You may be limited in a few areas with the BlueBulb. (controlling more than 1 bulb at one time in that 25ft bluetooth range)
This product would go much better if it had home automation possibilities. (limiting the range of the bluetooth signal on the bulb - walking into the room, and it turning on, once the range depleted signal, 60 second auto shut off)
Philips Hue which I have is a pretty nice product. And the brightness compares. (600lumens) The one thing that Philips lacks is application development. They have not updated the app since the beginning of the year. They also do not have weekly timers, it is daily. With the philips product, you can be away - and turn your lights on when you are away. Which is a great security feature.
Still hoping to see an easier method for home automation!
I can't believe this review doesn't even mention the fact that this bulb will clearly only work in certain, particular, lighting fixtures. For any fixture where the bulb is visible or partially visible (and I would argue this is something like 60-70% of all lighting fixtures), this thing will mostly show as a giant black blob.
Great. Just what I wanted.
Check out Switch Led bulbs. To my eye they have a very elegant design.
How many years are these going to last, and how long is the warranty? I can hear a giant sucking sound of money with these if they don't last...
LED emitters typically last 50,000 hours. So depending on how much you use the bulb each day it could last for decades. LED bulbs are more like tiny appliances than throw away items.
Someone will eventually get this right. But probably not while LEDs remain so prohibitively expensive.
LEDs require rare earth metals in production, hence, until more becomes available, the price will stay high, although, considering the amount of LEDs seen in the marketplace today, I would not characterize the cost as prohibitive. LEDs do last a long time so the total cost of ownership is not that bad.
Too expensive, too dim, inadequate radiation pattern, poor device support (seriously... ipad1 has bluetooth, etc... there's no reason other than developer cluelessness to limit the app to only the latest devices. Also, there's like a bazillion Androids out there. Derp?)
Other than that, yeah, great.
Someone will eventually get this right. But probably not while LEDs remain so prohibitively expensive.
When you figure in power usage and lifespan, LEDs can easily cost 5 times less than Incandescents... and depending on the assumptions you make could cost as much as 10 times less. I'm waiting on LIFX. They claim 800 Lumens I think. Nice design. WiFi. No hub. Great looking app. You may be right about radiation pattern though. LED tends to be very focused... doesn't create much spill. But a textured reflector can help. We'll see. I'm going to wait till LIFX is out and see what the reviews are like.
How about telling us how bright the light actually is...my big gripe with LED bulbs is they are all pretty much 60W equivalents and 60W is just too dim for many applications around my house - I need 75W equivalents (or 100W) for reading and such.
this thing will mostly show as a giant black blob.
Yeah I know. I wonder why they didn't make the base with white plastic. The programmability is interesting however I can see some issues if not everyone in the home exclusively has an iPhone by their side. For example my housekeeper does not own an iPhone and she needs to turn lights on and off all the time.
How about telling us how bright the light actually is...my big gripe with LED bulbs is they are all pretty much 60W equivalents and 60W is just too dim for many applications around my house - I need 75W equivalents (or 100W) for reading and such.
I can't really see much use in my home either. Mostly I have recessed lighting everywhere and I think those use 100W and my reading chair and desk lamp are halogen. In the dining we have special chandelier bulbs as do the sconces both inside and outside of the house, so I don't know where this would be useful for me.
How about telling us how bright the light actually is...my big gripe with LED bulbs is they are all pretty much 60W equivalents and 60W is just too dim for many applications around my house - I need 75W equivalents (or 100W) for reading and such.
Use a Y socket adapter for $2 and gang 2 60watt-equivalent bulbs together. You'll have plenty of light then. Cree advertises 9 watts per bulb but measures 7-8 watts. 2 of these bulbs together are significantly brighter than a 23watt CFL.
In recessed lighting situations often found in kitchens, try a Philips 424895 (10.5watt) bulb, which directs much of its light downward, compensating well for not producing as much light as a 100 watt incandescent bulb.
Home Depot currently sells 6-packs of Cree warm white bulbs for $74.82 ($12.47 each) or individually for $12.97.
Great then we have rumors of Mac OS and iOS being delayed so the staff could help the lightbulb team.
