KENSINGTON FLYLIGHT 2.0

Everybody has seen that guy on the plane working on his laptop in the middle of the night when everyone is trying to sleep or watch a movie, but his overhead light is on so he can see the keyboard.  That guy should have purchased a Kensington FlyLight 2.0.  It plugs into the USB port, features eight superbright LEDs, a long gooseneck, and a switch to adjust brightness.

The top switch selects OFF, 4 LEDs, or 8 LEDs.

Here are those eight LEDs. 

How bright is the FlyLight 2.0?  Well, we compared it to the old-skool single white LED gooseneck model, which also plugs into the USB port.  The first couple of photos show the effect of that one solitary white LED on a black laptop.  The light is on the right side, with its half-circle edge showing in the photo.  It is aimed at the middle of the keyboard, so you see a bright area centered around the H and J keys. 

Next, we plug in the FlyLight 2.0, and fire up all 8 LEDs.  The difference is like night and day, LOL!

Here, we have the FlyLight 2.0 on the left side, and the single-LED light on the right, pointed at the right CTRL key.  Note the difference in brightness.  The FlyLight 2.0 is set to 4 LEDs on the switch:

Next, we have the FlyLight 2.0 on the left side again but with the switch set to 8 LEDs.  The difference between 4 and 8 LEDs is minimal.  Kensington should have considered a 2 LED setting instead of 4, mainly because the increase in light is logarithmic, not linear, similar to how a doubling in audio wattage is just a 3dB increase in actual SPL. 

Overall, the FlyLight 2.0 is a product which fills a need, and does it well.  I would like FlyLight 3.0 to have a more variable brightness, and a low-profile using SMT LEDs.  Also, a right-angle USB connector would save some tray table space as well.  Here is our final score: