 Now some people might say the Lumio is a novelty item, but to those people I would say this. Look at the root of the word novelty. It's novel, which to me says you're just being closed-minded because it's in the shape of a book. That is to say, judging a book by its cover. That was a joke. But this video is actually very serious. This is an unusual product for us, but I got a special request to do a video about it, and I was intrigued, so I figured, what the heck, let's try something a little different. The Jazz Mini is a beautiful and compact aluminum stand for your smartphone that even holds tablets up to 8 inches. Click now to learn more. In our journey to determine what exactly Lumio is, we'll start with their website. HelloLumio.com seems to suggest that in fact, Lumio is something much more than just a lamp, with words like simplicity, possibility, and beauty. Well, I don't know anything about that stuff, but what I do know is that Lumio is an LED lamp in the shape of a book. It features an environmentally conscious construction that is recyclable, although it doesn't allow the integrated battery, rated at about 8 hours, to be replaced, and you can choose from three different finishes, cherry, maple, or walnut. Also, the pages are made of water-resistant Tyvek. The way it works is, and I have to admit, it's actually about as captivating as most of the pictures in their gallery suggest. You simply open up what looks like a fairly ordinary hardcover book, and an internal switch automagically turns the lamp on and reveals a surprisingly powerful light source. Brightness control is strictly analog, that is to say you control it by opening up the book more or less. The spine is made of wood, like the rest of the cover, which gives it strength and mounting flexibility, so you can open it up on a flat surface, prop it up like a book, open it up fully, and pin it there with the neodymium magnets embedded in the cover and the included magnetic widget, or put the included leather strap on the widget and hang it for a completely different effect. There are some other creative ideas that were included with the Kickstarter launch video, such as sticking it to a metal surface, such as a shelf when you're trying to get something from inside a closet, but honestly, unless I was planning for a place to put my Lumio, like if I were to run out and specifically buy a metal shelf or a small table to put next to my reading chair that has a metal surface, I just didn't find many places that I could stick it that would make a ton of sense. I mean, the fridge perhaps? If the light included with my fridge was already broken perhaps? And therein lies the problem. A big part of the pitch for Lumio is convenience. Pull it out when you can't find something in the dark. Pull it out when you need to read a book under a kitchen cabinet instead of three feet to the right where the lighting appears to be perfectly adequate. Or, and this one really made my eyes just about roll out of my skull onto the floor, pull it out in an emergency situation. What defines a convenience solution in my eyes is something that's easier and or faster than the other way to achieve an objective, and given the popularity of smartphones with integrated flashes, you're more likely to have one of those handy than a Lumio in any of the above scenarios. So in short, I think those things are Lumio trying to be something it's not. It's not really any more convenient than a flashlight, and if those were better than other solutions, I'm sure we'd light our houses with them and carry them around too, but we don't. And besides, for $160, I can get a pretty cool flashlight and a book to like point it at instead. If I'm looking at this from a purely pragmatic perspective. So we need to detach from practicality a little bit to correctly evaluate what Lumio isn't and what it is. What it isn't is something I'm going to start carrying around with me all the time. It's just not useful often enough to justify the extra pound of weight and the stress of, you know, worrying about accidentally damaging its pages with the other junk in my bag. So it falls into the same category as tablets for me. Neato when I'm at home and it's nearby, but really too bulky to make part of my everyday life. What it also isn't is a light fixture. Its 500 lumen rating puts it in the neighborhood of a 40 watt bulb, which is an impressive feat for something so slim and battery powered. And honestly, it works well and looks awesome to the point where I'm sure folks would consider putting, you know, metal plates on a wall to accommodate it. But the issue is that the design doesn't allow it to hook up to your house wiring in any way that would be practical. And I'm not going to build permanent fixtures in my house around a light that needs to be charged somewhere else every time before it can be relocated and then used. What Lumio is to me though, is a really cool fashion statement that has the added benefit of actually coming in handy from time to time. I mean, say what you will about how expensive it is. Lighting products are expensive in general, so it's not totally out to lunch there. But if you pull one of these out and put it on the table for a romantic dinner or bring it out to impress some friends when you sit down to drink some wine and play a game of Settlers of Catan or something, it's a fantastic conversation starter. And I've seen people spend a lot more than $160 on stuff that's legitimately useless. And with Lumio, it was kind of cool to use my latest gadget to play superhero when my wife was cross-stitching in bed and needed a bit of extra light. I stood up, walked over to the bed, and whipped it out for her. The Lumio, that is. And she was like, oh cool, that's perfect, and propped it up on the headboard so she could see what she was doing. Not exactly earth-shattering, and not the kind of thing that I typically spend that kind of money on, but certainly better than useless. Thanks for watching, guys. The link for where to buy this product is in the video description below the like, dislike, and share buttons, which you should use accordingly. Also in the video description is a support link that we'd love for you to use. If you appreciate what we do, you can get a t-shirt, give us a monthly contribution, or change your browser bookmarks to sites that give us an affiliate kickback when you buy stuff. It helps us out a lot. I'd also love to hear your comments on where you would use the Lumio, or if you would use it at all. Please feel free to post those. And thanks again for watching. And as always, guys, don't forget to subscribe to Linus Tech Tips for more unboxings, reviews, and other computer videos.