Hasta La Gadget!

Belkin promised a simple approach to connected lighting when it unveiled the WeMo Light Switch back at CES, and the company is making good on its word by releasing the switch today. The WiFi-based controller is now available both online and at retail shops for $50. It isn’t arriving alone, either — Belkin is simultaneously launching the finished version of its free WeMo app for Android to complement the existing iOS release. If you’d rather have smart switches than smart light bulbs, the new WeMo hardware awaits at the source link; the companion Android app should be available shortly.

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Source: Belkin

If you’ve finally decided to get rid of your satellite TV in favor of just streaming everything, you’re going to have some unneeded hardware on your hands. Namely a compact dish that can either be repurposed as a bird bath, or this fantastic chandelier if you can round up a few more from around the neighborhood.

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Philips has updated its Ambilight color-illumination system for TVs by integrating it with Hue wireless LED lightbulbs, spreading content-themed light effects around the room. The update – which comes with a new Ambilight+Hue app for iOS and Android, compatible with Ambilight TVs from 2011 onward – arrives alongside the Philips Elevation TV, a new ultra-slim 60-inch LCD TV with Ambilight “4-sided XL” for all-round colors.

Ambilight uses multi-color LEDs around the frame of the TV to project light around the set, onto the walls behind it. By matching the different colors to the dominant on-screen color, Philips claims the overall viewing experience is more immersive.

Initially, the system projected a single color, but over the generations that’s been improved to the point where light can shine from all sides and in different hues simultaneously. The new Hue lightbulb integration expands this even more, meaning that scenes can be extended throughout the living room.

The new app apparently walks users through the setup, presumably allowing them to indicate whereabouts, in relation to the TV, each of the ZigBee-enabled bulbs is positioned. The bulbs – which we reviewed back in November – are priced at $199.95 for a starter set of three and the base-station.

As for the Philips Elevation TV, that surrounds a 60-inch Full HD LCD display with 94 LEDs to create Ambilight colors around it. The TV also supports passive 3D – with four sets of glasses in the box – and has integrated WiFi and ethernet, along with four HDMI ports and three USB.

There’s Smart TV support and the remote control also includes a QWERTY keyboard for easier text entry; the WiFi can be used to hook up a Miracast device for streaming, and the Elevation can also stream content via DLNA to a second display elsewhere on the home network.

At 13.5mm, Philips expects the Elevation TV to be mounted on the wall, though it also comes with a transparent stand. It’ll go on sale in Q3 in Europe and Russia, priced at £2,800 ($4,175).

It’s not the first time we’ve seen Hue’s potential for Ambilight duties considered. After the bulbs were launched, several DIY projects to synchronize them to on-screen content – such as through an Apple TV, in Kai Aras’ project – sprang up. Philips has since updated its remote app with more smart home features, as well as thrown things open to developers with an open API.

Philips Hue Ambilight support arrives alongside 60″ Elevation TV is written by Ewdison Then & originally posted on SlashGear.
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There’s a reason that Topeak’s MiniRocket iGlow bike bump won a 2013 Red Dot Design Award: the transparent barrel encases a internal optical fiber that turns a small red LED into a brilliantly-visible glowing safety strip. And at just 67 grams, it adds minimal weight to your bike’s frame, so it’s easy to always keep on hand. A pair of watch-sized batteries powers it continuously for up to 50 hours on its brightest setting, and 100 hours when dimmed.

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Some of you may have heard of Philips’ Ambilight, a technology that’s only present in some of the company’s high end TVs. Ambilight projects ambient lighting that matches the colors and brightness of what’s being displayed on screen. Lightpack does the same thing and then some. Plus, it can be installed on any TV or monitor.

Lightpack consists of a small central device that you attach at the back of your TV. The box connects the 10 small LED strips that provide the lighting to a desktop computer where you’ll install Prismatik, the software that controls the LEDs. Prismatik analyzes the images being output from your PC or Mac to your display and instructs the LEDs to light up accordingly.

Keep in mind that Lightpack isn’t capable of analysing data coming across an HDMI cable to add ambient light to TVs without a computer. Its makers are working on another project to do that, but it’s not likely to make it to market any time soon due to HDMI/HDCP licensing issues, Phlips exisiting Ambilight patents, and high production costs.

Prismatik also has many advanced features. For example, you can turn the LEDs into mood lighting even when your TV is off. Because Lightpack is built on open source hardware and software, if you know how to program you’ll be able to extend its functionality, like using the LEDs for Skype notifications or for indicating the temperature. Watch the video for more:

Pledge at least $80 (USD) on Kickstarter to get a Lightpack unit as a reward. Note that the current unit only works with displays that have a diagonal length between 10″ to 50″. If you have a larger TV you might need to get two Lightpacks.