Ah, the poetic nature of a Shakespearean play is perhaps the most appropriate way to begin my review, because Moonside Lamp One is indeed an object of art to behold. In the two months that it has been by my bedside I have not stopped to admire the elegant ebb and flow of its coloured rays and wondered about the magical engineering within. By day, it looks like a modern lava lamp, captivating you with waves of aurora flowing around like a glowing potion being stirred about. When night falls, the Lamp One becomes a practical lighting tool to illuminate the room or act as an ambient lamp to create a soothing atmosphere.
Am I gushing? I'm gushing.
Read on if you're shopping around for a nice desk or bedside lamp that can offer you the following:
- Smart features
- Colour-changing functions
- Impressive motion of coloured lights
- Lighting that can react to sound
Okay let's start with the basics. Lamp One is a rather portable smart desk lamp that can glow in different colours. It measures 10.1cm (L) x 10.1cm (W) x 16.5cm (H), just the right size for any sort of set-up really. It looks great in a bedroom, on your gaming table, next to the TV or even in your study or home office. The rounded curves give it a sensual and organic look, and its frosted matte finish makes the lamp resemble a traditional Japanese paper lantern. There are no buttons on the surface to detract from the perfect-ness of the lamp, all the controls are through its downloadable app, which makes total sense when you realise you can just keep the lamp on all day (we have). The use of LED nodes inside means the lamp uses little electricity. However, do note that this lamp needs to be plugged into a power source in order to work. Unlike other smart devices, it doesn't come with a built-in battery.
Price-wise, it costs $144.83 (but wait, there's a discounted price now at $101.34!). The kit is pretty basic, with the device, wire and USB plug.
If you have been shopping around for a nice ambient lamp with colour-changing abilities, you'll know that the price is quite competitive with similar offerings on the market. One of its biggest competitors would probably be the Philips Hue, which costs about the same price (approximately $90-129). But personally we'd pick the Lamp One over the Hue anytime because it does what it's supposed to do, really really well. By that, we mean the seamless nature the lamp's coloured light gradually changes and flows in a natural and non-artificial manner.
The lamp is sleek and sophisticated looking, and something you'd be proud to display at home. It's an instant stunner and conversation starter for any guests to your house.
The interface of the Moonside app is rather straightforward, you tap on the notch beside the the lamp on the interface to turn it on. Note: The percentage figure below the word 'MOONSIDE' is NOT the amount of battery power remaining. It indicates the intensity of the light actually. We reiterate: this lamp needs to be wired in and plugged up in order to work. Wanna bring it to the beach, not a problem as long as you can hook it up to a battery pack though.
The bar allowing you to control the intensity of the light is useful. At full intensity the lamp is impressively bright enough to light up a whole bedroom, and we're talking task lighting bright. Of course, you can also dim the light down to a very soothing glow to help ease you into sleep by staring at the comforting lightplay.
There are 5 modes for the lighting, you can choose to select a specific situation (focus or relax, etc), set a specific colour using a colour wheel, select from one of the many themes available or even create your own theme by colouring in the pixels yourself. Lastly, you can also set the light to react to sounds so it will change colour according to the music it senses. This we didn't find particularly useful during our use as the sounds needed to be relatively loud in order to trigger a significant colour-change in the lamp.
These are just 3 of the 56 pre-set themes available in the app. We are impressed because of the variety of the designs, from a theme that resembles flickering flames to a gentle lava lamp-like swash, to a slow gradation and Ombre effect. There are also themes that have dominant greys or pale orange if you're looking for something less distracting or fanciful.
You can design your own theme by colouring in the pixels to create a pattern. It's fun experimenting to see what sorts of glow you can create and something your child will enjoy fiddling with.
So whether you're looking for a night light, a gaming desk light, a TV console accompaniment, a dining table centerpiece or a bedside lamp, the Moonside Lamp One ticks all those boxes. It's a definite 'Must Buy' from #CheckItOut with YoungLim.