Customer Reviews

Rite Lite LPL900 8 LED Portable Desk Task Light

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have owned as many as 10 LED lights. This one is the best. It uses 6 AA batteries which lasts a long time. Also, you can power it with USB cable via your computer's USB port or a USB power adapter.

It is very versatile and flexible. You can adjust the height, direction, angles of the 8 bright LEDS thanks to the two telescopic support. Also, the brightness of the LEDs can be adjusted too. It is easy to adjust the lights to keep it away from other people who may be sleeping beside you.

The LEDs are bright and white. It also comes with a small storage compartment.

All things considered, this is a fine LED lamp. To sum it up:

Pros:
1. Inexpensive
2. Adjustable light output, and VERY bright at max setting
3. Adjustable height, angle
4. Battery (3-AA min, 6-AA max), USB, or AC-powered (though no AC adapter is included with the LPL900)
5. Portable

Cons:
None, considering the price

Caveats:
1. Since light output from an LED tends to be very focused, and due to the strip-style layout of the LEDs on this lamp, overall light distribution can be somewhat uneven if the lamp is not properly positioned/adjusted (i.e., very bright directly under source which fades noticeably away from source). From my experience though, you should always be able to get the exact amount/type of light you need by fiddling with the lamp's intensity, height, and angle options. You can also tape a strip of paper, foil, etc to the lamp to act as a shade which allows even greater directional control of the light output (i.e., angling the LEDs towards you too much can otherwise be distracting/blinding)
2. Cheap, plastic construction might be a turn-off for some. Regarding the telescoping arms, think old school tv/radio antennas, because that's exactly what they are
3. USB cord to power the lamp is extremely short (about 2ft), and the end that plugs into the lamp is a DC barrel connector (i.e., USB and AC will use the same jack on the lamp)
4. The blue LED on the on/off switch is EXTREMELY bright. It can literally act as a night-light, as it literally lights up the ceiling of my bedroom quite nicely

We wanted something to use on counters and tables during power outages. This unit appears to be fine for the job. It takes 3 or 6 AA batteries (not supplied). Using either number won't change light output, just the amount of time before replacing batteries. Hold the switch down and all eight lights get progressively dimmer. The tube of lights rotates and the arms are moveable. One pleasant surprise: the arms are telescoping. Folds up into a compact unit. We're glad we bought two of them.

You cannot believe how many attempts I made at illuminating my keyboard. I tried incandescent lamps, nah, that never worked out. I tried several LED USB products that was adjustable and all those crapped out in a month, I found out that the wires inside just broke shorted out.

So I tried again, as this product looked cool. So I got it in the mail and hooked it up. So here I am, in my computer room, with all the lights off, except for my monitor and this USB 8 LED lighting system. Let me say, I found heaven, it does what I want it to do, it lights my keyboard. I don't have to waste electricity, it has an on and off switch which is great too, when I am watching movies.

Finally a product that works and lights up my keyboard, and I don't have to go out and buy an expensive lighted keyboard. I work on web design, do CAD work and research on the web and it sits there and works it brains off for me. So the incandescent light in back of me is off, and the florescent light above me is off.

Now the best thing, the very best thing, is when my brain is fried from working and I want to pay a game on steam. I don't have to turn on a light to watch my keyboard. I can see the whole screen and no degradation for gaming. Three cheers to the inventor.

Now, this just gets better. The LED are located in a circular housing and your can turn it 360 degrees to shed light on anything on your desk. Can it get any better? This is like a commercial, you know those English guys selling something that is really a piece of crapola. But this is not a commercial, this someone who made this recent purchase. The LED circular housing is held to the base with an antenna like device. So it can retract to like 7" and extend out to like 14", now isn't that amazing. The bottom line is that this thing works great and it is cheap (price cheap). It is a well made product.

I love it...............

My goal was a portable lamp I could use at an outdoor table during summer dining. The smaller the better, but it had to illuminate a page of text. I bought three for comparison:
1) Rite Lite LPL900 8 LED Portable Desk Task Light
2) SE Flashlight (20 LED Silver Lamp Light)
3) GE 17202 LED Book Light
The bottom line is I liked all three, but they are all different as follows.

1) My favorite was the Rite Lite. Its "antenna" side arms extend so you can get some height. The light bar is rotatable. It folds to a rectangle that is surprisingly light, but will occupy some space, both in storage and on your table (perhaps 11"x6"?). It fits in a large purse but not close to fitting in a pocket. I keep it in the car. It emits the best even light of the three, and quite enough to read/write comfortably across a whole sheet or more. If you have a laptop handy it can be powered off the USB, though I use battery power. (It takes 3 AA batteries, and can take 3 more if you want to change them less frequently.) On the downside, this is the most likely to break of the three. As long as you are patient and gentle when extending its "antenna" side-arms you will be okay. (Another possible concern is that its diffuse light, while an advantage to reading, will "leak" and be visible / distracting to other people. Not sure about that yet.)

