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Philips Hue will venture outdoors this summer

Over the last couple of years, the Philips Hue indoor smart home lighting system has become very popular. So Philips recently announced that coming this summer they’re taking on the great outdoors with a new line of exterior lights. The Philips Hue outdoor range smart lighting system takes all the great indoor lighting system controls and brings them to the exterior of your home.

What will be available and when?

All of the new outdoor friendly products will work with existing Hue systems and the Hue app. The new lineup will include spotlights, pathway lights, and wall mounted luminaires. Prices start at $279.99 for the Philips Hue Lily spotlight system and $129.99 for the Calla pathway lights. Both feature color ambiance bulbs, allowing you to choose from 16 million different colors available via the Philips Hue app. The Philips Hue white range which includes the Lucca, Tuar, Turaco, and Ludere, will start at $49.99. And according to their news release, the new products will be available in the United States in July.

Phillips is hosting a press conference about its outdoor lights on Monday, March 19th and we should know more then.

The post Philips Hue will venture outdoors this summer appeared first on The Gadgeteer.

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Philips Hue will venture outdoors this summer originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 14, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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Light up your landscape with solar-powered lights that look like flaming torches

You’ve got your indoor bulbs that look like a gas flame and a Bluetooth speaker that looks like a flaming torch, now you’re ready for outdoor lighting that also looks like flaming torches!  You’ll get a set of two Solar Garden Lights from Dikaou, plus accessories to set the lights up for wall mounting, using them as a table lamp, or for staking them into the ground for landscape lighting.

They are made of high-duty ABS plastic, and they have LED lights that mimic a flame.  You won’t have to worry about batteries because the torches are solar-powered.  The lamps will turn on automatically at night, or you can power them off when you don’t need them.  And with an IP65 rating, you know they’ll stand up to rain.

Get a set of 2 Dikaou Color Garden Lights for $69.99 at Amazon.

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Light up your landscape with solar-powered lights that look like flaming torches originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 6, 2018 at 12:00 pm.

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Philips adds a motion sensor to the Hue lighting system

There are many ways to control your Hue WiFi-connected lighting system – smart Hue Switches, apps for mobile devices or computers, Alexa voice commands, IFTTT – but those are limited in various ways.  Perhaps there are some areas, like a dark hallway or stairs, where you would like a hands-free way of turning on the lights.  Philips has introduced a battery-powered motion sensor, so you don’t need a nearby power outlet to use it.  You will need a Hue Bridge to connect it to your system, and you’ll program it using the Hue app.  Once connected, it turns on the programmed lights when it senses motion and turns them back off after a period of no motion.  It comes with its first set of AAA alkaline batteries and a magnet or screws for mounting.  The Philips Hue Motion Sensor is available at Best Buy for $39.99.

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Philips adds a motion sensor to the Hue lighting system originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 20, 2017 at 1:31 pm.

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Power Practical Luminoodle Color Bias Lighting review

Every once in a while, a gadget comes along that, at first glance at least, appears to be basically superfluous and unnecessary…but cool and fun, nonetheless. That was exactly what I thought when I first saw the Power Practical Luminoodle Color Bias Lighting. Heck, just the name “Luminoodle” had my attention. Truth be told, I’d actually been seeing these LED strips for a while and thought I might like to try one, so when Julie offered the Luminoodle to review, I was gleefully all over it. Let’s check it out! Gadget on!

Specs

  • LED rating: 50,000 hours
  • Light output: 450 Lumens
  • USB input: 5 Watts (5 Volts, 1 Amp)
  • 3M adhesive backing
  • 15 colors
  • Warranty: 1 year

Options

  • Small (1 meter) – $19.99
  • Medium (2 meters) – $24.99 (reviewed here)
  • Large (3 meters) – $29.99

Packaging

The Luminoodle arrived in a slim plastic zip-closure pouch with a tear-off opening.The back of the pouch depicted a brief explanation of installation configurations for the product inside.

Contents

  • 2-meter Luminoodle on a spool
  • Wireless remote
  • Luminoodle instruction booklet
  • Remote instruction booklet

Features & Functions

The Luminoodle wireless remote has multiple buttons used to control its various functions. The Luminoodle is powered by plugging it into a standard USB port.  Bonus: this is a reversible USB plug!The Luminoodle can be controlled with a simple in-line remote that includes three buttons, as shown above.  Above is a closeup of a segment of the Luminoodle’s ribbon cable.  The Luminoodle’s color illumination is driven by sets of RGB (Red Green Blue) LEDs.  NOTE: If for some reason you need to trim off the excess length of cable, the Luminoodle can be cut at any of the points where the “+GRB” copper connectors are located, as seen on the right side of the image above.As shown above, the Luminoodle utilizes some high-strength 3D tape to attach to the back of a TV, computer monitor or any other surface.


