Print 29 comment(s) - last by euclidean.. on Oct 31 at 1:38 PM

Starter kit with three bulbs is $199

Philips has announced what may well be the most advanced LED light bulb ever. The new bulb is called the Philips hue and claims to be the world's smartest web-enabled LED home lighting system. The hallmark of the bulb is that it can be controlled using an application that runs on Apple gadgets such as the iPhone.

The wireless connectivity between the iPhone app and the light bulbs allows the user to create and personalize the color of light within each room of the home. The hue will be available exclusively in Apple stores starting on October 30. A starter kit will be available that includes three bulbs that screw into existing lamps or light sockets.

The starter kit also includes a required network bridge that plugs into the Wi-Fi router inside the home. Once the bulbs are installed and the adapter is connected to your Wi-Fi router, the bulbs are ready to be controlled. Philips says that the hue system can be set up in only a few minutes and that the system is designed to be upgradable to allow future expansion.

The bulbs can be tuned to create various shades of white light and can also create any color light you want. The system also allows the user to create light scenes for each room or specific times of the day that can be recalled in an instant. You can also use pictures that you've taken with your phone as a color palette to create lighting that is shown in the photo.

The system also supports the creation of timers to manage settings automatically and lights can be controlled remotely when not at home for security. The system also has a timer that allows you to wake to light rather than a noisy alarm clock. The app also has four preset LightRecipes that Philips says its researchers found to have beneficial effects on the body.


The three-bulb starter kit will cost $199 and individual bulbs will cost $59 each.

Source: Philips

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RE: why no android?
By Tony Swash on 10/29/2012 1:54:51 PM , Rating: 1
i really get annoyed with this corporate lead anti android discrimination.

fragmentation is a reasonable excuse when making something that takes a lot of resources (i.e. tailoring performance of games for example to lots of different hardware) but this kind of app is just sending out a simple signal to a bulb over a network.

Note that it's available exclusively in the Apple Retail Store. Presumably an exclusivity deal was done between Apple and Philips. Be interesting if there there are more such deals.

