When it comes Smart LED light bulbs, which can be dimmed and made to change colour, the most popular product must be Philips Hue, using the Zigbee protocol, which you can control via iOS and Android devices though a Zigbee gateway, and costs about £50 on Amazon. Alternatives have started to show up such as LIFX, with WIFI technology, that you can control with recent iOS and Android device without the need for a gateway, but with a price starting at £80 (US $130.15). If you're looking for more affordable alternatives, you'd have to turn to Yeelight, which provides Bluetooth Low Energy smart light bulbs, called Yeelight Blue.
The Yeelight Blue is a Multi-Coloured Smart LED light bulb with E27 and B22 sockets that uses Bluetooth 4.0 to communicate with our iOS 5.0+ or Android 4.3+ device. The immediate advantage that Bluetooth use is not dependent on the unsecured Wi-Fi gateway as in the case of Philips Hue and this significantly lowers the price of the final product.
Let's have a look at the specifications:
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Colour Temperature - 6500K White + RGB (16 million colours)
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Luminance - 500 lm
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Dimming - Software dimming
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Connectivity - Bluetooth Low Energy
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Expected lifetime - More than 20000 hours
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Base Interface - E27 & B22
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Power - AC 110-240V 50/60Hz,
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wattage: 6W, standby power: 0.3W
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Certifications - CE FCC
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Dimension - Diameter 50 mm, height 104mm
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Weight - 155g
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The bulb Yeelight Blue offers an intensity of 500 lumens in white colour temperature is 6500k. This makes the target something cold but without showing the bluish hue like other LEDs on the market. It is an intermediate between the typical yellowish white warm bulbs 2500k and cold blue strip in the most extreme cases. Keep in mind that your power is 6W, which would be equivalent to a 50w bulb the filament. Because of this, the Yeelight Blue becomes a perfect lamp bulb in a nightstand placed in a living room while watching a movie or a floor lamp that provides room to stay.
After having downloaded your Yeelight Blue App onto your device, make sure your Bluetooth connection is activated on your device. When we tested, it will scan Yeelight Blue bulbs within connection range (about 30 meters) and will be listed individually in the application menu, and can regulate each separately. You can also group up to 10 bulbs in your house.
On the menu you will be able to enjoy some really different features offered by this LED bulb:
Colour and brightness: Change the colour of the bulb and the light intensity. To change the light colour or dim up and dim down, you just need to simply slide your finger.
Auto On and Off: Can set a timer to turn on or off the lamp automatically.
Flowing Colour: This mode allows you to select a picture from our gallery and the bulb will change colour automatically selecting the predominant colours in this picture. The transitions are smooth and very relaxing.
Disco Time : Great for parties, this mode uses the iPhone's microphone for the bulb to change colour based on the rhythm of the music
Music Rainbow : Again, is another way for parties but in this case the bulb lights up in colourful light and light intensity varies according to the rhythm of the song playing.
As you can see, the application is complete, stable and bulb responds instantly to all our actions.
When you turn off the bulb Yeelight Blue from iPhone, it goes to a resting state spends 0.3W power. In this state we can turn it from the device whenever you want. There is also the option to turn off the light bulb by using the classic wall switch. In this case, the Yeelight Blue not consumes anything but we cannot turn on your phone. If you press the switch again, the lamp will automatically light in white and the maximum intensity.
There is no doubt that the Yeelight Blue is a quality product and made with great dedication by the manufacturer. The bulb is well built, the application works great and the price is about 39 pounds. For more details, please visit Yeelight UK Website: http://www.yeelight.co.uk