The wireless remote is powered by a single CR 2025 3V lithium battery.  The battery is simple to change; it fits into a small tray that slides into the bottom of the remote.The wireless remote is quite small and thin and very lightweight.Almost immediately upon opening the pouch, I just had to power up the Luminoodle.  Without even removing it from the spool, I plugged the Luminoodle into an iPad power adapter and cycled through its four primary colors: white (above) and red, blue and green (all below).  I literally giggled to myself—it was already pretty fun, and I hadn’t even installed it yet.



I began the installation process by turning my TV around so that I could access its rear.  My TV measures 55 inches diagonally, and the Luminoodle I was sent was 2 meters in length, so I figured it would wrap around most of the back of my TV, but probably not in a full loop.  Next, I carefully dusted the back of the TV to help the adhesive backing adhere better.  Then I used some masking tape to mock up where I would ultimately place the Luminoodle (see above image).  After a few adjustments to make it as symmetrical as I could, I was satisfied.

Once I was happy with the Luminoodle’s placement, I began peeling the red backing from the 3M tape, exposing its adhesive side, as shown above.  I quickly realized that this particular tape was actually a double-stick type and very grippy, which I saw as a good thing—I wouldn’t have to worry about the Luminoodle spontaneously falling off of my TV.  Also, it took me a few minutes to be able to peel the backing off without pulling the tape itself off of the ribbon cable, but once I got it started, it was fine.

The only challenging part about attaching the Luminoodle was the corners.  Because the Luminoodle is basically a flat ribbon cable, it was impossible to get it to form a curve shape.  Therefore, I had to improvise by putting a small fold or crimp in each of the two corners, as seen in the images above and below.  NOTE: In re-reviewing the instructions, maybe I didn’t do this correctly, but it seemed to work for me.

I am still a bit concerned that these corner crimps may result in a short-circuit over time, but considering that the Luminoodle on either side of the crimps is stationary and well-fixed as a result of the 3M adhesive tape, I don’t expect this to become an issue.
Above is a photo of the fully-installed Luminoodle.  This 2-meter long Luminoodle model ended up covering around 2/3 of the perimeter of the rear of my 55-inch diagonal TV, which I was happy with.  For TVs of different sizes, Luminoodle offers different lengths.

Above, another view of the installed Luminoodle.  I should note that taking the time to mock up the location with the masking tape actually made the final installation go very quickly.

Above, a photo of the Luminoodle’s reversible USB power connector plugged into the USB port on the back of my TV.  Because it is USB-powered, the Luminoodle can be plugged into not only a TV, as I’ve done here, but a USB port on a monitor, computer or even a wall USB adapter as I showed up above.  However, plugging the Luminoodle into a TV, monitor or computer allows it to power on and off whenever you use these devices.

Above, one more shot of the installed Luminoodle before I spun it back around.  Even BB-8 is anxious to see the Luminoodle in action.

Above and in the next several pics are a teaser to give an idea of just how much illumination the Luminoodle can output.







The Luminoodle has 14 different color modes plus white, warm white and cool white, and I’ve attempted to show a pic of each of them here (though I may have missed a few!).  In addition to being able to change colors, Luminoodle also has 10 dimmer levels, and I’ve shown the brightest of them here because the lowest level didn’t come through well on photos.  And finally, the Luminoodle also has 4 modes.  You can manually switch from color to color, you can have Luminoodle slowly cycle from color to color (or “Crossfade,” the mode I like best while watching TV), or you can have Luminoodle pulsate rapidly from color to color like a strobe light (party mode!), either in a single or all colors, and you can even control the speed.  The Power Practical folks tout Luminoodle’s ability to help reduce eye strain and dryness by providing a gentle ambient backlighting.  To me, this is at least a plausible concept but I have to say that I wasn’t really able to prove it either way.


Conclusion

OK, the Power Practical Luminoodle Color Bias Lighting is just plain fun.  It was easier to install than I expected (and even installation was kind of fun), and the wireless remote made it even more fun to cycle through its many colors, brightness levels, and modes.  I’m not completely sure about the claim of making my TV’s picture’s darks darker to reduce eye strain and dryness.  Maybe Luminoodle can help with that, maybe not.  All I know is, Luminoodle is easy to install and fun to use.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Power Practical. Please visit powerpractical.com for more info and Amazon to order.

 

Product Information

Price: $19.99 (1 meter), $24.99 (2 meters), $29.99 (3 meters)
Manufacturer: Power Practical
Retailer: Amazon
Requirements:
  • A USB port to power the Luminoodle itself
  • A single CR 2025 3V lithium battery to power the wireless remote
Pros:
  • FUN
  • Easy to install
  • Lots of colors and modes
Cons:
  • Can only be installed once

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Power Practical Luminoodle Color Bias Lighting review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 2, 2017 at 10:00 am.

