Sungale Desk Lamp With Photo Frame Review

The Sungale CD358LD Desk Lamp is a super energy efficient LED Desk Lamp sporting an ultra thin 3.5 Inch LCD Screen that not only displays and stores hundreds of photos of friends and family back home but it also doubles as a video and audio player with built in speakers, calendar, analogue clock and alarm functions with user friendly navigation buttons and shortcut keys to access content.

With internal memory storage of 512 MB with optional SD, MMC, and MS memory card support the Sungale CD358LD Desk Lamp can store up to 2 GB of JPEG, AVI and MP3 files so watching movies, video clips and listening to music while studying is easy and convenient.

Sungale CD358LD Desk Lamp Features:
-3.5 inch ultra thin digital LCD screen (4:3 aspect ratio)
-Hi Resolution 320×240 pixels
-Photo Viewer/Audio Player/ Video Player
-Digital Calendar, Analogue Clock and Alarm Function
-Built in Speakers
-512 MB of internal storage and up to 2GB of additional storage via memory card support
-Bright, soft light with 18 Mini LEDs
-LED lifespan of at least 30,000 operating hours
-Low Heat, Flicker Free Illumination
-Super Energy Efficient 5W consumption
-Flexible gooseneck for any angle adjustments
-Adjustable light intensity and volume control
-It also comes in 5 different colors.

Often, combination gadgets bring together two unrelated functions into one mildly successful product.  These items may do one of their functions well but rarely combine two nicely executed functions.  The Sungale CD358LD Desk Lamp combines a digital photo/video viewer with a desk lamp.  My initial thoughts were that either the lamp or the photo frame would be sub-par.  I was pleasantly surprised.

THE LAMP

My desk has had the same touch lamp since the early 90s during one of my first years of college.  The lamp finally needed to be replaced recently, so I definitely hoped for a good lamp with the Sungale.  I do not use a lamp to light my entire office, but simply for working at my computer desk.  The old lamp drove me crazy because the light shined in my eyes and was quite annoying.  The Sungale uses 18 Mini LEDs and includes an adjustable gooseneck.  The light is soft, yet bright.  By using the gooseneck, I was able to adjust so the light was across my work area on my desk without irritating my eyes.  The slim design of the lamp is nice as it extends over the work area and stays below my view of the computer monitor.  The light is adjustable via a nob on the lamp base which is also a nice touch.

If you are in the market for a desk lamp and do not need the lamp to light the entire room, the Sungale CD358LD is a great option.  Light your work area without intruding vision of a monitor or television with bright LED light.  The lamp passes my test.

THE LCD MEDIA VIEWER

Ok, the lamp is a nice product.  Now, does the LCD screen put the Sungale into the usual combo list of partially failed gadgets?  Lets take a look.

The very thin LCD screen is contained in the base of the lamp unit along with all of the controls.  The screen rests in the base and flips up when being used.  This keeps the lamp compact and sleek when not using the frame and adjustable while viewing files.  All of this is nice, but the biggest test is the screen itself.  When I started up the frame I was totally blown away at how bright and crisp the images were.  To make sure it was not a trade trick, I quickly inserted an SD card from another digital frame.  My personal images were just as colorful and crisp!  The frame portion of the lamp looks fantastic.  The 3.5 inch screen, while small, is beautiful.  I was pleasantly surprised at the picture quality.  Load photos on the on board memory or view from up to a 2GB SD card.  The photos load quickly and are viewed as a slide show.  The design of the lamp also keeps the light from affecting the screen so it is usable with the light turned on.

Not only are photos displayed beautifully, but videos are also playable.  The lamp base includes a small speaker.  The speaker does not provide stereo sound, but is loud enough to provide a nice viewing experience.  A scene from Kill Bill is included and blew me away.  Music can also be played on the unit.  I will not use the lamp as a music player since I have much higher quality sound options at my desk.  The sound is about the same or better than a small radio or computer speakers.

So lets review the Sungale CD358LD features.  Very usable LED lamp with adjustable knob, Check.  Flip up, bright, crisp LCD viewing screen, Check.  Stunning video capability with nice sound, Check.

The Sungale CD358LD has an MSRP of $89.99, and it is available from Amazon.

What I Like:  Nice digital frame and soft, yet bright lamp.  Well executed combination product.

What Needs Improvement:  Not able to connect to my Mac.  Not a problem since I was using SD cards, but might be nice for videos or large numbers of photos.