Pat PilcherSummary
Hue Go Portable Table Lamp
$279
PAT PILCHER loves a bit of lighting ambience in his life and the latest Hue product from Philips proves perfect to add attractive ambience in an astonishing range of colour combos.
We might not have lunar bases, flying cars and all that other gadgety goodness promised in so many glitzy sci-fi movies, but we do have smart lightbulbs. That might not sound like a great trade-off, and while a flying car does lend a certain amount of excitement to grocery shopping, I couldn’t go back to dumb-arsed non-smart lightbulbs – ever.
Being able to change the ambience of any room simply by firing up the Hue app (or asking Alexa) feels magic-like. With 16 million possible colours, an unlimited level of dimming/brightening, the sheer usefulness that Hue brings to my home cannot be overstated. Philips (who own the Hue brand) has been seeking ways of taking Hue beyond smart light bulbs to other smart lighting gizmos and the Hue Go portable table lamp is a pretty nifty example of this.
Where earlier attempts by Hue to launch lighting hardware had resulted in some pretty hoopy futuristic lighting designs, the Hue Go Portable Lamp harks back to basics and drops all the avantgarde futuristic flashiness by adopting the look and feel of a traditional old-school desk or side table lamp. It sports a round base and a traditional-looking lampshade.
Philips wouldn’t be Philips without adding some particularly clever twists. To this end, the Hue Go Portable is as its name suggests, fully portable. This is thanks to a detachable charging base that’s similar to those used with electric kettles. Built-in batteries and LED lighting mean that you can remove the Hue Go Portable from its charging base and carry it about, which with power cuts could prove insanely useful. And it’s only 975g. With warm summer nights out by the BBQ on the way, the Hue Go Portable is also ideal for use outside given it has an IP54 dust and water protection rating.
Where Hue Bulbs are designed to illuminate an entire room, the Hue Go Portable is really designed to add ambience and lighting accents given its petite 35H x 14.2W x 14.2D cm size and maximum brightness level of 530 lumens.
Atop of the lamp shade is just one function button which is used to turn the lamp on/off and to move through each of the eight preset colour schemes Philips has baked in. The covered top of the lamp does however mean that all of its light shines downward with no light shining upwards.
Its built-in battery will run up to 48 hours (your mileage will vary depending on the hue/brightness you’ve set it to). At full brightness, I squeezed just shy of 6 hours, while the flickering Cosy Candle preset ran just over 48 hours. While there is no charging indicator, it is constantly charging when mated with its charging base.
While you can stick to using the lampshade button to cycle through preset hues, it also plays nice with the Hue smartphone app (Android/iOS). Getting set up was effortless too. It took longer to unbox than to get the Hue Go portable connected and working with the Hue app.
So, I named my review unit Hugo (geddit?). While he is now a firm family favourite at Cassa Pilch, he does have some limitations. If you’re after a full-on room lighting solution, you’re probably better off opting for Hue Bulbs, a bridge hub and the mobile app. Similarly, if you want a reading light, a Hue bulb and a traditional lamp will deliver more suitable light. That said, for adding an extra touch of indoor/outdoor ambience, the Hue Go Portable is a super nifty and, dare I say it, clever piece of kit.
