Tag Archives: Smart Bulb

Activocal: turn on lights with the power of your voice

Posted on by
Activocal 1

Using voices to make things happen is no longer the domain of politicans and the Dragonborn, as anyone can now brin smart bulbs to their home.

What you see here is Activocal’s very own Voice Activated bulb adapter. This little plug and play gadget connects to any bulb light socket, and then turns it into a voice activated light. That is exactly what it sounds like: users get to turn lights in any room on or off by speaking the right words, because, who needs wall switches anyways?

The wall light switch obviously still works, if you care about it, and the new bulb is easy to install, so no professionals are required. Furthermore, the gadget syncs with an app for iOS and Android, and enables your phone to control the lights too.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the Rolomotion app that brings console gaming to Apple TV, and Apple’s rumored content deal with Time-Warner and ComCast.

AirBulb Is a Smart LED Light Bulb with a Wireless Speaker

Posted on by
AirBulb Smart LED Bulb with Wireless Speaker

When Edison, Swan and Maxim each invented their version of light bulb, they probably even couldn’t conceive that someday a closely related device would also include a wireless speaker.

Avantconcept, the Hong Kong company who developed the AirBulb have a pretty simple motto for this product: “Where there is light, there is music.” I beg to differ, as some people prefer listening to music in the dark, not to mention that there are plenty of illuminated spaces that are dead silent. However, the motto clearly refers to the two functions of AirBulb, respectively smart lighting and audio, that were cleverly brought together in a space-saving device.

Since this device is at the same time an LED light bulb and a speaker, the fact that it has the potential of saving people a bit of space will definitely come to mind first, but this is far from being the only good thing about AirBulb. The LED light bulb features color temperature control, not to mention that it also can be turned on and off or dimmed via an iOS or Android app.

The incorporated speaker is wireless, meaning that it can stream music from smartphones and tablets to which it connects via Bluetooth LE 4.0. The smart LED light bulb, on the other hand, has various flashing patterns, and can notify people of any incoming calls. Avantconcept also included alarm and timer modes, which were borrowed from Hi-Fi audio systems. All of these are very useful features, especially considering that they are all offered in a single product.

Installing the AirBulb is rather simple. After screwing it in the (presumably E27 or E14) slot, users need to install the companion app either from the iTunes App Store or Google’s Play Store. Next, they need to pair the smartphone or tablet with the smart light bulb and start playing with AirBulb’s settings. All in all, this smart lighting gadget seems bulkier than other smart bulbs, but considering its added functionality, I’m willing to turn a blind eye on that.

The developers of AirBulb started a Kickstarter two weeks ago, and the whole thing had 28 more days to go at press time. Early birds had the chance of securing an AirBulb for $59, but unfortunately all those spots are gone. The other backers need to provide $69 in order to get their smart bulb, in case the project gets funded.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the

LuMini Uses Bluetooth LE to Customize Home Lighting

Posted on by
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.