TaoTronics LED Lamp Review ( Model TT-DL04 )

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product for free so that I could provide product feedback to the company and post a product review. I was not required to write a positive review and I do not rate products higher than they should have been. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's requirements.

I recently received a TaoTronics LED lamp (model TT-DL04) for a product review.  I did my normal first steps of opening up the package, and giving the user manual a quick skim.  The manual not only had great directions, but also listed some useful bits of information -- next time I will read it fully the first time and not skim it.

Lamp parts after they are unpacked.  Note the metal loop ( carabiner ) on top of the instruction manual

Once I assembled the lamp, I plugged it in.  It gave a quick flash, then went off and the power button didn't seem to work.  Here is where "Read the manual" kicks in.  The manual clearly states that it will turn on for 1 second then off again when you first connect it, and it also states that a long press is needed to turn the lamp on/off.  RTFM -- Read The (F_insert your choice of word here_) Manual.

After the lamp turned on as expected, my next test was the USB port.  The directions clearly state it is rated for 0.5A, so I connected my Moto X phone (which I know can pull more than 0.5A and my DROK USB tester (covered in another blog post).  Here is what I was able to measure:

- With the lamp head connected, I was pulling about 0.5A
- Without the lamp head connected, I was pulling about 0.8A

Lamp with DROK tester showing 0.49A output

Consider the lamp head has a battery inside it, even if it is turned off the battery would be charging so it makes sense to see a different.  As a side note, the A/C adapter is rated at 1.2A.

This was just a quick test, bottom line charging a phone shouldn't be a problem but a larger tablet may take longer than using the adapter that actually comes with the tablet.

Here are the main points I noticed about this product:

Ease of use: As long as you read the instructions, assembly and use of this device is very easy.

Design: The lamp has a very simple design, but still looks nice.  The addition of the USB port is a nice touch, often near your desk you may only have one or two available wall plugs for power so being able to use one for your lamp and a device like a smartphone is useful feature.

Detachable lamp: I am not the type of person that goes camping, but for other situations (working on a car, emergencies or just moving around at night) I could see this being very useful.  The little metal loop they provide fits in the plastic opening at the top of the "lamp head".  Using the loop, you can hang the lamp from a book bag or other places.

For size comparison, lamp parts next to Nexus 7 tablet

Based on the design and features, I consider this a "kid friendly" lamp.  You don't have to worry about a glass bulb that breaks, and if you want (once the internal battery is fully charged) you can set the lamp up for a younger child and not worry about them messing with the power adapter/cable.  As a test, I left the lamp on full intensity for an hour and it didn't get hot to the touch.  For kids that like to build forts or even go outside at night, the lamp is a great way to act like they are camping.

Bottom Line: If you are looking for a versatile LED lamp, this is a great option.  The built-in USB port is a great addition (and doesn't cause issues if you don't use it) and the fact you can detach the lamp is pretty neat.  Normally you might think a lamp is a lamp, but make it a LED lamp with a USB port and detachable lamp it becomes a lamp that a wide range of people could find useful.