Have you met “Hue?”

The capabilities of smart devices are growing every day.  In addition to banking, paying bills, starting your car, video chatting and recording your favorite show, you can now control the lights in your apartment all from your mobile phone.  Recently, Phillips released “smart” light bulbs (called Hue) that can be controlled using your iPhone.

The starter pack includes the bridge (that needs to be plugged into your router at home), 3 “smart” light bulbs, and all necessary cables.  The light bulbs use LED lighting, instead of a traditional filament, which gives you a 15 year life span per bulb!  The bulbs can be screwed into any traditional light fixture or lamp you have around your home.  At the base of each bulb is a sensor that keeps it connected with the system.  Simply download the free “Hue” app in the App Store on your iPhone (this app is currently for iOS only) and you have control over the lights in your house from anywhere, at any time!

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As if that wasn’t cool enough, since the bulbs are lit with LED’s, they can reproduce almost any color.  The “Hue” app comes with several preset color schemes that you can switch between, or you can completely customize and create your own color combos.  Upload your own pictures and have the lights mimic the colors from the picture, or have individual control over each light, or group together if you want them to be the same.  Hue also gives you control over how bright or dim you would like a light or group of lights to be.  In addition to that, setting the lights to turn on or off at certain times is a breeze.  Imagine, you can have them fade in or out over a period of time just like a sunrise or sunset!

The starter pack comes with 3 lights, so if you would like to wire your entire apartment, you will have to buy extra lights separately.  They are a bit pricey ($199.95 for the starter kit and $59.95 for each additional bulb), but keep in mind they last 15 years.  If you move to a new apartment, simply unscrew the light bulbs from light fixtures like you normally would, and screw them right back in once you are in your new space.  Imagine how fun it would be to create settings for parties, date nights, or even relaxing evenings after work.  So tell us, what would your “Hue” color combos be for your rental?

Photo courtesy of Phillips.