Haha!! It's important considering there are many bulbs in every house in the world. Seriously, if Apple solved this they make billions on it and it'd make the world a much nicer place.
I'm using nine Philips Hue bulbs at home, and they're pretty rock-solid incredible. I don't use the color features much, once I tuned them to the kind of 'white' I prefer in each room, but the remote control, scriptability and gang-control make for a very solid automated system. Being able to turn on "upstairs" with one button (or a cron job) is lovely.
I can't imagine wanting Bluetooth. I'd have to be in the house to use it, and probably very close to the bulb in question. We already have regular light switches for that!
You joined the forum today!?
Waxing lyrical about a product on a review of another product in your first post. I have to assume you work for Philips. Relax, I won't be boycotting your products as they aren't good enough to consider thinking about in that way. And don't try responding, I won't believe anything you say.
I'm waiting for LIFX. WiFi and no base station. Nice design too.
Yeah, easily the best implementation yet. But not perfect by any means. There needs to be an affordable way to give every LIFX bulb hardware master capabilities, LIFX doesn't have that. Without that it's already too complex for non-geeks, and to inelegant for people like me. Colours are a gimmick, and they are yet again far too expensive. Their app looks streets ahead of the competition in terms of design, though.
But yeah, Philips solution is far worse. You hear that spammers? ;-)
PHILIPS ARE CLEARLY PAYING SPAMMERS TO JUMP ON LIGHT BULB RELATED ARTICLES, INCLUDING THIS ONE. BE WARY!
When you figure in power usage and lifespan, LEDs can easily cost 5 times less than Incandescents.
That's untrue. They are advertised as so many years OR HOURS, whichever comes first. Read the fine print. They last the same as regular light bulbs, perhaps a little longer I'm some cases. We've been using them for years, and since recently regular light bulbs are no longer being sold in Ireland by legal mandate.
As far as the lighting brightness goes for those who wish to read- It depends on the light assembly you are using.
I use the hue bulbs in floor lamps with ^ shaped shades, the lighting is bright enough - but you have to remember that LEDs don't produce the same lighting like a normal filament bulb.
The brightness on these is basically like natural sunlight.
Ok tard. I only joined to comment about this particular device as people are buying these already.
As far as the lighting brightness goes for those who wish to read- It depends on the light assembly you are using.
I use the hue bulbs in floor lamps with ^ shaped shades, the lighting is bright enough - but you have to remember that LEDs don't produce the same lighting like a normal filament bulb.
The brightness on these is basically like natural sunlight.
Comments
You may be limited in a few areas with the BlueBulb.
(controlling more than 1 bulb at one time in that 25ft bluetooth range)
This product would go much better if it had home automation possibilities.
(limiting the range of the bluetooth signal on the bulb - walking into the room, and it turning on, once the range depleted signal, 60 second auto shut off)
Philips Hue which I have is a pretty nice product. And the brightness compares.
(600lumens)
The one thing that Philips lacks is application development. They have not updated the app since the beginning of the year. They also do not have weekly timers, it is daily.
With the philips product, you can be away - and turn your lights on when you are away. Which is a great security feature.
Still hoping to see an easier method for home automation!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gazoobee
I can't believe this review doesn't even mention the fact that this bulb will clearly only work in certain, particular, lighting fixtures. For any fixture where the bulb is visible or partially visible (and I would argue this is something like 60-70% of all lighting fixtures), this thing will mostly show as a giant black blob.
Great.
Check out Switch Led bulbs. To my eye they have a very elegant design.
Quote:
Originally Posted by libertyforall
How many years are these going to last, and how long is the warranty? I can hear a giant sucking sound of money with these if they don't last...
LED emitters typically last 50,000 hours. So depending on how much you use the bulb each day it could last for decades. LED bulbs are more like tiny appliances than throw away items.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fyngyrz
Someone will eventually get this right. But probably not while LEDs remain so prohibitively expensive.
LEDs require rare earth metals in production, hence, until more becomes available, the price will stay high, although, considering the amount of LEDs seen in the marketplace today, I would not characterize the cost as prohibitive. LEDs do last a long time so the total cost of ownership is not that bad.
