A Hue-ing Good Time

Yay! Panda Girl gets her paw on the latest Philips HUE LED light bulbs! And boy, the rainbow of colours we can get with just a simple app is JUST amazing. Depending on the scene you choose, you can transform your home with lights of seductive purple, passionate red or soothing green. OR you can adjust the level of brightness according to your comfort level and time it to fade into darkness as you slip into the oblivion of dreams. The Panda Girl downloaded the app and before long, the office was flashing red, gold and green like a funky disco. XD

Like I mentioned in my previous post on the wireless scene, both Android and iPhone users can join the fun. The starter pack comes with 3 light bulbs, bridge and important cables so you can get started almost immediately. Turn on your wifi and VOILÀ! Let the HUE-ing Good Times begin. Just be sure that your phone is on the same wifi network as the bridge though or it won't work. You can also use 3rd party apps to create dazzling effects such dancing lights like what I did in the videos below: And that's not all! Philips HUE has a feature known as IFTTT, short for IF THIS THEN THAT -- a service that allows you to interact with several platforms like Gmail, Facebook and Linkedin. This feature is particularly useful, especially for people who work at home like popular blogger moonberry. You can do the same too by signing up at the IFTTT website. Once you have done that, you can activate the channel you wish to be triggered by. For instance, I chose to activate Facebook and from there, I can decide what on Facebook that I want to be alerted to. For example, you may want know whenever someone tags you in Facebook so this is what you can do:

1. Click on Facebook to activate the channel.
2. Choose the action you want to be alerted to.
3. Pick the Action Channel you want to send the alerts to, in this case...it'll be Philips HUE. (Click on View All Channels to view all the available channels.)
4. After you've clicked on Philips HUE channel, it'll take you to a website where you will be asked to login or sign up for a new account at the HUE community.
5. Follow instructions to activate your bridge and you can now remotely control your lights via the Philips HUE app from anywhere in the world! Simply fire up your app when you're out of your wifi range and it'll take you automatically to the HUE community website where you can just login.
6. Choose the recipe to determine how you want to be alerted when someone tags you in Facebook.
7. If you choose to have your lamp change colour, you can customise the colour too. =)

Ain't it cool? You can also do the same for less frivolous triggers like when your client emails you or when horrible weather is looming on the horizon and you want to be alerted before you go out in your Jimmy Choos. =) All in all, I personally found it quite a fun thing to have in the home. It took some time to set up everything, but once you get the hang of it...it's amazing what you can do with it. Especially the customisation of light colours. If you're the kind of person who enjoys tailor-making your life, then this is definitely the kit for you.

Intrigued by this wireless way of lighting up your home? You can grab the introduction pack at $319 (including GST). Additional light bulbs cost $89 each AND you'll be happy to know that the bridge can connect up to FIFTY bulbs! It's available for online orders at apple.com.sg. Retail sales at Apple Premium Resellers and Philips branded stores from 11 December 2013.