Philips 'Hue' Receives Major Update With Geofencing, Visual Alerts, and More

[x-evil-x]

and still no update to actually have accurate colors? i bought these and returned them when i figured out the blue is really purple. they cant do some colors correctly. i have led lights behind my tv and those do real blue and other colors are accurate. But these bulbs couldnt match that. not very good colors at all.

 

[diazj3]

While I think it is cool their support (or more so lack of support) for android make it useless to me. other wise it would be really nice to use.

According to their website, "The app works on any devices running iOS 4.3 or later, or Android 2.3 or later."

cheers!

 

[PNutts]

Still waiting for a price drop. Not paying $200 for light bulbs.

If it helps, the electricity they save pays for them in a few years.

Enough of the gimmicky, useless technology crap.

Besides the fun factor, take a look at the available apps and also think "home automation". I work at home and a light outside my office door is integrated to my status in Lync. When I pick up the phone the light turns red and the kids know to not knock or bother me. My living room light comes on a half-hour before sunrise and turns off after sunrise so if a kid wakes up early they aren't scared to go into the dark room. I also turn off all the lights that were left on with one click when I go to bed.

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How long do these things last? I mean, regular bulbs could last lifetimes but companies decide to make them consumable. So then, when are these $200 bulbs "consumed"? 3 years? 4?

50,000 hours IIRC.

 

[Mr.Mo]

Question regarding Power

Question: If I have my lamps plugged in and these are "off" (but the lamp is still switched on), will they technically still draw power?

I ask because I tend to keep all of my electronics (even router) on surge protectors and switch them off when I head to work to save on vampire energy loss. It would be nice if I can keep my lamps as is and not have the settings reset every time I switch them on and off -- I believe they default to a "soft white" hue.

 

[PNutts]

and still no update to actually have accurate colors? i bought these and returned them when i figured out the blue is really purple. they cant do some colors correctly. i have led lights behind my tv and those do real blue and other colors are accurate. But these bulbs couldnt match that. not very good colors at all.

These bulbs are not RBG.

 

[canman4PM]

A lightbulb has one purpose - to light the area. Who needs lightsbulbs blinking around like a haunted house for every minor notification?

Haunted House!! Now there's an application!

 

[x-evil-x]

These bulbs are not RBG.

didnt know that. they should be for how much they cost.

 

[Madhatter243x]

We addressed this already

How long do these things last? I mean, regular bulbs could last lifetimes but companies decide to make them consumable. So then, when are these $200 bulbs "consumed"? 3 years? 4?

15,000 hours
10 years at 4hrs per day 365 days per year
15 years at 3hrs per day 365 days per year

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How many do you have?

As previously mentioned in my first post I have 6 - 3 that came with the kit and an additional 3 purchased after the fact. And again these 6 have the equivalent life span of 90 incandescent lamps used in the same 6 lighting sockets for 15,000 hours.

 

[alexandr]

I have never in my life heard this before. Why do you switch your home's power off?

you haven't lived! i don't switch off all of the power, but a light switch in my bedroom controls the surge to which my modem/router is plugged into. and honestly, with time capsules not lasting nearly as long as they should, i don't mind the fact that it's switched off while i'm not using it.

 

[T-R-S]

You don't have to buy expensive dimmers either.
They will pay for themselves many times over not just in electricity but in my studio they do not generate heat as well so they save on cooling. Plus very cheap home automation

 

[Madhatter243x]

pretty good

pretty good

pretty good


Sorry man... No, just no...

Glassed Silver:mac

...Again in 10 years you would have spent twice as much on regular incandescent lamps and electricity costs vs the money you put up front for the hue.

Yes, just yes!

 

[liavman]

iPhone - Personal
Lights - Shared

Hope Philips keeps this distinction in mind while adding features. For example, this geofencing feature makes sense when the iPhone wielder is the only one living in the house.

On the other hand, alerts for weather, sports team colors etc are shared experiences and so they make sense

 

[The Mercurian]

I suggested this the last time there was a story on these:

Killer app: Xbox/Playstation integration.

Imagine playing Halo4 and having the Hue system wirelessly talking to your Xbox and illuminating under its control to give the same colours as the laser fire for example.

Please Hue hackers of the net - rip this idea off and make it work.

 

[musicianm]

GeoFencing

Ok everyone, I have these too. 5 bulbs, and slowly buying more!

But I am curious how exactly the geofencing works?
Seems to me that if you are in wi-fi range, you can have the specified light/s come on?


I really wish there was a proximity function that would turn on/off when you walk into/out of the room...

 

[S.B.G]

I really wish there was a proximity function that would turn on/off when you walk into/out of the room...

They're possibly working on that.

Apple Acquires Indoor Mobile Location Positioning Firm WifiSLAM for $20 Million

 

[martial900]

Now I know

 

[utekineir]

If it helps, the electricity they save pays for them in a few years.

No it doesn't

Because anyone looking at one of these bulbs isn't using incandescent which is what any led bulb savings are calculated from in literature/ads, the market for this bulb is already using cfl bulbs or basic led bulbs.

Incandescent bulbs are roughly 6x (give or take) what an led bulb is, a cfl uses about 50% more than an equivalent led.

When you factor in the cost of a cfl vs the energy difference to led bulbs it still takes years to equal even a $10 bulb (current home depot price), let alone $60.

