Does a flashlight app for a smart phone obsolete EDC?

[TheShadowGuy]

i deleted the app because the word is, there is a lot of spyware in it Got nothing to do with the light. The light is the cheese in the mousetrap.

beware of stuff they give out for free. check out all the things the app needs, all the permissions you are granting. delete it.

This is definitely an issue with all apps. You have to dig to find one with sensible permissions. For example, the flashlight app I use only had 1 permission: camera control, which is what the OS lumps the LED into.

@Poppy: Yeah, power banks are pretty good gifts. Some even have a little angry blue LED.

I can't say as phones really invalidated having a small light. A lot of uses I have daily it would be inconvenient to use the phone for, and other uses the phone isn't enough, such as changing a tire or looking up in a tree.
And this may just be my flashaholism talking, but it's more fun to examine the tint and beam pattern of a real flashlight.

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

I would guess most people use it to walk to the car etc etc etc. For those applications battery life is irrelevant IMHO. That said has anyone tested the runtimes?

Yes, of course. I was thinking about a need for prolonged use, say a power outage/emergency type situation. In a case such as those, one wouldn't want to drain their cellphone battery to the point where their phone would be inoperable.

Thank you, idleprocess for the information. I had no idea a cellphone would power its flash - light so long. Good to know.

~ Chance

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

This is definitely an issue with all apps. You have to dig to find one with sensible permissions. For example, the flashlight app I use only had 1 permission: camera control, which is what the OS lumps the LED into.

@Poppy: Yeah, power banks are pretty good gifts. Some even have a little angry blue LED.

I can't say as phones really invalidated having a small light. A lot of uses I have daily it would be inconvenient to use the phone for, and other uses the phone isn't enough, such as changing a tire or looking up in a tree.
And this may just be my flashaholism talking, but it's more fun to examine the tint and beam pattern of a real flashlight.

I'd much rather drop my $45 FourSevens EDC than my $*** cellphone.

~ Chance

 

[Mr Floppy]

I would guess most people use it to walk to the car etc etc etc.

Funny story, just a week or so ago, our new neighbours came back from an evening walk. We live down a long drive with overhanging trees and during these warmer my months, the orb spinners come out spinning their massive webs.

Well, when the neighbours moved in, I told them about this and told them to get a good light. They thought they could just use their phones. Well that one evening, there was an almighty shriek. Looking out the window, I could see a flailing light at the end of some fast moving arms and swearing like you wouldn't believe.

Funny as it was, the mrs gets caught out a bit with only her phone for light.

 

[bykfixer]

I would guess most people use it to walk to the car etc etc etc. For those applications battery life is irrelevant IMHO. That said has anyone tested the runtimes?

Extended use burns up the emitter with those flashlight apps

So it really comes down to emitter life with those.
The stock light app is usually ok though.

I've even used the light on my drill when all else fails. People scoff at repairmen who do that. But for close up work, in a dark corner of say, an air conditioner or furnace...it sure beats the heck out of nothing.
You're all folded up in some 140 degree attic and you've got a drill or a 250 lumen flashlight in your pocket? That's easy.

For low light needs, even a cell phone light can be too bright.

 

[Poppy]

Funny story, just a week or so ago, our new neighbours came back from an evening walk. We live down a long drive with overhanging trees and during these warmer my months, the orb spinners come out spinning their massive webs.

Well, when the neighbours moved in, I told them about this and told them to get a good light. They thought they could just use their phones. Well that one evening, there was an almighty shriek. Looking out the window, I could see a flailing light at the end of some fast moving arms and swearing like you wouldn't believe.

Funny as it was, the mrs gets caught out a bit with only her phone for light.

Yes, that is a funny image.

maybe next time they'll listen to ol' Mr Floppy, eh?

 

[Poppy]

Extended use burns up the emitter with those flashlight apps

So it really comes down to emitter life with those.
The stock light app is usually ok though.

I've even used the light on my drill when all else fails. People scoff at repairmen who do that. But for close up work, in a dark corner of say, an air conditioner or furnace...it sure beats the heck out of nothing.
You're all folded up in some 140 degree attic and you've got a drill or a 250 lumen flashlight in your pocket? That's easy.

For low light needs, even a cell phone light can be too bright.

Yes, those lights can be quite handy, and if the drill is already in your hand.... why not?

 

[LedTed]

You should have randomly called each volunteer.

 

[Leedrag]

I often use my DQG SPY on my key ring. It's quiet easier to screw the lamp than unlock my phone...
And for more power I have my S1 Baton

 

[bykfixer]

Yes, those lights can be quite handy, and if the drill is already in your hand.... why not?

Exactly.


Could've backed my way out of the corner, unfolded, reached in pocket or climb down from attic to go get a light that was probably too bright anyway...or use the drill to find the screw that just dropped and rolled just beyond sight....then grab it with my shirt pocket/collar mounted telescoping magnet.

