
For that is what this essentially is. A thin piece of plastic that lights up, so that you can read your paper-based books where there is little, or no other light-source. I chose to review this particular product as I had a flight to Sydney, Australia coming up, and much of that occurs in perpetual darkness. Now, I am an active traveler. I find it hard to sleep on flights unless I consume a large percentage of the galley's wine. Whilst moving myself further and further towards a state where I might be able to sleep, I read.
The trouble is long flights in the dark is that "normal" people, go to sleep. And I've always felt a bit rude turning on the standard reading-light that is above my seat. The fact that a single reading light on the plane generally bathes around 6 seats in a nice nuclear glow, doesn't help. So, when this arrived, I took it with me instead.
It's a handy little thing, lightweight, has a carrying case and a cover for the plastic. Switching on reveals it's low-glow status, and 2 subsequent presses cycles to the other 2 brightnesses. Therefore you have 3 brightness levels, ranging from "limited vision", all the way up to "I seem to be at the bottom of a well". Obviously, the brighter the setting, the less battery life, although even at the maximum setting, 3.5 hours is more than you'd get out of a laptop.
A USB cable is provided for charging (presumably from the laptop, whose battery you are now draining) but can obviously be put in to a desktop.
It's very handy, although I am sure that the drooling lady seated next to me on the aircraft opened an eye at one point, looked a little startled wondering why my book was glowing. I considered pointing out to her it was the "Book of the Dead (Air-travelers-companion Edition)", but refrained.
If you own a Kindle, however, this is probably not a purchase you need to worry about. For the rest of you page-turners who travel a lot, or have trouble paying your electricity bill, I highly recommend it.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 22
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