LIFX: Smartphone-Controlled LED Lightbulb: There’s An App For That!

Have you ever wanted to control the lights with your smartphone? Now you can, thanks to LIFX Smartbulbs. There have been already some LED lightbulbs that could be controlled by a remote. Now, you can use an app to control the mood of your room – or your entire house – from the comfort of your phone.

lifx led smartbulb app

LIFX Smartbulbs are naturally energy efficient. One LIFX smartbulb will last 40,000 hours or 25 years, and reduce power consumption by up to 20% from conventional bulbs. Bulbs can be turned off and on, and change the color of the glow to suit your mood. And unlike some remote bulbs, you can control multiple bulbs and multiple locations from a single smartphone iOS or Android app. The app can also match the mood of your tunes, wirelessly. It will beatmatch the music that you are listening to.

lifx led smartbulb app house

The bulbs are also able to detect when you arrive home and turn on the lights for you, and can even be programmed to wake you up naturally, gradually glowing brighter and brighter.

LIFX was launched as a Kickstarter project, and at the time of writing, it had amassed over $1,100,000 of a humble goal of $100,000 – with 55 days of funding left. Needless to say that this project will be made. You’ll have to pledge $69(USD) to get one bulb, or $119 for a pair, or $196 for four bulbs. Further discounts are available for larger quantities. Expected delivery for the LIFX smartbulb is March 2013.

 [via The Awesomer]


Is Apple Maps Enough to Keep You From Upgrading to iOS 6? [Chatroom]

Legions of suckers iPhone users jumped at the opportunity to upgrade to iOS 6 yesterday only to discover that Apple Maps is a horrible piece of crap that doesn’t work. Some of us on staff are refusing to upgrade until there’s a Google Maps app for us to use. Maybe you can live with the funny 3D terrain glitches, but having no public transit routing really sucks. We can’t possibly be alone in feeling this way. Is the Apple Maps abomination enough to keep you from upgrading? More »

Lenovo axes Android App Shop, points you in the direction of Google Play

Lenovo axes Android App Shop

Business-types, Lenovo pondered, needed their own App Store Shop, dedicated to selling business-only applications to those strutting around looking serious in their polyester suits. It seems that such demand never materialized, however, with the company shuttering the outlet only six months after its launch and pointing users in the direction of Google Play instead. While the bulk of the apps purchased in that time will still work, around 90 that used the store’s license management system will cease to function on November 2nd, a list of which you can find at the source link.

[Thanks, Hemal]

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Lenovo axes Android App Shop, points you in the direction of Google Play originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 16:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceLenovo  | Email this | Comments

Apple trying for patent on electromotive charging, could use that confident stride to charge iPhones

Apple trying for patent on electromotive charging, could use that confident stride to charge iPhones

We’ve seen the concept of electromotive (movement-based) charging before, but it usually comes at the cost of either a clunky design or a limitation to very low-power devices like watches. Apple has been experimenting with a concept that could power gadgets as big as iPhones and iPods with that spring in your step — and without the bulk of any extra wires. A newly published patent application uses flat, printed coils to generate electromagnetic induction through movable magnets; as the device bounces around in your pocket, the magnets slide past the coils and run them through the magnetic fields they need to build electricity. It all sounds grand, but it’s hard to tell from the very recent June filing whether the technology is enough to keep devices completely powered or simply delays the inevitable. We’d still suggest getting back into shape, though, in the event that morning run can one day save you from hunting down a wall outlet.

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Apple trying for patent on electromotive charging, could use that confident stride to charge iPhones originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 16:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceUSPTO  | Email this | Comments

Suitcase Laptop Support Gives You a Standing Desk Wherever You Travel [Laptops]

The next time you’ve got time to kill at the airport—whether at the hands of inclement weather or a never ending security line—you can still stay productive with this laptop stand that turns your suitcase into a miniature office. More »

Facebook updates iOS app for iPhone 5, Android app with text message integration

Facebook’s been busy these past few weeks, updating their iOS apps to run natively and subsequently expanding its advertising empire to non-Facebook websites. Today, they released a totally revamped Android app and a slight update to their iOS app. Let’s take a look at the goodies inside, shall we?

