LIFX the new Bulb

[bigi]

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Just saw it and it looks like truly revolutionary idea. Haven't seen anything posted here.

I totally dig it and wish them a good luck.

All the packages have sold out already

 

[darkewaffle]

Amusing, but I think I'd rather just have an ultra efficient bulb than anything else.

 

[Jeffg010]

Says LIFX smartbulbs are rated to 40,000 hour / up to 25 year standards if this is true I want one.

 

[Jeffg010]

I looked up ultra efficient bulb and found this which is rated for 25,000 hours.
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2011/08/04/philips-ultra-lightbulb-wins-10m-prize

 

[rivan]

Says LIFX smartbulbs are rated to 40,000 hour / up to 25 year standards if this is true I want one.

We won't have wifi as we know it in 25 years. Wireless N or whatever this is on will be deprecated long before the bulb itself dies.

I'd rather have a super-efficient dumb bulb with life that long.

 

[IronWing]

60 watt equivalent isn't a bad starting point but needs to get to 100W equivalent to get my attention.

 

[rivan]

Yep. And dimmable.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Ok, so the most important question

HOW MUCH?



Anything more than $5 a bulb and I will pass.....

Energy saving even going from a regular light bulb to a "energy saver" one are small...hardly worth it.

Wireless access and colors really don't matter (to me). I switch on whatever light bulbs I need on at the time (and off).

Sorry, I don't get it

 

[Jaskalas]

I'll bet the bulb only lasts 5 years, max.

 

[ViviTheMage]

They do look awesome, one thing I recall reading about dimming lights is some can emit an annoying buzz, I hope these don't!

 

[ViviTheMage]

Ok, so the most important question

HOW MUCH?



Anything more than $5 a bulb and I will pass.....

Energy saving even going from a regular light bulb to a "energy saver" one are small...hardly worth it.

Wireless access and colors really don't matter (to me). I switch on whatever light bulbs I need on at the time (and off).

Sorry, I don't get it

I think they wanted $70 a bulb on their kickstarter page...

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/limemouse/lifx-the-light-bulb-reinvented

 

[Vdubchaos]

I think they wanted $50 a bulb on their kickstarter page...

BWAHAHA

I figured it would be "extremely" expensive.

bleh

 

[vshah]

They do look awesome, one thing I recall reading about dimming lights is some can emit an annoying buzz, I hope these don't!

the buzz happens when you attempt to dim a light that is not dimmable, it's the sound of the cfl inverter trying to deal with the reduced voltage.

 

[slayer202]

pretty awesome. but are they bright enough?

 

[ViviTheMage]

BWAHAHA

I figured it would be "extremely" expensive.

bleh

yeah, check that ... it was $70. D:

 

[ViviTheMage]

the buzz happens when you attempt to dim a light that is not dimmable, it's the sound of the cfl inverter trying to deal with the reduced voltage.

Yeah, I thought dimming would be cool, but I did not want to hear a buzz ... so I didn't risk it. Do these LED type bulbs have that issue?

 

[Chiropteran]

Very cool, very overpriced, and not practical.

 

[slayer202]

It's kickstarter, not a retail store...

 

[ViviTheMage]

You think it will be cheaper if they ever get into a retail store?

 

[Vdubchaos]

Very cool, very overpriced, and not practical.

Agreed

let me put on a light, hold on, let me enable wifi, start and app...wait for it.......ok which color would you like.

Now its on.

 

[deadlyapp]

The control is a bit of a novelty but I do plan on doing something similar eventually - although with central control rather than tens of miniature wifi access points. As another poster pointed out - by the time this comes out in a year or two we will be onto the next method of wireless. This doesn't mean they will definitely be obsolete but its hard to tell if they will stand the test of time.

They need to run a test for how many on/off cycles they will handle as well as longevity, then I might consider spending that sort of coin, but we're talking about thousands of dollars to outfit your entire house.

@vdubchaos - once the bulb is in its always communicating, and an app maybe takes what, 5 seconds to load? seriously you're complaining about the startup time?

 

[ImpulsE69]

Remember, this isn't even out yet. Price will drop if it takes off. Maybe not practical for everyone..but I can think of some places it would be awesome..like my arcade room.

 

[Rumpltzer]

At that price, there'll be copies churned out at a fraction of the price within months of release. The company is doomed.

 

[PottedMeat]

At that price, there'll be copies churned out at a fraction of the price within months of release. The company is doomed.

i thought i saw something like this on dealextreme months ago

LIFX uses a mesh network. The standby power usage of each bulb is very small, in fact a AA battery would keep a LIFX smartbulb in standby mode for approximately 1-2 years. [note: The master bulb requires a WiFi connection which uses approximately 2-3 watts. Only 1x master bulb is required in each home/office.]

that's pretty crappy you need a master and slave bulbs. i don't think a mesh is necessary, just make them independent.

 

[edro]

Pretty cool that they could fit Wifi controller/antenna in there.
That's a lot of Wifi devices in your house...