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OxyLED stick-on lights review

Adding extra light where none exists can be a huge hassle and expense when wiring, and new electrical work is concerned. An easier way is to add easy to install stick up lights like the OxySense T-01 DIY Stick-On Anywhere 4-LED Touch Tap Light and the Motion Sensor Night Light from OxyLED. Let’s check them out.

What is it?

OxyLED lights are easy to install stick up lights that don’t require you to call an electrician or your friend who works construction. Anyone can install these lights including me. All you need is a place that needs some extra light and a flat surface to stick them.

OxyLED sent me two lights. One runs on regular batteries and the other one has a rechargeable battery. Let’s take a look at the OxySense T-01 first.

OxyLED OxySense T-01 DIY Stick-on Anywhere 4-LED Touch Tap Light

The OxySense T-01 DIY Stick-On Anywhere 4-LED Touch Tap Light which I’ll just call the OxySense from here on out, is a simple light that has 4 LEDs arranged in a horizontal line.

This light has a plastic 6.89 x 1.77in case which is available in a few different colors like the green that you see here.

If you flip the light over, you’ll see two 3M adhesive pads which you’ll use to mount this light on a flat clean surface.

The back slides off to reveal the battery compartment. The OxySense runs on 3 AAA batteries which are not included. There’s also no info on the OxyLED site about how long the batteries should last.

The light bar can rotate 180 degrees so you can direct the light to the right angle. Notice the two small “pegs” that protrude from the light bar on the right side. That’s the touch switch. When you touch that switch with your finger, it will toggle the light on or off.

To install the OxySense, you insert 3 AAA batteries in the battery compartment, replace the battery cover, peel the covering off the 3M stickers and then press the light to a flat surface. As you can see from the image above, I’ve mounted the light under a cabinet in my kitchen.


How bright are the LEDs? Check out the photos above. The photo on the left shows the OxySense turned off and the photo on the right shows the OxySense with the light turned on. Drastic difference? I don’t think so. Actually, the only reason you can tell that the light is on in the images above is that it was a gloomy day when I took them. If I turn on the overhead light in the kitchen and then turn on the OxySense light, you can barely tell it’s on.

This light is only good for really dark areas. It’s not going to offer much in the way of additional lighting for an area that already has medium bright lighting.

Price: $8.99 from Amazon.

OxyLED T-04 Motion Sensor Night Light

I was more interested in reviewing the T-04 Motion Sensor Night Light than the OxySense T-01 because the Motion Sensor Night Light has a rechargeable battery, multiple ways to mount it and it’s motion activated, which means you don’t have to flip a switch to turn on the light.

The bar shaped light is 15.8 x 1.5 x 0.7 inches and comes in white.

The light comes with several ways to mount it. One way to mount it is with the small magnets on the back that will let you stick the light to a flat steel surface.

There’s also a vertical plastic clip that you can attach with screws on the included adhesive strip.

There’s also a horizontal bracket that you can also mount using screws or the adhesive strips.

Another way to mount the OxyLED T-04 Motion Sensor Light is with the slide out hang tab.

You won’t need to search around for batteries to power this stick-up light because it has a built-in rechargeable battery.  To charge it, you detach the battery pack from the end of the light and then plug it into a USB port on your computer or into a USB charging adapter.

It can take up to 3hrs to fully charge the 900mAh battery pack. An LED on the front will glow red while charging and will turn off once charging has finished.

A full charge will provide up to 4 hours of light. Take into consideration that you’ll probably not turn the light on for that full time… although you can.

Most people will probably use the light’s motion switch and only light it when motion is detected like when the door to a dark closet is opened.

The switch on the end of the light has 3 settings that you can use to control the behavior of the light. Of means it won’t light at all. On means it’s always on and Auto means it will light up when it detects motion and will turn off after 20 seconds of inactivity.

A dark closet is where I decided to mount the OxyLED Motion Sensor Light using the vertical clip.

The light has 25 cool white LEDs that put out a decent amount of light. How much light?

Here’s my hall closet with the T-04 turned off.

And here it is with the light turned on.

Although it’s twice as expensive, I like the OxyLED T-04 Motion Sensor Night Light a lot more than the OxySense T-01 light. With the T-04 you don’t have to worry about feeding it batteries and it turns off and on automatically.

Price: $19.99 from Amazon.

Final thoughts

OxyLED stick up lights are easy to install and use. I recommend the T-04 Motion Sensor Night Light. But the T-01 OxySense would work fine in a dark closet as long as you don’t forget to turn it off when you’re done.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by OxyLED. Please visit their site for more info and Amazon to order.

 

Product Information

Price: $8.99 – $19.99
Manufacturer: Oxyled
Retailer: Amazon
Pros:
  • Both: Easy to install
  • T-01: Easy on/off with a tap
  • T-04: Multiple mounting options
  • T-04: Motion activation
  • T-04: Rechargeable battery
Cons:
  • T-01: Doesn't come with batteries
  • T-01: Isn't very bright

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OxyLED stick-on lights review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 18, 2017 at 5:21 pm.

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