I recently received a sample of the LumiCharge II, a desktop lamp with a lot of extra features, and have been trying it out as as bedside lamp for my daughter. The two primary features are the lamp and charging station, but there are several other details as well.
The lamp itself is an LED bar that can bend and rotate both at the base and at its “elbow” in the center, giving you a good degree of flexibility in positioning it. The controls for the LumiCharge are touch-sensitive areas on the base of the lamp, so you just tap on the marked areas. I’m not a huge fan of the switches simply because looking for a switch in the dark is harder to do if you don’t remember exactly where it is. The lamp has three hues available—a bright white, or with a yellow or blue tint—and you can also adjust the brightness level.
The base of the lamp also serves as a wireless phone charger for Qi Wireless compatible phones. You place the phone on the base, and then tap the lightning bolt icon (shown above) to start the charging. I appreciate that there is a way to turn the charging base on and off since not everyone will have a phone that can use wireless charging, but that’s also something that feels like it should be a switch that’s tucked away somewhere, because otherwise it’s easy to set your phone down and not realize why it isn’t charging right away.
In the photo above, you can also see most of the other controls: the “M” controls the light mode (hue), the up and down arrows control the brightness, and the clock controls the info panel along the front of the lamp. The power switch for the lamp is at the top right, though it’s partly obscured by the lamp arm in this photo.
In case you don’t have a wireless charging phone, there are also a few charger plugs available at the front of the base. Turn the dial to select from iPhone, Samsung, Google (Type C), and Micro USB plugs, and then plug in your phone. It’s a nifty feature, but if you’re using a large phone case you may have a little more difficulty plugging it in. This front section can also serve to prop up your phone horizontally, if you turn the dial so that there’s no plug sticking up.
Along the front of the lamp is an LCD panel that shows the date, time, and temperature, and includes an alarm clock. The panel lights up (with three brightness levels) when you tap the clock icon on the base. At the bottom of the arm, below the panel, there’s also a small plastic dome—this is a motion sensing light. There’s a hard switch on the back of the arm to turn it on and off, and when it’s on, the dome will light up for a few seconds when it senses motion, and then turn off again automatically. My daughter tried using it a bit, but it was too bright (and sensitive) for a night light. The motion-sensor light seems a little strange to me, and I’m not sure what the best use-case for that is.
The LumiCharge is on Indiegogo for about one more day and is already fully funded, with plans to ship in June (except for the EU and UK). If you pledge on Indiegogo, you’ll get the $99 price for the lamp, which has a planned retail price of $159. Check out the Indiegogo page for more information!
Disclosure: I received a sample of this lamp for review.