I'm waiting for LIFX. WiFi and no base station. Nice design too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fyngyrz
Too expensive, too dim, inadequate radiation pattern, poor device support (seriously... ipad1 has bluetooth, etc... there's no reason other than developer cluelessness to limit the app to only the latest devices. Also, there's like a bazillion Androids out there. Derp?)
Other than that, yeah, great.
Someone will eventually get this right. But probably not while LEDs remain so prohibitively expensive.
When you figure in power usage and lifespan, LEDs can easily cost 5 times less than Incandescents... and depending on the assumptions you make could cost as much as 10 times less. I'm waiting on LIFX. They claim 800 Lumens I think. Nice design. WiFi. No hub. Great looking app. You may be right about radiation pattern though. LED tends to be very focused... doesn't create much spill. But a textured reflector can help. We'll see. I'm going to wait till LIFX is out and see what the reviews are like.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gazoobee
this thing will mostly show as a giant black blob.
Yeah I know. I wonder why they didn't make the base with white plastic. The programmability is interesting however I can see some issues if not everyone in the home exclusively has an iPhone by their side. For example my housekeeper does not own an iPhone and she needs to turn lights on and off all the time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fhall1
How about telling us how bright the light actually is...my big gripe with LED bulbs is they are all pretty much 60W equivalents and 60W is just too dim for many applications around my house - I need 75W equivalents (or 100W) for reading and such.
I can't really see much use in my home either. Mostly I have recessed lighting everywhere and I think those use 100W and my reading chair and desk lamp are halogen. In the dining we have special chandelier bulbs as do the sconces both inside and outside of the house, so I don't know where this would be useful for me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fhall1
How about telling us how bright the light actually is...my big gripe with LED bulbs is they are all pretty much 60W equivalents and 60W is just too dim for many applications around my house - I need 75W equivalents (or 100W) for reading and such.
Use a Y socket adapter for $2 and gang 2 60watt-equivalent bulbs together. You'll have plenty of light then. Cree advertises 9 watts per bulb but measures 7-8 watts. 2 of these bulbs together are significantly brighter than a 23watt CFL.
In recessed lighting situations often found in kitchens, try a Philips 424895 (10.5watt) bulb, which directs much of its light downward, compensating well for not producing as much light as a 100 watt incandescent bulb.
Home Depot currently sells 6-packs of Cree warm white bulbs for $74.82 ($12.47 each) or individually for $12.97.
You joined the forum today!?
Waxing lyrical about a product on a review of another product in your first post. I have to assume you work for Philips. Relax, I won't be boycotting your products as they aren't good enough to consider thinking about in that way. And don't try responding, I won't believe anything you say.
The spammers are out in force today.
Yeah, easily the best implementation yet. But not perfect by any means. There needs to be an affordable way to give every LIFX bulb hardware master capabilities, LIFX doesn't have that. Without that it's already too complex for non-geeks, and to inelegant for people like me. Colours are a gimmick, and they are yet again far too expensive. Their app looks streets ahead of the competition in terms of design, though.
But yeah, Philips solution is far worse. You hear that spammers? ;-)
PHILIPS ARE CLEARLY PAYING SPAMMERS TO JUMP ON LIGHT BULB RELATED ARTICLES, INCLUDING THIS ONE. BE WARY!
That's untrue. They are advertised as so many years OR HOURS, whichever comes first. Read the fine print. They last the same as regular light bulbs, perhaps a little longer I'm some cases. We've been using them for years, and since recently regular light bulbs are no longer being sold in Ireland by legal mandate.
As far as the lighting brightness goes for those who wish to read- It depends on the light assembly you are using.
I use the hue bulbs in floor lamps with ^ shaped shades, the lighting is bright enough - but you have to remember that LEDs don't produce the same lighting like a normal filament bulb.
The brightness on these is basically like natural sunlight.
?
Ok tard. I only joined to comment about this particular device as people are buying these already.
As far as the lighting brightness goes for those who wish to read- It depends on the light assembly you are using.
I use the hue bulbs in floor lamps with ^ shaped shades, the lighting is bright enough - but you have to remember that LEDs don't produce the same lighting like a normal filament bulb.
The brightness on these is basically like natural sunlight.