A wireless rechargeable lamp is a pretty specific product offering; if you’re even considering it, chances are you have a pretty specific use in mind for it. You might imagine using it in an awkward part of your house, far from any power points, or even for outdoor use. The Quntis Cordless Table Lamp Rechargeable proves useful in some very specific settings, and is fairly impractical in others, so your happiness with the product overall is likely to be really reliant on how well your use case fits its capabilities.
First impressions
The first thing I realised on opening the Quntis lamp is that I had not paid much attention to the physical specs ahead of time. At 24.5 cm in height, it’s only slightly taller than a standard 330ml bottle of beer. For its small size, it has a bit of heft when you pick it up.
The matte black aluminium design is simplistic and almost stylish in a modern utilitarian way, except that unfortunately it has a big dorky power button covering most of the top, as well as a Quntis logo on the base. As my partner said, you don’t normally expect conspicuous logos on a lot of your home decor.
Set up
The instruction manual will tell you to use the supplied USB-C power cord to charge the lamp for at least 4 hours before using it wirelessly, to give the battery the best start to its life. Other than that the usage is really simple – tap the power button for on and off, double-tap to change colour, or hold it down to change brightness.
In Use
The Quntis lamp has 10 in-built low energy LED bulbs that provide two colour modes, warm and cool white (3000 and 4000 Kelvin, respectively). At 250 lumens, it is similar in brightness to one of the old 25 watt light bulbs, which is quite a bit dimmer than most lamps you will encounter in people’s homes. In fact, it’s so dim it really isn’t something you’ll find many purely functional uses for, like for a reading light or a camping lantern.
Being small, very portable, and quite dim, you’re more likely to find yourself using the Quntis lamp in scenarios where you might otherwise use candles; for example, to provide mood lighting on a dinner table, or as a bedside lamp.
The light the Quntis lamp throws is most attractive if it’s immediately bouncing off something low down like a wooden table. I found that when I placed it somewhere up high (e.g. on an overhead shelf), direct lighting from the lamp loses its energy and warmth within a metre or so.
Other features
I’ll be honest that for some reason I’d imagined I wouldn’t be able to use the Quntis lamp while it was charging. In actuality, the supplied 2 metre USB-C cord is fairly similar in length as you’ll tend to find on a standard lamp, so it’s quite straight-forward to have the lamp charging and still providing illumination somewhere useful.
It is also worth mentioning that with an IP44 water-proof rating, the Quntis lamp can safely be used outdoors in all kinds of contexts (just let it dry out fully before charging it again).
This lamp also has an adjustable brightness setting, but honestly the brightest setting is already very dim, so personally I never ended up using the dimmer settings.
Issues
If you’ve already used a smart bulb, you might be surprised by what this lamp doesn’t do. There’s no WiFi connectivity, only two colours, no programming, no automated scheduling, etc. Now we can all laugh at the nerdy tech reviewer for expecting too much from his lamp, but when the main use case for the product is to provide low level mood lighting, a broader set of colour options actually wouldn’t go astray.
Conclusion
I had originally hoped the Quntis lamp could provide general lighting in my lounge room, and I can now see that the light it casts is in no way sufficient for that kind of purpose. This product is most appropriate for mood lighting, and it’s funny how once you have that option you start finding ways you can use it. The flexibility of the wireless, water resistant Quntis lamp has actually resulted in it getting fairly regular usage around the house, and the massive power button on the top does make it really easy to use in the dark, so it would work well as a bedside lamp.
One key competitor the Quntis lamp has is actually just traditional candles. If you’re going for romantic low lightning, candles already do a pretty great job, and are honestly classier looking. But if convenience and rain/wind proof lighting are important for your needs, the Quntis lamp could be a good choice.
DO: Use this as a replacement for a candle, where dim lighting is the effect you’re after (e.g. targeted aesthetic lighting). Also good as a bedside lamp.
DON’T: Expect to use it for functional lighting where brightness matters (e.g. camping, reading, etc).
Thanks to Quntis for providing the product for this review. They are available for AUD$39.99 on Amazon. Until 11 November 2024 you can use the code HOIY8BSS for 5% off.
Specifications
Height: 24.5 cm
Length & Width: 10 cm
Material: Aluminium
Finish: Matte black or white
Type of Bulb: 10 in-built LEDs
Brightness: 250 Lumens
Wattage: 2.5 watts
Colour Temperature: 3000 (warm white) / 4000 (cool white) Kelvin
Item Weight: 630 g
Battery Life: 6-20 hours
Charging port: USB-C
