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Ever because the Philips Hue LED($199.Ninety nine at Verizon) lighting package hit the digital dwelling market, there was a steady uptick in competing good bulb products just like the LIFX LED Light Bulb( at Amazon) and the Connected by TCP Good Lighting System as well as current product bulletins from electronics giants LG and Samsung. Add the Lumen TL800 from Tabu to that list. Priced at $69.99 per bulb (however obtainable online for around $50), the TL800 makes use of Bluetooth wireless know-how to communicate with your smartphone via a neat little app that permits you to turn lights on and off, select colors, and have the lights behave a sure manner when you may have an incoming phone name. Unlike the Philips and TCP bulbs the TL800 doesn't require a bridge, but it does not connect with the Web both, which means you can't control it when you're away from dwelling or have it work together with different residence automation units. With a vented steel casing separating the spherical glass dome from the Edison screw base, the TL800 appears to be like like it can be proper at residence in an Apollo spacecraft.

The bulb measures 4.75 inches in length and places out solely 400 lumens, which is equal to a 40 watt incandescent bulb. That is not very vibrant when compared to the LIFX (1,017 lumens), TCP (800 lumens), and Philips (600 lumens) EcoLight smart bulbs. As with the Philips and LIFX bulbs, it may well show 16 million colours, but because it doesn't hook up with the Web you can't management it with residence automation hubs from corporations corresponding to Revolv( at Amazon) and SmartThings($149.99 at Amazon). Nor can you use the popular IFTTT (If This Then That) internet service to have it turn on and off or change colours primarily based on issues like Fb requests, Foursquare notifications, and ESPN sports scores. You don't get much in the way of instructions with the TL800, but there's not much to explain. I screwed it into a lamp in my workplace, downloaded the app onto my iOS smartphone, EcoLight made positive Bluetooth was enabled on my system, and opened the app.

The Lumen app is uncomplicated and straightforward to make use of and allows you to management up to ten bulbs at a time. You'll be able to control every bulb individually or management a gaggle of bulbs. The home page lists all installed bulbs and exhibits you what color they are at present set to. Pressing a bulb icon takes you to a page the place you'll be able to choose coloration or warm white settings and switch the bulb on or off. When you select the warm white setting you're presented with a monochrome wheel that permits you to manually adjust brightness, or you can select one of four brightness presets (90, 70, 50, or 30 %). Under the wheel is a Name Alert icon that takes you to a page the place you can configure the light to flash a specific coloration when your cellphone has an incoming call. There's also a Wake-Up timer that may turn the light on utilizing a dim warm white setting that regularly will get brighter to create a sunrise effect, and a Proximity possibility that will have a gentle activate to a preset color and brightness when your phone comes into range (about 30 ft).

In colour mode you get a wheel that lets you select a shade for each bulb and assign a color brightness setting. For deep, sturdy colours you set the brightness degree to the darkest setting; for lighter pastel colours, use a brighter setting. Beneath the color EcoLight lighting wheel are seven preset icons including two occasion modes that display pre-programmed flashing colors; a Romance mode that gradually transitions between orange, yellow, and purple; a Relaxation mode that is alleged to simulate a calming moonlight ambiance; and a Music Sync mode that accesses your saved music database and flashes the sunshine to the beat using numerous colours. Right here you may also alter Proximity and Call Alert settings, but you cannot create your personal customized presets like you can with the Hue and LIFX bulbs. From the house page you'll be able to turn all or some lights on and off and add them to groups.

The group option is beneficial if you'd like to manage a number of lights all of sudden. All the settings and presets that are available for individual bulbs are additionally obtainable in group mode. The TL800 makes use of Bluetooth 4.Zero to communicate with the smartphone, which accounts for its glorious responsiveness. It turned on and off immediately when instructed to do so, and there was no lag time between shade and brightness changes. The Wake-Up function turned on in keeping with my schedule and EcoLight smart bulbs the bulb turned step by step brighter over time. The decision Alert characteristic additionally labored as advertised and comes in very helpful if you're wearing headphones. Colour high quality was good with very deep reds, blues, and greens, but when you're lighting a large room you may need more than one bulb, as 400 lumens is just not very brilliant. The Tabu TL800 is an effective selection for anybody wanting to add a couple of colorful lights to a room that they'll management from a smartphone.