If you have a Kindle, this is for you.
I bought my fiancee a Kindle for Christmas last year, and she really loves that.<br />However, she finally mentioned to me how nice it would be to have a reading light to allow her to read in bed or otherwise in low light.<br />I went about scouring the Net for reviews that indicated which of the scores of reading lights out there worked best for the Kindle.<br />It didn't take very long to see multiple well written and glowing reviews for this interesting Verilux light that uses a cold cathode tube for illumination.<br />This is different technology from conventional incandescent, LED, or even fluorescent lights, even though the nature of the lighting element on this Verilux is most similar (at least in terms of appearance) to fluorescents.<br />However, there IS a difference, that being that this uses a highly efficient low energy version of the same basic technology as that used in conventional televisions.<br />The result is a tiny tube about the thickness of a pencil lead extending the full 3" across the reflector head that evenly distributes a pleasingly white light for its full length.<br />The light level is bright, but not so bright that it becomes unpleasant, and has two brightness selections.<br />It has a very good integral clip that permits it to clip to the top of the Kindle, allowing the illumination to wash the full length of the screen, all the way down to the bottom.<br />I also like that its slide switch has the "Off" position at one end and both of the brightness selections at the other, instead of (poor design if you see it) having the "Off" between the brightness selections.<br />Having handled this light, I find myself puzzled at those who mention questioning its durability.<br />I find it durable without being heavy, and I don't intend to use this to drive nails anytime soon.<br />Another nice thing about this light is that it uses two ordinary AAA batteries, making it easy to find a fresh set to keep the light going if you run out of power.<br />A very good idea that Verilux had when they designed this was to allow it to uses rechargeable Ni-MH batteries, charged with the included USB cable.<br />You can even run the light with no batteries at all, using the USB alone for power, making for a handy way to read while sitting at your computer.<br />I can make one suggestion to anyone who wants to use this with rechargeable Ni-MH batteries, which is to strongly recommend batteries labeled "Pre-Charged," as those batteries hold a charge while not being used considerably longer than those not so labeled.<br />The pre-charged variety hold a charge for a couple of months, quite unlike the others, which self-discharge (run down while not in use) at a rate of approximately 10% per day.<br />My fiancee is quite happy with this outstanding reading light, and I will recommend it to anyone else I know in need of a reading light, be it a Kindle user or an old school cardboard and paper reader.
Rating: 5 stars