(more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Creepy marketing campaign “will find you” with GPS-equipped candy bars, Google says iOS Google Maps in App Store hopefully “before Christmas”,

Microsoft chalks up another patent win against Motorola

Motorola just cannot catch a break when it comes to patent suits in Germany. Motorola has already come out as the loser in patent disputes against Microsoft and Apple, and today, Microsoft announced that it has once again secured victory. A German court has found that multiple devices made by Motorola are infringing on a Microsoft patent for technology that allows a keyboard to communicate with an app, and Microsoft asserts that this technology has been built into Android.


That’s an assertion that the court agrees with, and you may be wondering why Microsoft has only brought this case against Motorola when there are plenty of other Android manufacturers out there with this tech built into their phones. Motorola and Google are the target of this lawsuit because every other Android manufacturer is paying Microsoft a royalty to use the tech. Since Google refused to pay up, Microsoft took it to court, and now we know the result of that patent suit.

By now, you know the drill: Microsoft posts a bond – $61.4 million in this case – to get the infringing devices banned from sale in Germany. Motorola has the chance to appeal, so the sales ban won’t go into effect until the results of that appeal are known. In addition, Google and Motorola will have to pay Microsoft damages, and if Google doesn’t want to remove the tech from Android, it will have to begin paying Microsoft a royalty.

When everything is added up, this is Microsoft’s third patent win against Motorola in Germany. Motorola has been hit hard in Germany lately, much to what we imagine is Google’s chagrin. After all, one of the reasons the search giant bought up Motorola Mobility is so it could access to its extensive patent portfolio. Instead of coming out on top, however, Google has been stuck paying the bill for Motorola’s own infringement, so it’s hard to believe that the executives at Google are happy at the moment. Stay tuned – we’ll bring you more details as they develop.

[via ComputerWorld]


Microsoft chalks up another patent win against Motorola is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Lazaridis-backed Quantum-Nano Centre opens tomorrow, aims to be a new Bell Labs

Lazaridisbacked QuantumNano Centre opens tomorrow, aims to be a new Bell Labs

Mike Lazaridis may now have a considerably smaller role at RIM, but he’s isn’t exactly receding from the technology scene in the company’s hometown of Waterloo, Ontario. That’s no more evident than in the Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre opening tomorrow on the University of Waterloo campus, a science and technology research center that not only bears his name but was built with $100 million of his money. As Lazaridis makes clear in an interview with Bloomberg, he’s also not modest about his ambitions for the center, noting that it is “absolutely” going to be the Bell Labs of the 21st century. Or, perhaps more specifically, a Bell Labs for quantum computing and nanotechnology, areas of research that Lazaridis says are key in order to “break through those barriers” of traditional computing. You can find the full interview and more details on the center itself at the links below.

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Lazaridis-backed Quantum-Nano Centre opens tomorrow, aims to be a new Bell Labs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 16:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceBloomberg, University of Waterloo  | Email this | Comments

Why Apple Maps Won’t Get Better Anytime Soon [Ios 6 Maps]

Apple’s maps are not off to a good start. They’re getting killed by critics and users alike. And rightly so! They don’t hold their own against last generation’s Google Maps on iOS 5. And what’s worse for Apple and its fans? Things probably won’t be getting better any time soon. More »

These Massively Powerful Bowers & Wilkins AirPlay Speakers Need to Get Into My Living Room Immediately [Audio]

If you want quality wireless audio, AirPlay is the only way to go. There are plenty of AirPlay speaker systems to choose from, but on style alone the new Bowers and Wilkins A7’s handsome design has us sold. And they’re freaking powerful too. More »