But if I do climb out it's to go get this...
^^ telescopes to 18" and is about as bright as a phone light...
(See I came btt)

 

[TMedina]

Yesterday it did. One of the engineers at my work claimed that, "The flash on my (his) phone was the most important tool I've (he'd) ever used." But, it wasn't bright enough, "I mean it's super bright, but it's not bright enough." So he was looking for three volunteers to stand around his test fixture and provide additional light, with the flashlight apps from their phones, for the entire time he tested.

I was going to suggest to the engineer that other lighting was available, such as the portable battery powered custom RGB lighting fixture one of the co-ops in his group built for such occasions, but sometimes it's just best to avoid certain situations altogether.

This story alone justifies the entire thread.

 

[seery]

Does a flashlight app for a smart phone obsolete EDC?

Does a ringtone app make my Goldmund Epilogue Speakers obsolete?

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

Does a ringtone app make my Goldmund Epilogue Speakers obsolete?

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! :thumbsup:

~ Chance

 

[KeepingItLight]

Does a ringtone app make my Goldmund Epilogue Speakers obsolete?

For most people, yes!

In many cases, those are the same people who don't need a flashlight 'cause they "have an app for that."

I am one who still rues the fact that MP3 is "good enough" for most listeners. My problem is that CDs are not good enough. MP3 has a place for portable listening, but it is hardly high-fidelity.

 

[bykfixer]

^^ I still enjoy my bang & olefsun phonograph with a nice old Carver amp through Klipsch Hersey's...
But an mp3 player goes where I go...shure ear buds and all.

As in both have their place.

 

[Woods Walker]

Yes, of course. I was thinking about a need for prolonged use, say a power outage/emergency type situation. In a case such as those, one wouldn't want to drain their cellphone battery to the point where their phone would be inoperable.

Thank you, idleprocess for the information. I had no idea a cellphone would power its flash - light so long. Good to know.

~ Chance

The prepper in me uses whatever is on hand. My Iphone 4s and my Ipod 6 has a flashlight option that doesn't even need to open the main OS aka punch in my code. Just a flick of the finger and press of the screen. The pure flood is just like a ZL H50. I don't think the Iphone or Ipod puts out too much more than 5 or 10 lumens but not sure. However it's an LED with maybe a 1300-1400mAh or more battery. The runtime must be really long. I have an Anker power pack which is basically a 3200mAh 18650 battery inside small metal tube. With loss for conversion I get maybe over 1 full charge but not 2. I really don't see battery drain being the biggest issue against it. In fact I used my Iphone to illuminate the Fenix HL50 during a night run to change the battery. I got no shame and what works works. That said no way would I use it to replace an EDC or headlamp.

Iphone on the left, Ipod on the right. The Ipod is shining the LED. The Ipod has a more NW tint compared to the Iphone's slight green tint. I wonder if in the future people will be checking out the tint of their phones before purchase. LOL!

 

[keeperofdakeys]

It's not just about the app, you also need the right accessories.

 

[bykfixer]

The prepper in me uses whatever is on hand. My Iphone 4s and my Ipod 6 has a flashlight option that doesn't even need to open the main OS aka punch in my code. Just a flick of the finger and press of the screen. The pure flood is just like a ZL H50. I don't think the Iphone or Ipod puts out too much more than 5 or 10 lumens but not sure. However it's an LED with maybe a 1300-1400mAh or more battery. The runtime must be really long. I have an Anker power pack which is basically a 3200mAh 18650 battery inside small metal tube. With loss for conversion I get maybe over 1 full charge but not 2. I really don't see battery drain being the biggest issue against it. In fact I used my Iphone to illuminate the Fenix HL50 during a night run to change the battery. I got no shame and what works works. That said no way would I use it to replace an EDC or headlamp.

Iphone on the left, Ipod on the right. The Ipod is shining the LED. The Ipod has a more NW tint compared to the Iphone's slight green tint. I wonder if in the future people will be checking out the tint of their phones before purchase. LOL!

Sounds like a good thread WW.

Cel phone tint wars.....beam pix are fun.

I'm with you on the iphone quick light. Kinda cool.
As much as I don't dig on iphones I do like that quick access to the flashlight/calculator etc on my work issued iphone.

Eh, the geek in me also likes the bubble level feature built into the compass app.

 

[idleprocess]

Iphone on the left, Ipod on the right. The Ipod is shining the LED. The Ipod has a more NW tint compared to the Iphone's slight green tint. I wonder if in the future people will be checking out the tint of their phones before purchase. LOL!

One of the more recent iterations of the iphone had two flash LED's - one warm and one cool - so as to achieve optimal white balance under wide conditions. One suspects that users could also tune the color temperature of the flashlight to their liking.

 

[Woods Walker]

I'm with you on the iphone quick light. Kinda cool.

I think one of the strange internet things is the all or nothing logic of this vs that. Something simply can't be what it is. The iphone 4s takes better pics and video than my old cheap android. The ipod 6 which for the most part has the same guts and camera minus phone and slightly underclocked (but same) processor as the new iphone 6 takes even better video and pics however it's camera will never replace my Nikon 5300 DSLR or Coolpix or Sony action cams. That said if I need to take a video or pic of something on the fly it beats drawing a picture by a long shot. In fact like the light it's useful to have.