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The Laserpod Lamp - Cooool

Author: Aaron Roach
Monday, April 2, 2007
It's not very often that the TranZfusion office receives an electronic device that goes beyond the normal conventions of a silvery-shaded disc. Hell, I can't even remember the last time I had a looksee at something that didn't have the words 'Mix', 'Compilation' or 'Nick Skitz Volume 4,000,000' associated with the promo sheet (I'd use 'Four Million', but I like to exaggerate with as much detail as possible).

When Laserpod Australia got in touch and asked if TranZfusion was keen to jump on the review bandwagon for their 'rave in a dome' device of the same name (minus the 'Australia' bit), we were more than happy to accommodate. I can imagine you just want to hear about the thing, so I'll get on with the review.

As is the natural progression for anything received in a big-ass box, my desk became the place to be for just about everyone in my division.

"Who made this-"
"What is it-"
"When did this come out-"
"Where are they made-"
"Why do you get all the cool stuff-"

If you're new to the world of Journalism, chances are 'The Five Ws' don't make much sense to you. Okay, okay, back to the review.

So, the idea behind the 'pod comprises the following:

- Laserpod uses three lasers and three blue-and-purple LEDs to generate effects, chosen so that the combination of their wavelengths work as a background to the red laser.
- The light is then projected through a crystal.

Even simpler, (and thanks to their website), this is the new lava lamp. The benefit of this futuristic design, however, is that you don't have to wait until you've fallen asleep to see the cool patterns of this LED-based design adorn the walls and just about everything in sight. Not that we knew that when we foolishly opened the package and assembled the contents without reading instructions. For what it's worth, don't bother using these at work - they do nothing but emit groans from people who expected more (myself included).

The real joy happened when I thought, "Hang on. This could probably work helluva lot better at home! IN THE DARK!"

After countless seconds putting everything back in the box, I headed home (obviously at the end of the day!) and whacked it back together. I say 'whack' for descriptive effect. TranZfusion and Laserpod Australia recommend you don't whack anything at all.

Once I'd closed the door to my room, turned off the light and, after some fiddling, turned it on, all I can say is, 'Whoa!' What started out as a bit of a laughable object quickly became a bit of a mesmerising experience.

There are two modes: one click and you're seeing red and purple mashed together and floating around the room; another click and your room gets saturated in some pretty cool red lasers that look as though they're creating waves on your ceiling. With these things, you can really get in a zone of figuring out what is going to be the best position in your room. I was not only centring the 'pod on my futon, but I was also blowing smoke through the lasers to see the patterns change on my roof.

These things are bloody cool.

The 'kit' purchase of the Laserpod also comes with two covers of different sizes that allow you to contain your lasers within a small space. It then looks like you can do that thing with your hand against the lamp (like, you know that big thing in the '80s that you touched and it emitted light around your hand- Yeah, that). You can't, though, but no love lost (and the '80s nostalgia fades just as fast as the lasers against the lamp cover).

These things will become huge at house parties (and the hippies will love the fact it can make pretty cool shit on their tents). That last part allows me to lead in to the fact that Laserpod can go mobile, as it takes AA batteries for all you mobile-laser-loving people.

I could talk loads more about these, but I won't. The good news is, you can figure it out for yourself.

Laserpod Australia and TranZfusion have five kits to give away. All you have to do is answer<
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