Hasta La Gadget! Page not found

Feb 03

LuMini Makes Smart Home Lighting Easy And Affordable With Bluetooth LE Connectivity

A new Kickstarter project debuting today offers a lower barrier of entry to those interested in testing the smart lighting waters. At just $25 for an entry-level pre-order of a single unit, the LuMini is the cheapest way to get started with a smart home lighting system, albeit with some trade-offs compared to category leaders like the Philips Hue.

The LuMini comes from TABU Design, a Hong Kong shop that makes the Lumen Bluetooth smart bulb. The full-size Lumen is fairly large, though, and has a 40-watt equivalent output all for $69. The LuMini has the lower retail cost, but it’s also less powerful: TABU Design says it’s ideal for a “night lamp,” but doesn’t specify how many lumens it actually outputs. It uses 3 watts, compared to 7 watts for the standard-sized Lumen, so you can expect it to be probably around half as bright.

With a companion app, you can control the light color, brightness and scheduling, but the difference from most other connected lighting systems with the LuMini is the Bluetooth connectivity: It uses the low-power standard introduced in Bluetooth 4.0 to connect, which greatly simplifies the connection and setup process, but which also has some disadvantages in terms of range (20 ft. maximum) and the ability to remotely connect to your lighting system, which allows you to control bulbs like the Hue from anywhere with connectivity.

lumini

The BLE approach still allows for things like proximity activation, however, and it can even be set to trigger light-based notifications for incoming calls. The real innovation here is on price, however, since this is a long-lived LED bulb (rated at 30,000 hours) that will retail for around $30. Also, it’s a very small bulb, whereas others like the LIFX smartbulb have been criticized for their larger-than-normal size.

The TABU Design team hopes to ship the LuMini in April this year, which isn’t that much of a stretch when you consider that they’re already actively shipping the original Lumen, which is sold via its website and through Amazon. The project is seeking $50,000 in 30 days, and hopefully it gets there, because what this market really needs is more price pressure to drive mass market adoption.

Nov 28

Lumen TL800 is first Bluetooth smart bulb in the market

Posted in: Today's Chili

I am quite sure that when Thomas Alva Edison invented the lightbulb, he never really envision the day when a descendant of Alexander Graham Bell’s invention, the smartphone, would be able to perform an intricate tango with a descendant of his lightbulb down the road. I am referring not to any ordinary lightbulb, but rather, the Lumen TL800, which is the first Bluetooth smart bulb that is available in the market – at least in North America. Instead of settling for just one color or two, with the Lumen TL800, you will be able to have up to sixteen million color options thanks to the dimmable LED RGBW (Red, Blue, Green and White) bulb.

As it relies on Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity to “communicate” with your smartphone, the bulb will then be able to be used just about anywhere, as long as there is a socket lying around somewhere. The only things that are required would be the bulb itself (of course), alongside Lumen’s proprietary app, which will currently be made available for Apple devices and selected Android models. All you need to do is to download Lumen’s proprietary app, plug in the bulb and you’re good to go to introduce light – all sixteen million colors of it, to the room.

This is one energy efficient bulb which is capable of generating around 400 lumens of warm white light, and that is comparable to a 40W bulb. The thing is, it will only consume one-sixth of the power consumption of a regular bulb while doing its job, now how about that? As long as it remains within Bluetooth range of the smartphone, the bulb will turn on, and turn off when outside of the range for low power consumption, benefitting not only the bulb but the smartphone itself. Each of these bulbs are said to be able to last for up to 30,000 hours, and will cost you $69.99 a pop.

Press Release
[ Lumen TL800 is first Bluetooth smart bulb in the market copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Nov 26

Lumen Bluetooth smartbulb challenges Philips Hue to offer app-controlled home lighting

Posted in: Today's Chili

The smartbulb throne isn’t exactly the most exciting one to occupy, but Philips Hue has its fair share of challengers, such as the freshly released Bluetooth-controlled Lumen. Similar to Hue, you can tweak not only the bulb’s color, but also its intensity. In addition, several modes come baked into the light source, including one that programs the Lumen to flash whenever a call comes in, and another that syncs its effects with music. Unlike Philips’ fancy bulbs, though, the device doesn’t need a WiFi hub to work — it connects directly to an iOS or Android device loaded with its companion app. What’s more, its creators claim the product consumes only one-sixth of the energy a 40W bulb does despite emitting comparable light. If a Bluetooth-connected bulb intrigues you — even though the idea itself isn’t new — you can now snatch the Lumen online or from various retailers for $70.

Filed under: Misc

Comments

Slashgear

Source: Lumen

Dec 03

Lumen LED Pine Tree Shadow Projector

Posted in: Today's Chili

There are a few sights that will definitely make you feel relaxed right from the get go – among them an overview of a forest below, the breathtaking sight of a roaring waterfall, the seeming calm of the ocean, and of course, who can forget those romantic sunsets? We have yet another one here which has to do with sunsets, except that the setting is filled with pine trees. Well, you need not drive to the edge of a pine forest to get the job done, but the $69.99 Lumen LED Pine Tree Shadow Projector will let you sit in the comfort of your own home, while the acid-etched, stainless steel, LED shadow projector that is designed by Brooklyn-based artist and product inventor Adam Frank will throw a soft shadow on the wall when lit.

It is rather interesting to note that as the LED “flame” flickers, the shadow will move about in an organic manner. The laws of physics dictate that the farther the Lumen is from the wall, the larger the shadow will be. If you want to get up close and personal, then you will be greeted with greater detail. Apart from the On/Off switch, the AA battery powered Lumen LED Pine Tree Shadow Projector comes with 4, 6, and 8 hour timer options.

[ Lumen LED Pine Tree Shadow Projector copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Aug 03

Sanwa’s iPhone pico projector gets spec bump, trebled brightness (video)

Posted in: Today's Chili

Sanwa has revamped the PRJ011 iPhone charging sleeve-cum-pico-projector we saw back in January. The new PRJ016 packs a 1,850mAh battery that can recharge your handset up to 80 percent and also power the projection mode if you want to enjoy a movie, or a spreadsheet, blown onto your wall. The 35 lumens DLP device has three times the brightness of its predecessor, can project for 120 minutes on a full tank and has a maximum display size of 60-inches, focusing from a distance of up to six feet. It’s available in Japan from tomorrow, setting you back ¥23,800 ($305), and in the meantime there’s a Chiaroscuro video waiting after the break if you’d like to know more.

Continue reading Sanwa’s iPhone pico projector gets spec bump, trebled brightness (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals

Sanwa’s iPhone pico projector gets spec bump, trebled brightness (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Aug 2012 07:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink AV Watch | Sanwa | Email this | Comments