Sonos One speaker now packs more powerful internals

How do you improve the Sonos One speaker when there aren't too many qualms about the basic design? If you ask Sonos, it's all about future-proofing. The company is rolling out a Gen 2 version of the One that shares the same design, but includes Blu...

LuMini Uses Bluetooth LE to Customize Home Lighting

TABU Design LuMini Smart Light Bulb

A home wouldn’t be smart enough if lighting couldn’t be controlled remotely, both in terms of colors and intensity. LuMini is a new generation of energy efficient smart bulbs that can be easily adjusted via smartphones.

Touted as “a smart bulb that fits your lamps and budget,” LuMini differs from other smart bulbs in more than one way. In terms of energy efficiency, LED light bulbs are great, but they often seem bulky, which results in not every lamp out there being able to accommodate them. Even Lumen, the first smart bulb developed by TABU Design – the Hong Kong shop behind LuMini, was fairly big, not to mention that it costs $69. Yet another aspect that sets LuMini apart from its counterparts is the long lifespan – up to 30,000 hours, according to the manufacturer.

Some say that LuMini fits a lot of situations, but is particularly great for parties. That’s because the color of the light bulb can be easily adjusted via a smartphone to match the mood of the event. Regarding the smartphone, which is only hardware requirement of this smart bulb, it can be any make or model, as long as it packs Bluetooth 4.0 LE connectivity. In terms of software requirements, LuMini requires the proprietary app initially developed for the Lumen light bulb. Supposedly, TABU will release an app specifically for this product if it hits the market.

“Why Bluetooth and not Wi-Fi?” you might ask. Well, this technology, despite having a shorter range, offers a direct connection between LuMini and the smartphone, whereas the signal transmitted to a Wi-Fi enabled light bulb would have to go through a router.

TABU Design looks for funding on Kickstarter, where it set a goal of $50,000 which should be reached within the next 29 days. At $25 for early birds and $30 for the others, LuMini represents a truly affordable smart bulb.

As you can see, this is not TABU’s first Kickstarter campaign, and considering the tremendous success of the previous ones, it definitely looks like this company knows how to conduct business and how to design successful products. I only hope that LuMini will be yet another victory for these creative minds. Should the company raise the funds in this timeframe, it will start shipping in April.

As a side note, I wonder if any of the members of TABU Design speaks Romanian, as “lumini” literally means lights in this language.

If you liked this post, please check these smartphone controlled Wi-Fi enabled light bulbs or the Paperclip and PizzaKobra lamps that put contortionists to shame.

Parrot’s Flower Power monitors plant’s environment, sends data to the cloud

Parrot's Flower Power monitors plant's environment, sends data to the cloud

For a company that usually makes Bluetooth audio products and quadcopters, this sure is a weird product coming from Parrot, but we dig it (pun intended). The French company has announced its Flower Power at CES, and as you can probably guess from the name, 'tis a smart sensor that you can insert into a pot to monitor the plant's environmental variables: sunlight, humidity, temperature and fertilizer (but no acidity?). The data is sent to the cloud via Bluetooth Smart for analysis before coming back to your mobile device, and you'll be able to look up Parrot's "library of thousands of plants" for the extra care for your herbal friends. No price has been announced for the Flower Power just yet, but it'll definitely be out at some point this year.

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Mosoro releases its Bluetooth LE sensors and SDK for VIP appcessory developers

Mosoro releases its Bluetooth LE sensors and SDK for VIP appcessory developers

Since we last heard about Mosoro's Lego-brick sized Bluetooth LE modules, they've changed their names, picked up another member and are now making their way to iOS app developers. The 3D-Motion's got an accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer, while the Enviro measures temperature, humidity and barometric pressure. New to the team is Proximity, useful for triggering location-based apps and tracking motion for creating alerts. All three rechargeable Bluetooth low energy sensors have "shake-to-wake" support, an RGB "glow-cap" for notifications and a humble programmable button. They are expected to hit retail in fall 2012, but "VIP" app developers can grab them now, as well as the SDK which simplifies iOS Bluetooth integration. Got the ideas and inclination to become one of Mosoro's "rock star app-developer partners?" Then go sign up on the website and see if you make the VIP grade.

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Mosoro releases its Bluetooth LE sensors and SDK for VIP appcessory developers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Sep 2012 21:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TechBASIC 2.3 links iOS to world of sensors through Bluetooth, no pesky computers in the way (video)

TechBASIC update links iOS devices to world of sensors through Bluetooth without pesky computers in the way

If a Bluetooth sensor doesn't already have iOS support, pairing it up will often involve a patient wait for an official app or some not-quite-official tweaking, at best -- Apple won't allow just any old unauthenticated device through the gates. Byte Works' TechBASIC 2.3 update takes those barriers down. The mobile app lets those of us with a new iPad or iPhone 4S create programs that talk to, and read from, a wide range of Bluetooth LE devices without having to write any Objective C code on a Mac. Only a TI key fob has a fully ready example program, but large swaths of devices will communicate with help from intrepid programmers -- whether they're heart rate monitors, home theater gear or seemingly anything in between. Existing TechBASIC owners can add the Bluetooth LE support through a free update; it's a relatively pricey $15 to buy the app if you're new to Byte Works' world, although it may be worthwhile to give any unused sensors a new reason for being.

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TechBASIC 2.3 links iOS to world of sensors through Bluetooth, no pesky computers in the way (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 04:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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