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Lumio LED book-light bulldozes through Kickstarter target

Lumio LED book-light bulldozes through Kickstarter target
The Lumio is proving popular with Kickstarter backers
The Lumio is proving popular with Kickstarter backers
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The Lumio is proving popular with Kickstarter backers
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The Lumio is proving popular with Kickstarter backers
Lumio finishes
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Lumio finishes
Lumio as a table lamp
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Lumio as a table lamp
The Lumio turns on and off when opened and closed
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The Lumio turns on and off when opened and closed
Various uses of the Lumio
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Various uses of the Lumio
The lamp body is made from recyclable water-resistant Tyvek
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The lamp body is made from recyclable water-resistant Tyvek
Lumio is designed to be easily stowed away
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Lumio is designed to be easily stowed away
The Lumio's cover contains powerful magnets
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The Lumio's cover contains powerful magnets
At the time of writing, 7 days remain on the Lumio Kickstarter campaign
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At the time of writing, 7 days remain on the Lumio Kickstarter campaign
View gallery - 9 images

Good news for lovers of things that look like books but are not books: the Lumio LED lamp we wrote about in January has bulldozed through its US$60,000 Kickstarter target, nosing ahead of $450,000 with 7 days of the campaign remaining.

Writing on the Kickstarter page, designer Max Gunawan reveals that the concept originated not as a lamp, but as a modular home. Gunawan's folding design would allow the home to be transported in a small car. Lacking the funds to build working prototypes, he decided to scale down the idea.

It seems that most of the details we reported first time round still stand, though Gunawan states the design demonstrates "commitment to sustainability," chiefly by using FSC-certified wood for the cover. The key points that bear repeating are the use of waterproof recyclable Tyvek for the body, and the inclusion of Neodymium magnets in the cover for fixing the Lumio to magnetic surfaces.

We now know that the Lumio will measure 8.5 by 7 inches, being 1.25 inches thick (21.6 x 17.8 x 3.2 cm), and that the high-output LEDs have a warm white appearance (2,700 K).

Thanks to the campaign's success, Gunawan is able to pursue the stretch goals of a bundled USB charger and a leather strap for suspending the Lumio.

There's still plenty of time to snap one up if a Lumio takes your fancy: a pledge of $95 will do the trick. Commendably, Gunawan has taken the step of releasing Lumios in batches. The first, shipping in July, have all been snapped up, but there are plenty left of the second and third batches, which should be sent out in September and November.

The Kickstarter campaign video is below.

Source: Kickstarter

View gallery - 9 images
2 comments
2 comments
attoman
Lumio looks like an interesting lamp. It's actual output and light distribution may not match needs and its hard to tell without luminance information about the lamp,
Is it battery powered, and wall plugable? What is battery life?
A great many questions not answered here.
ljaques
The pictures they're taking are seemingly of a soft white or daylight bulb, not a warm white. (Warm whites have that horrid yellow color we grew up with. Ick!) Cute idea but way too expensive. I hope production costs bring it down to 20% or less of the initial pledge fee. Lumio, these are two things I hope you look at closely. You'd sell millions with various white shades and a lower cost. I buy LED bulbs from China for under $4 and have built 120v LED lamps for under $11, so I know it can be done. I used one with a motorcycle battery and the 4W LED lamp will run continuously for almost a week before I need to recharge it. Total cost was $27, using retail purchases. It's blindingly bright and can light up my neighbor's house numbers from 120+ feet away. Carry on!