Review: Dotti and Notti Are Fun iPhone-Controlled Smart Lights That Deliver Notifications

[MacRumors]

Dotti and Notti are small iPhone-controlled smart lights created by design company Witti. More fun than practical, the two lights connect to an iPhone over Bluetooth, allowing their colors to be changed and letting them light up when a notification is received.

Notti, the more inexpensive of the two at $60, is an angular light that somewhat resembles a candle. Dotti, priced at $80, is a square pixel light with 8x8 grid of LEDs that can be arranged into different pixellated shapes and colors.

I went hands-on with the Notti and Dotti and after a couple of weeks, I can say that they're both well-designed, fun to play with, and make nice desk or table decorations.

Notti

Notti is the more simple light of the two. Made of opaque white plastic, it's got a faceted, angular design that looks attractive, especially when lit. It's a nice mood light for a living room or bedroom, measuring in at 10cm x 7.5cm x 6cm. Notti has a built-in battery that will last for up to five hours when the light is turned on, and up to 720 hours in standby mode while waiting for a notification to come in.

When the Notti is first turned on via a small button on the front of the light, it's bright green, but with the accompanying Notti app, it can be changed to any color. The Notti pairs with an iPhone automatically once the app has been installed. Lights don't photograph quite as saturated in as they are in real life, so when looking at photos of Notti and Dotti, keep that in mind. The colors are actually deeper and more vivid.

With the app, you can control both color and brightness with a color wheel, resulting in a lot of different combinations. LEDs in some colored lights can't do certain shades like blue and green, but the Notti does well with these these colors.


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Article Link: Review: Dotti and Notti Are Fun iPhone-Controlled Smart Lights That Deliver Notifications

 

[DavidTheExpert]

Juli, if this is a sponsored endorsement it is common courtesy to inform your readers of that fact.

Having said that, it does seem like a cool little gadget. Wouldn't mind getting either of these for Christmas or something, but I wouldn't actively go out and buy one.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Juli, if this is a sponsored endorsement it is common courtesy to inform your readers of that fact.

They covered the pros and the cons - this doesn't read like an ad to me, but a third party review.

 

[2457282]

MR, comments like the one above from DavidTheExpert seems to always show up, every time you do a product review. Maybe it would be good to have a separate section just for reviews to make it clear.

On the second comment from DTE, I agree that it is cool little toy. Having Hue bulbs already, I will wait for the HomeKit integration.

 

[jclo]

Juli, if this is a sponsored endorsement it is common courtesy to inform your readers of that fact.

Having said that, it does seem like a cool little gadget. Wouldn't mind getting either of these for Christmas or something, but I wouldn't actively go out and buy one.

MR, comments like the one above from DavidTheExpert seems to always show up, every time you do a product review. Maybe it would be good to have a separate section just for reviews to make it clear.

On the second comment from DTE, I agree that it is cool little toy. Having Hue bulbs already, I will wait for the HomeKit integration.

For awhile I had been adding a line at the end of each review that specifically said we received no compensation, but I thought we might be beyond those types of comments after several months. Apparently not. I've added the disclaimer to this post and will do so going forward.

David, this is not a sponsored endorsement. Sounding like a broken record here, but we do not do paid or sponsored posts or reviews.

Edit: Also, in the future, please feel free to email us with your concerns about a post (tips@macrumors.com or juli@macrumors.com) or post in the Site and Forum Feedback section of the forums. This discussion belongs there.

 

[windywalks]

Juli, if this is a sponsored endorsement it is common courtesy to inform your readers of that fact.

You pointed that out expertly.

 

[sidewinder3000]

Dotti and Notti are small iPhone-controlled smart lights created by design company Witti. More fun than practical, the two lights connect to an iPhone over Bluetooth, allowing their colors to be changed and letting them light up when a notification is received.

Notti, the more inexpensive of the two at $60, is an angular light that somewhat resembles a candle. Dotti, priced at $80, is a square pixel light with 8x8 grid of LEDs that can be arranged into different pixellated shapes and colors.

I went hands-on with the Notti and Dotti and after a couple of weeks, I can say that they're both well-designed, fun to play with, and make nice desk or table decorations.

Notti

Notti is the more simple light of the two. Made of opaque white plastic, it's got a faceted, angular design that looks attractive, especially when lit. It's a nice mood light for a living room or bedroom, measuring in at 10cm x 7.5cm x 6cm. Notti has a built-in battery that will last for up to five hours when the light is turned on, and up to 720 hours in standby mode while waiting for a notification to come in.

When the Notti is first turned on via a small button on the front of the light, it's bright green, but with the accompanying Notti app, it can be changed to any color. The Notti pairs with an iPhone automatically once the app has been installed. Lights don't photograph quite as saturated in as they are in real life, so when looking at photos of Notti and Dotti, keep that in mind. The colors are actually deeper and more vivid.

With the app, you can control both color and brightness with a color wheel, resulting in a lot of different combinations. LEDs in some colored lights can't do certain shades like blue and green, but the Notti does well with these these colors.


Click here to read more...

Article Link: Review: Dotti and Notti Are Fun iPhone-Controlled Smart Lights That Deliver Notifications

Love your random reviews of sundry Apple-related gear. Keep up the good work, and ignore the knuckleheads who assume it's sponsored content.

 

[bennibeef]

I would buy it if it can light up if I get a specific Email, or light up if its a email in a selected inbox. Not just every email

But I guess it cannot. Light up for every email is too much, if it would let me know I actually have a email in the right mailbox thats worth it it would be cool

 

[Tastannin]

Would be cool if those lights had IFTTT integration. I have the Thingm blink(1) which does many of the same things and is IFTTT enabled.

 

[OrangeJacketGuy]

this looks heavily derivative of a few different Adafruit projects

 

[jclo]

Would be cool if those lights had IFTTT integration. I have the Thingm blink(1) which does many of the same things and is IFTTT enabled.

They do both have IFTTT listed as a supported app in the Notification section, but I haven't explored what that actually does. There's no Notti/Dotti channel and the IFTTT channel seems to be of limited use, sending notifications and stuff when new channels are added. I'm not a regular IFTTT user though, so there may be something I'm missing.

 

[adrian.oconnor]

I made something very like this with my kids using an Arduino, a bunch of Neopixels and an opaque Kilner jar. They use it as a nightlight that they can change the brightness/color on. These look nice, but if you're into making stuff, I can definitely recommend the home-brew route...

 

[jmh600cbr]

considering what hue costs this is f*in awesome! will buy. thanks for reviewing

 

[attila]

$60 for a lamp. No way.

 

[jclo]

I made something very like this with my kids using an Arduino, a bunch of Neopixels and an opaque Kilner jar. They use it as a nightlight that they can change the brightness/color on. These look nice, but if you're into making stuff, I can definitely recommend the home-brew route...

That sounds awesome, I'd love to see pics. You should share a tutorial.