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Philips Hue just got a little brighter with 1.1 app update
"What's new with Hue?" Philips' connected light bulb just picked up a bounty of fresh tricks, thanks in no small part to the Hue 1.1 app update. The refresh, available for download today on iOS, brings a variety of additional features. Most significant, perhaps, is a partnership with IFTTT, which lets you create macros (called "recipes") for an unlimited number of functions. For example, if the forecast calls for rain, Hue can glow blue when it's time to leave in the morning. You can set visual notifications (a flashing light or change in color) to remind you of calendar appointments, let you know there's a new post on your Facebook wall, you name it. The new app also uses your smartphone's GPS for geofencing, so you can program the system to flip on lights as you approach your home, or turn everything off after you walk out the door. An alarm tool can wake you at a specific time, while the timer function will tweak the lights when the clock hits zero. The LED bulbs will run you $60 a pop, or $200 in a pack of three that also includes a (compulsory) wireless bridge. You can snag the updated app for free at the source link below, then join in on some pun-filled fun in the video after the break.
Philips debuts iOS SDK for its light bulbs
No, that headline isn't a joke. You can tell we're living in the 21st century when even lightbulbs have SDKs. The new Philips SDK and APIs are for the company's Hue Connected lighting system. Hue lights are WiFi bulbs users can control with an iOS device. Philips is releasing an SDK and API for the lights because they recognized that several developers had backward-engineered the technology to control the lights with their own apps. Philips hopes that an official SDK will allow more developers to interface with their Hue lighting system. TechCrunch pointed out some examples of what developers might be able to accomplish with the SDK: The new developer program will mean that hardware makers using these standards can build in Hue-compatible features, so that the lights can be triggered by various actions. You could have a specific light recipe come on whenever you open the door, for instance, or when a thermostat is set to specific climate setting. Other potential uses of the developer tools include apps for amateur and professional photographers, which could help them optimize lighting for a shoot with a simple app attached to a device with light-level detection capabilities. Philips also plans to release future features around geo-fencing, scheduling and other smartphone sensor capabilities that could expand what developers can do with them. Interested developers can find out more about the SDK and API here.
Philips hue: the 'world's smartest' LED lightbulb that saves you time during Red Alerts
Historically, altering the lighting color of a room required draping a gossamer-thin cloth over a lamp or buying a new bulb from the store. Philips has sought to solve that most taxing of first-world problems with the hue, a smartphone-controlled LED bulb that can cycle through shades at your whim. As well as block colors, you can use photos to create palette and can control the units even when away from home. It'll be an Apple Store exclusive from October 30th, with individual units setting you back $59 (£49, €59) and three-bulb introduction pack with a wireless bridge for $199 (£179, €199). If that seems a little steep, just console yourself in the knowledge that it's a thousand times more useful than other lighting devices we've seen this year.
HTC rolls out 'digital picture enhancement' update for HD2
We like cheery, pink-hued pics as much as the next guy, but let's be honest: when you're snapping a candid shot from your phone, you want that cherished memory to be preserved in color that's as accurate as possible. Fortunately, HTC has cut an update for its afflicted HD2 that solves the camera issues it's been having -- which is especially good news considering the dreadful theories that it might be a hardware issue -- and we've never seen language as flowery as this to describe a bugfix: "This update for HTC HD2 delivers clear digital picture quality like never before. Living up to the name of "HD" this phone and its twin LED flash will take beautiful pictures for you to cherish your memories. Displayed in brilliant vibrant colors on its 4.3 inch screen, HTC HD2 camera will delight you." Indeed, HTC. Indeed. [Thanks, Mikey]
Alltel rolls out Samsung Hue
It's hard to get us too terribly fired up over a low-end handset (MOTOFONE notably excepted), but the Samsung SCH-R500 "Hue" is, by all appearances, a hot little number considering its $40 price on contract. For forty bills, we'd typically expect a VGA cam, 1xRTT, and not terribly much else -- but the Hue may very well be signaling a true changing of the low-end guard here by serving a 1.3 megapixel shooter, EV-DO data, and stereo frickin' Bluetooth. Add in the fact that the flip's available in five tasty interchangeable, and we'd say Alltel has a winner on its hands. Grab it now online and in store.[Via MobileBurn]
