Accessories Clip-on light from Dealextreme - Very cheap, but any good?

[las^se]

Hi,

Just bought two of these + 20 extra batteries from the beloved "free-shipping" Hong-Kong store; Dealxtreme:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.26822

Has anyone tried this light. It's very cheap compared to other reading lights, so whats the catch?

[matt314159]

Hi, I have one of these, for the price, I think it's okay. It's thicker than you might imagine, at EXACTLY the same thickness of two CDs or DVDs stacked upon one another. Appears to be made of rubber with some kind of metal bracing inside so that once you bend it, it stays in place. The light is an annoying purple hue, a sure sign of a cheap LED. The front bezel and LED lens seem like they're fine, but on the back, the battery cover feels like it might break after too many removals, and the switch is where I'd bet money the unit will first thing to fail. It feels really cheap.

Ultimately I don't use this light because I like to read with the kindle out of its case, and this whole design is predicated on the idea that you'll have your case on the kindle, so you can slide it down in between the back of the unit and the cover.

I haven't found a clip-on light yet that I'm happy with, either the clip is too wide for the screen bezel or doesn't have a good enough grip. Always something, huh?

Hope this helps a little.

[las^se]

I'm planning to use some rubber band to hold it in place, so I don't have to use a cover.

Hope it works as a reading light though. Thanks for your reply

[bob coxner]

I prefer Meritline for my shipped-from-Hong Kong products. They have several clip on book lights for $5 or less. It generally takes 2 weeks or more to receive your item but they're very reliable and their customer service is excellent.

http://www.meritline.com/newsearch.a...erm=book+light

[simplyparticular]

I bought what appears to be the same light at my local dollar store and it was flimsy and a pain to change the battery.

My favorite e-reading light was bought at Target in the Kindle section. I can use it on a naked device, or with some cases - see a link in my signature.

I contacted the distributor recently and they told me they are coming out with a black version in October.

[travis]

Bree, thanks for your spectacular blog post about the e-book lite.

I did notice that the company has it listed on their web site now:

http://www.capstoneindustries.com/co...a&ProductID=84

Yes, I would much prefer the black one since I have a Kindle 3. I hope if anyone tries this with a Kindle 3 they could report back. But from your report, I think the e-book lite will work fine.

Travis

[matt314159]

wow, thanks, that looks like EXACTLY what I've been looking for! Easily worth $20 if it works as well as I hope! Definitely going to wait for the black one, though.

[daffy4u]

The Kandle is now available in black.

[jangell2]

I noticed the Kandle uses those little flat, batteries. Probably will have to replace more often and sometimes it's a little hard to find those things.

Simply, have you used the e-book lite on a Kindle 3? Does it produce glare?

[simplyparticular]

Originally Posted by jangell2

I noticed the Kandle uses those little flat, batteries. Probably will have to replace more often and sometimes it's a little hard to find those things.

Simply, have you used the e-book lite on a Kindle 3? Does it produce glare?

Yeah, those disc batteries are a pain - I didn't have the Kandle, but I tried two lights with them and they both went back.

I don't have a Kindle 3, but because of the adjustable nature of the ckip, it should work with the thin Kindle no problem.

In terms of glare, the only hotspot I get is along the top edge where the light is brightest. On the Opus and Nook, that is the title bar, so I don't need to read it. I assume the Kindles also have a title bar - I had a Kindle 2 (before I bought this light), and I think it had a title bar, but I don't remember precisely.