2) The SE Flashlight (20 LED Silver Lamp Light) was the heaviest and bulkiest. Its spotlight is harsh, but within that spotlight it is the brightest of the three. I can't think of any reason to recommend it over the other two, except that it is sturdiest, and perhaps a spotlight is what you want.

3) The GE 17202 is very small and portable, *easily* fitting into a pocket. Or half a pocket. It unfolds into a surprisingly tall tower. However it has the weakest light. It is barely adequate, not strong enough for my needs. I'd recommend it only if very compact size is your main concern.

See the Images for shots of all three lamps.
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After having had this light for a little over two months I am mostly satisfied with it. Both the support arms are sturdy and can be positioned without problem, however I am concerned with the batteries draining when using it with the usb power. The first time it happened I wasn't sure if I'd switched it over to the usb power, but then I put in new batteries and ran it on usb power for about three days then tried to use it on battery power and the batteries were dead again. As I use it mostly on usb power I just leave the batteries out unless I need them, which for the little I use it battery power isn't worth the hassle of trying to exchange for the $7.00 I paid.

I was going to rate this item 4 stars but changed my mind. For the money, I think it's worthy of 5 stars. If you're primary interest in having a lamp is aesthtic in nature then this is probably not a good choice for you. If, however, you simply want functionality then the design of this light is terrific.

What impresses me most about it is that there are three different ways you can power this light. One, is with an optional AC Adapter, another is by batteries, and the third is by USB. It's this third option that appealed to me the most. On the downside, the included USB cord is much to short and thus when plugged into a PC on a desk one's ability to move it to the desired location is severely restricted. However, that problem is easily solved by plugging it into a USB Hub.

It puts out a really strong light and you can flex the direction of it in countless ways. It's super light. It is a "little" flimsy but for the cost this is a slam dunk.

It's small so if you you're using it on a desk, as I am you will need to move it to use over whatever it is your viewing but that's easily done and the light bar has eight lights that when powered by USB are amazingly bright. I am very impressed. I also bought the PowerLine Universal AC Adapter with USB Power Port Power Line 0900-77A 1300-mA AC Adapter with USB Charging Port. It does NOT work with this light.
I've only owned this product for a day but my first impression is that it's a great value. If I run into problems with it as time passes, I'll update my review to reflect the new information.

Ordered two of these for use as PC keyboard lights. First one out of the box, a complete dud. Didn't work on battery power nor on USB power.

Opened the second package...that one worked fine. Does what I wanted it to. Dimmer function is nice. Adjustment and placement features are nice. Packaging is misleading, stating that it takes 3 AA batteries, when it takes 6. USB power works, too.

I'd give the order a 2.5 stars if possible, but defaulted to the 2 stars simply because you shouldn't shop and pay for something that doesn't work.

So, how would *you* rate it? One works, the other is a flat out dud for 19.97! Return policy on packing slip says you can return unopened items without question...leading to the obvious head-scratching "next" question...how would you know if it works or not, if you...

This is a great value. Especially considering that it supports three different power sources: battery, USB, and AC power (via an adapter, which isn't included).

The telescoping arms make the light bar a bit flimsy. A couple braces connecting the two arms would have helped. And, as you rotate the light bar, it flickers, which doesn't exactly instill confidence in the product's quality. But, since the light bar can be rotated freely, I suspect that the light bar is connected to the power source by some sort of brush connection instead of being hard-wired.

Do note that it only requires 3AA Batteries at a time to work. There is additional row of three batteries, but those are for back-up.

I mainly got this for power outages. It also makes a decent flashlight if you need to see your way. Just retract the light bar, snap it into its storage position, rotate the light bar so it's facing outward, turn on the light, and grip the device from the back.

If you need an AC adapter for this product, I'd suggest getting a universal AC adapter (such as this one, Power Line 0900-77A 1300-mA AC Adapter with USB Charging Port, which I don't own and haven't tried). Otherwise, if you already have a USB wall charger (such as the Zune AC Adapter v2, which I have and does work with this product) then you should be able to connect the included USB adapter into that, though you may need an AC extension cord or a USB extension cable.

Also, if you need an idea for a stocking stuffer for the entire family, this is a great choice.

Easily illuminates an 11" x 16" area with adequate light for reading. For $7 you can't go wrong. I used velcro strips to attach it to my Jasmine book stand.