That said the entire house here is lit with various led bulbs and fixtures and its fantastic, but all $10 range items, and it was after remodeling when bulbs and fixtures were needed.

 

[Ralf The Dog]

The only legitimate use for these would be to turn your lights on when you are away from home so that potential thieves don't think your house is empty. However, there are timers that have done this for years already.

I guess if you lived in a very large home and had patio lights, pool lights, driveway lights and various other lighting systems it might be easier to have a centralized control. If you're well off enough to have such a place then you'll already have a centralized system built into a panel and controlled by a remote in your home.

Otherwise, I think I'd rather spend $5 a bulb and you know, just use the light switches in my house. I can see tech enthusiasts gushing over this but the general public isn't going to bite at $199.

In a word, "ludicrous".

This system is far better than any home automation system I have used. You can set up groups of lights. Tap one button, all the lights in your living room go to 1/4th brightness, with just a touch of red/yellow. Click another, and every light in your house, but the ones in your bedroom go off. Add a timer and the lights in your bedroom slowly turn on with a slight yellow tint 7:45am, only on weekdays.

I will say, when I first installed my lights, I drove down to the bottom of the hill, my house is on and turned my lights on and off, just for the fun of it. If you are using the wide network, not connecting directly to your house's network, you do have a bit of a delay.

To be honest, turning on and off lights when away to keep the house looked lived in is the least useful feature. I have been known to turn on the lights, when I am out and it gets dark, so my dog and cat don't sit in the dark.

I'd love to give these a try but at 600 lumens per bulb, they're just too dim to be worth my while. Hopefully in a year or two's time they'll have ~1100 lumen versions at half the cost. Then we'd be talking.

For me, 600 is a bit too bright. I usually keep my lights turned down to about 1/4th. That said, I do have better night vision than my dog and cat.

 

[FreeState]

Drive way

Were going to use these in our drive way. It's a Japanese style modern wood cover with floating round paper lamps. Inside each lamp will be one of these. I cant wait. Right now we have christmas lights inside each balled up. They look great, but the ability to change color etc will make it even cooler.

 

[Nikiaf]

This is a very exciting and unique product. While it may not be one of those dramatically life-altering products, there is a certain fun factor to it, and at least enough to get me to give it a try.

 

[mdelvecchio]

Enough of the gimmicky, useless technology crap.

it isnt gimmicky nor useless. if my non-techie girlfriend enjoys using them, then it worked.

This all sounds like a solution in search of a problem.

Who the heck wants their lighting to change to suboptimal colors?

automated home lighting control is an existing problem space. i was waiting for a simple solution like hue and jumped the day it was released. we love setting the color of our lamps to reds, oranges, and violets...so who are you to say theyre suboptimal?

I bought, but I ended up returning these. Not bright enough.

this is our only complaint. for non-mood-lighting (plain white), they dont get bright enough. this is a challenge for all LED bulbs... the SWITCH brand just came out w/ a 100w equivalent, but its $60+ and is not a smart-bulb like these.

 

[burne]

the energy difference to led bulbs it still takes years to equal even a $10 bulb

Did you do the math? A 60W bulb will eat through €215 in electricity in 10 years.

Replacing that €1 incandescent with a €60 LED which consumes €35 in electricity (total €95 in ten years) makes sense compared with 10 €1 bulbs and €215 in electricity (total €225 in ten years).

(Assuming local electricity-prices (€0.25 per kWh), LED doing 10.000 hours, incandescent 1000 hours, and LED 6 times as efficient as incandescent. Which is all very conservative.)

 

[MegamanX]

According to their website, "The app works on any devices running iOS 4.3 or later, or Android 2.3 or later."

cheers!

And yet at the same time the android app lags way behind iOS, is missing a lot of features and is poorly supported.

Hence my point of their lack of support. It is a very poorly supported app.

 

[utekineir]

Did you do the math? A 60W bulb will eat through €215 in electricity in 10 years.

Replacing that €1 incandescent with a €60 LED which consumes €35 in electricity (total €95 in ten years) makes sense compared with 10 €1 bulbs and €215 in electricity (total €225 in ten years).

(Assuming local electricity-prices (€0.25 per kWh), LED doing 10.000 hours, incandescent 1000 hours, and LED 6 times as efficient as incandescent. Which is all very conservative.)

Did you actually read my statement?

Comparing a $60 led lightbulb (or any led for that matter) to a 25 cent incandescent is marketing garbage because in the real world anybody considering a led bulb (let alone a $60 one) is allready using a cfl.

Go back, re read it and try not failing at comprehension.

Cheap cfl bulbs are like $1 each and get you most of the savings given by a led bulb, with the disadvantage of shorter lifespans, warm up times and sensitivity to cold weather.

I did the math many times over when deciding to use cfl or led in about 30 locations here. I went with cheap leds, but entirely for the secondary factors listed above instead of efficiency. Factoring the cost of the led bulbs vs cfl bulbs and comparing the power consumption over a given span of time is nowhere near as favorable as the marketing which compares to incandescent units.

 

[calderone]

Ok everyone, I have these too. 5 bulbs, and slowly buying more!

But I am curious how exactly the geofencing works?
Seems to me that if you are in wi-fi range, you can have the specified light/s come on?


I really wish there was a proximity function that would turn on/off when you walk into/out of the room...

You can set the app up to work through the web portal, so it should work over cellular as well.

I will be testing this today. The nice thing about using the portal is that you can have your recipes sync between devices.