This lightbulb will also charge your gear

Gizmo Review

Like Sheldon on the TV Show The Big Bang Theory, I have claimed one end of our sofa as my personal domain. It has a direct view of the TV screen, a place store my reading materials and put my feet up and a lamp that’s easy to reach.

And now it’s also a good spot to charge my mobile phone and tablet.

In Las Vegas for CES, I met the folks from Mega Tiny Corp. at the Showstoppers event. They are the people who had the bright idea of adding a USB charging plug to an LED lightbulb and they gave me one of their PowerBulb’s to take home and check out.

The PowerBulb is longer, wider and heavier than a typical LCD bulb. It’s lower base contains two USB ports, each of which provides enough charging power to refuel  a mobile phone or a full-sized tablet.

The light that sits on the top of the bulb puts out 608 lumens. Although the PowerBulb fits in any standard socket, it doesn’t work with a dimmer and it was too heavy and too long for the adjustable lamp that sits next to my bed.

In my house, the table lamp with a vertical socket and a shade proved to be the best location. Both the light and the chargers turned on or off using the room’s wall switch or the switch in the lamp’s socket.

The PowerBulb also has its own switch built into the base. I could use it to turn off the light without turning off the charger.

With the PowerBulb installed, I don’t have to rummage around on the floor to find the wall outlet and I have foiled our cat who has decided that think charging cables are great to chew on. Others have used the bulb in guest rooms or rental homes and packed them along on their travels. Hotel rooms never seem to have enough accessible outlets for chargers.

The PowerBulb costs $39.99 and can be ordered at the Mega Tiny website or at Amazon.

z

Browse More Articles

Tweet

Written by Ric Manning

Follow me on Twitter @ricmanning and read my technology columns at My Well Being.