Only Apple would be able to convince blind people to buy over priced lighting equipment! I can see myself using a few of these when I have my own place if the price goes down a little; I quite like the idea of home automation & control anyway and this could prove very handy if I have guests round and I want to make sure that there are lights on waiting for them. Obviously you can usually tell this with your usual light switch, but I'm thinking it would be easier & more foolproof if you could do it from an iDevice. I wonder if the app will be able to tell you if one of the bulbs has gone?
On 10/30/12, Sieghard Weitzel <siegh...@live.ca> wrote: > Hello Listers, > > > > Just read this today on the CBC news website, another new gadget for us to > spend our money on so we can finally "see the light" *smile* > > > > Apple and Philips move into home lighting market > > > > CBC News > > Posted: Oct 29, 2012 3:31 PM ET > > > > European technology maker Philips will begin selling programmable home > lighting systems exclusively through Apple stores starting Tuesday. > > Hue is a series of light-emitting-diode bulbs controlled from a handheld > Apple device through a household Wi-Fi network. At the Apple end, users can > control > > the lights using a free app on their iPhone, iPod or iPad. > > > > Philips's lighting system Hue, controllable through iPhones and iPads, goes > on sale Tuesday in Apple stores. > > > > The bulbs offer a variable white light, mimic incandescent lights and will > produce more than 16 million colours. While LED lighting has been praised > for > > its extreme power-saving attributes, the harsh whiteness of the light has > taken longer for technology to control. > > > > "I was able to change the colours of the light bulbs in different rooms, > adjust the brightness level or turn the lights off and on with one touch > from > > my iPad," wrote Mashable reviewer Andrea Smith, who tested the system for > several days. > > > > As well, the system can memorize lighting combinations for people to reuse > in the future and can operate on a timed on-off basis. Lighting > combinations > > and programs can be shared through social media. > > > > "I pressed a button on the bridge which immediately identifies all three > lights," Smith wrote. > > > > "Using the app on my iPad, I was able to rename the lights, calling them > living room, family room and office. I had fun sliding the bar from left to > right, > > which changes the intensity of the bulb's colour; it was like having a > dimmer switch built into my mobile device." > > > > The system offers flexibility and control that was once limited to lighting > systems worth thousands of dollars in commercial applications. > > > > For all that, however, it isn't cheap. The introductory kit - three bulbs > and a ZigBee bridge that attaches to a Wi-Fi router - costs $199 in Canada. > Additional > > bulbs cost $59 each. As many as 50 bulbs can be operated on one system. > > > > > > Regards, > > Sieghard > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google > Group. > To search the VIPhone public archive, visit > http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. > To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en. > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group. To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
