****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
While I could simply use my phone's LED flash as a flashlight, the reality is such LEDs are meant to be used as a camera flash strobe. There is no room to dissipate the heat generated by the LED, so when it's left on for an extended time period, the light itself would be shut off to prevent overheating. As the primary purpose of a flashlight is a light source, having it shut off - while still having ample power available - is not a desirable "feature". These LED "sticks", coupled with a USB OTG adapter, allow me to use my phone as a flashlight - without the overheating.As the instructions are a bit unclear, this is how the sticks work:- Insert the stick into the USB port. Note, it has contacts on both sides of the stick, so you can have the LEDs shine away from you.- The light does not turn on when you insert the stick, or re-insert after a removal. To turn it on, do a LONG TAP on the reverse side of the LEDs.- After it's turned on, a LONG TAP adjusts the light intensity.- A SHORT TAP turns the LEDs off - to turn it back on, do a LONG TAP.- The light intensity is kept in memory as long as the stick itself stays in the USB port. If the power is removed from the port at any time (either from physically removing the stick or power loss), the intensity setting is lost and it defaults to the brightest setting.- The lowest setting produces a very small amount of light and is safe to stare at with your eyes. At all other settings, the light intensity should be treated no differently than conventional LED flashlights - do not stare directly at the light.The power consumption of the stick depends on the light intensity. Using a PortaPow USB Power Monitor, the lowest setting registered less than 10mA of current (my monitor can detect up to two decimal places only), while the brightest setting is about 250mA. As it's well below the standard USB power specification of 500mA, these sticks can be used in almost any USB port - just remember that it doesn't turn on right away.Compared to the 3 LED sticks (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LUTGWBG/), which I also have:- the 6 LED sticks are dimmable anywhere between 50mW and 1250mW, while the 3 LED sticks always shine at their default 500mW setting- the 6 LED sticks need to be turned on at first with a long tap, while the 3 LED sticks turn on as soon as they're inserted into the USB port- the 3 LED sticks are shorter by a full USB port depthThe one disadvantage these sticks have vs conventional flashlights is lack of focus. The light projected is omni-directional, so a DIY reflector is required to make it shine in one direction.Pairing one of these 6 LED sticks with a lipstick-style external battery pack creates a rechargeable (and dimmable!) USB flashlight. As such, it's better than the LED flashlights built into many battery packs these days, because these are user-dimmable. Likewise, pairing this with a USB OTG adapter creates a flashlight that is powered by an Android phone, but without the overheating issues or privacy concerns associated with most flashlight apps.Highly recommended.
