First look: BlueBulb's iPhone-controlled LED bulb looks to kill light switches

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 69
    brunzillabrunzilla Posts: 39member
    People, do your research first.

    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!
  • Reply 22 of 69
    libertyforalllibertyforall Posts: 1,418member
    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...
  • Reply 23 of 69
    bigdaddypbigdaddyp Posts: 811member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gazoobee View Post


    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. image Just what I wanted. 



    Check out Switch Led bulbs. To my eye they have a very elegant design.

  • Reply 24 of 69
    takeotakeo Posts: 445member


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by libertyforall View Post



    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.

  • Reply 25 of 69
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by fyngyrz View Post



    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.

  • Reply 26 of 69
    takeotakeo Posts: 445member


    I'm waiting for LIFX. WiFi and no base station. Nice design too.

  • Reply 27 of 69
    takeotakeo Posts: 445member



    Quote:



    Originally Posted by fyngyrz View Post



    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.

  • Reply 28 of 69
    fhall1fhall1 Posts: 11member
    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.
  • Reply 29 of 69
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gazoobee View Post


     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. 

  • Reply 30 of 69
    I can't wait to get my LIFX. Everything about the LIFX looks better than both this and the Philips Hue thingy.
  • Reply 31 of 69
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by fhall1 View Post



    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.

  • Reply 32 of 69
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,192member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by fhall1 View Post



    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.

  • Reply 33 of 69
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    stelligent wrote: »
    Umm, Zigbee is not a company or product. It's a communication and networking standard. 
    Ah yeah, whatever.
  • Reply 34 of 69
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    charlituna wrote: »
    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.
  • Reply 35 of 69
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    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.
  • Reply 36 of 69
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    brunzilla wrote: »
    People, do your research first.

    You may be limited in a few areas with the BlueBulb.

    The spammers are out in force today.
  • Reply 37 of 69
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    takeo wrote: »
    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!
  • Reply 38 of 69
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    takeo wrote: »
    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.
  • Reply 39 of 69
    brunzillabrunzilla Posts: 39member


    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.

  • Reply 40 of 69
    brunzillabrunzilla Posts: 39member


    ?


    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.

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