$59.99 (Current Special Price from Satechi; regularly $69.99)

LED desk lamp with adjustable brightness, adjustable neck and USB charge port.

Several months ago I reviewed the Satechi Smart LED Desk Lamp, which still holds a place of distinction on my desk in my home office. This is a great choice for someone looking for a quality desk lamp. However, some people may balk at paying $100 for a desk lamp, no matter what its features. Also, the Smart LED lamp may not work in a tighter space, such as a dorm room.

With the new school year upon us, many students and parents are looking for those school essentials, including desk lamps. This seemed to be a perfect time to review another desk lamp from Satechi—the Flexible LED Desk Lamp. Compared to the Smart LED Desk Lamp, the Satechi Flexible LED Desk Lamp has a smaller footprint and price tag.

Out of the Box & Features

The Satechi Flexible LED Desk Lamp has a very “Mac” look to it, as it is slender and decked out in silver metal and plastic. Compared to the Smart LED Desk Lamp, I found the Flexible LED Desk Lamp to be a bit more flimsy, which is not surprising given that it is nearly 80% lighter (19 ounces versus 80 ounces).

Satechi Flexible LED Desk Lamp

 

For those who view “some assembly required” as the nastiest three words in the English language, do not despair: the Flexible LED Desk Lamp comes fully assembled. To get started, just plug the AC adapter into a wall outlet and insert the detachable plug into the back of the base. Next to this plug there is also a USB charging port (more on this later).

The lamp has a relatively small footprint—4.9 inches wide by 5.1 inches deep. While this is good for cramped desks, it also makes the lamp a bit wobbly. I found this especially surprising considering the Flexible LED lamp is lighter than the Smart LED lamp.

The “boom” of the lamps swivels at the base, while the flexible neck of the lamp allows you to position it in variety of ways. The neck is also stiff enough that it will hold the light in place once it is in your desired position.

The light “fixture” itself is a slender tube roughly 11.5 inches long. It contains 18 LED lights, which Satechi says will last for over 40,000 hours (up to 22 years with five hours of daily use). Satechi also says that the LED bulbs use 80% less energy than typical florescent bulbs. Lastly, the Flexible Desk Lamp has a lower relative environmental impact because the lights do not contain mercury or other environmentally harmful substances.

For me, the touch-sensitive control button was the most frustrating aspect of the desk lamp. Tapping it once turns the light on and tapping it again turns it off. Holding it down for five seconds starts the dimming process down through five levels (more on this in a bit). However, the button is extremely sensitive; even just wiping the base will turn the light on or off. Additionally, there is no tactile response to indicate where the button is. Ideally, the button would have a different texture to it. It would be even better if the button was illuminated so you could find it in the dark.

Lighting Modes

The lamp has five brightness levels. The lighting has a color temperature of 6,000: (+/- 500K) (color temperature is measured in degrees Kelvin, with higher numbers closely resembling daylight and lower numbers representing the warmer, more yellow color of incandescent bulbs). I found the light to be a bit on the cold side, which some people may find harsh compared to lower-temperature lights that have a more yellow tint to them.

Like the Smart LED lamp, the Flexible LED lamp is flicker-free. There is perhaps nothing more annoying, or hard on the eyes, than a flickering desk lamp.

USB Charger

As we mentioned earlier, on the back of the lamp’s base is a USB charging port for attaching various USB devices. Compared to the Smart LED lamp, Satechi has upped the power with the Flexible Desk Lamp—1.5 amps versus 0.7 amps. However, this is still not enough to fully power an iPad, which uses a 2.1 amp charger. Therefore, charging devices such as tablets may take longer than it otherwise would if you were using the device’s dedicated charger.

It is also worth mentioning that the light does not have to be on in order for the charger to work.

Overall

I was generally pleased with the Satechi Flexible LED Desk Lamp. Its small footprint makes it ideal for cramped desk space such as a dorm room or a bedside table. The flexible neck allows you to direct the light where you want it, and it will stay there. The five brightness settings are also useful depending on your surroundings. Lastly, as someone with a number of mobile devices, having yet another USB charging point is a huge plus. My only real complaint is with the overly sensitive control button.

Given my choice between the Satechi Smart LED and Flexible LED desk lamps, I would still go with the Smart LED Desk Lamp. I like having the different lighting modes and find its light to be “warmer” than that of the Flexible LED lamp.

However, for a no-frills desk lamp, and one with a more powerful USB charging port, the Satechi Flexible LED Desk Lamp is a good choice, especially for those headed off to college or for those in need of a simple bedside lamp. Given its functionality, the $70 price tag (lower from online retailers) seems reasonable.

Pros

• Small footprint, perfect for dorm rooms or bedside tables
• Flexible neck allows you to direct light almost anywhere
• USB charging port
• Five brightness settings

Cons

• 1.5A USB charger underpowered for many of today’s tablets
• Power button very sensitive, so easy to accidentally turn on or off
• Power button not illuminated, so difficult to find in the dark

Satechi Flexible LED Desk Lamp

$59.99 (Current special price from Satechi; regularly $69.99. Currently $59.99 from Amazon.com)