Critique of an Unusual Lamp
The Ott-Lite task lampis a narrow, rectangular lamp that folds in on itself. Its bulb is contained inthe collapsible upper half and enclosed by plastic on 5 sides. This way, whenthe lamp is off, the bulb is fully enclosed in plastic covering which makesthis lamp less vulnerable to breaking than non-metal lamps, and light can beshined in more specific directions.
Standing at about 10 inches while closed and measuring3.5x3.2 in. at the base, the task lamp is very compact and easy to transport.Despite being several years old, the unconventional shape of the lamp gives ita kind of futuristic feel, in a way. The old 5+ year bulb I had gave off a verywhite light, which might come off as too cold for some people, but itcontributed to the futuristic sense I had from the lamp. Now Ott-Lite’s newerbulbs do have a warmer yellow hue, so getting a new lamp/bulb would not pose aproblem. Another nice thing about newer models of this lamp are that they come witha handle at the top. My old lamp really has nowhere to hold on to, even thoughI have no trouble with grabbing it around the middle with one average sizedhand.
The lamp was designed to turn on when it is opened toanywhere between 45 and 180 degrees. An audible click can be heard when thelamp passes 45 degrees in either direction, but sometimes just lifting thecover doesn’t light it up. For some reason, if there are no other lights on inthe room, the task lamp will take nearly a minute to light up, but strangely, Ican use nearly any kind of electronic device like a cigarette lighter byturning it on in proximity to the bulb.
Standing at about 10 inches while closed and measuring3.5x3.2 in. at the base, the task lamp is very compact and easy to transport.Despite being several years old, the unconventional shape of the lamp gives ita kind of futuristic feel, in a way. The old 5+ year bulb I had gave off a verywhite light, which might come off as too cold for some people, but itcontributed to the futuristic sense I had from the lamp. Now Ott-Lite’s newerbulbs do have a warmer yellow hue, so getting a new lamp/bulb would not pose aproblem. Another nice thing about newer models of this lamp are that they come witha handle at the top. My old lamp really has nowhere to hold on to, even thoughI have no trouble with grabbing it around the middle with one average sizedhand.
The lamp was designed to turn on when it is opened toanywhere between 45 and 180 degrees. An audible click can be heard when thelamp passes 45 degrees in either direction, but sometimes just lifting thecover doesn’t light it up. For some reason, if there are no other lights on inthe room, the task lamp will take nearly a minute to light up, but strangely, Ican use nearly any kind of electronic device like a cigarette lighter byturning it on in proximity to the bulb.
Another problem withthis method of turning on the lamp is that, in order to allow the lamp to swingopen and closed freely, there is nothing to keep the lamp from closing rightafter being opened if it is not rotated enough. Even if something were added tokeep the lamp in place, it would probably produce a lot of resistance whilebeing shut off, or even require a catch to press before it can be pushed, whichsubverts the ease that the lamp can be turned on or off with.
The task lamp uses a special 13-watt bulb made up of twolong tubes roughly 5 inches long. The bulbs are plugged into a socket in thelamp, as opposed to twisting in traditional light bulbs, because round lightbulbs to not need any specific orientation, but the double tube bulb needs tolay flat. The bulbs used by Ott-Lite task lamps go for about 11-15 dollarseach, making them a bit expensive, but the upside is that I have had one ofthese lamps for over 5 years, and only had to change the bulb once veryrecently. Even then, the bulb had not yet burned out, even though there wasnoticeable blackening on the old bulb.
The task lamp uses a special 13-watt bulb made up of twolong tubes roughly 5 inches long. The bulbs are plugged into a socket in thelamp, as opposed to twisting in traditional light bulbs, because round lightbulbs to not need any specific orientation, but the double tube bulb needs tolay flat. The bulbs used by Ott-Lite task lamps go for about 11-15 dollarseach, making them a bit expensive, but the upside is that I have had one ofthese lamps for over 5 years, and only had to change the bulb once veryrecently. Even then, the bulb had not yet burned out, even though there wasnoticeable blackening on the old bulb.
Overall, I like this lamp so much that I preferred not toreplace it and brought it to college and summer camp with me. Besides itstrouble lighting up quickly in the middle of the night, it is perfect forkeeping in reach of bed to save me a trip from the light switches in the dark.
A few improvements can be made to the lamp, however, such as a transparent shield over the bulb, which gets hot. Even though the lamp is not too large for most people to grasp, there is no convenient place to actually hold onto the lamp, so a handle would be a nice addition. The upper part of the lamp also falls shut too often while being opened, so a catch to keep it from doing so would really help.
A few improvements can be made to the lamp, however, such as a transparent shield over the bulb, which gets hot. Even though the lamp is not too large for most people to grasp, there is no convenient place to actually hold onto the lamp, so a handle would be a nice addition. The upper part of the lamp also falls shut too often while being opened, so a catch to keep it from doing so would really help.
