Philips Lighting has introduced new members of its LED-based, color-tunable Hue lighting family with what the company is now calling Friends of Hue products. The first two products in the family are a 2m LightStrip that can be installed under furniture or in architectural room features, and the LivingColors Bloom fixture that sits on a table or other flat surface and projects much like a floodlight on an architectural facade.
The new Friends of Hue products are designed to work seamlessly with the ZigBee bridge supplied in the Hue Starter Kit, and with Philips and third-party applications developed for Apple and Android smartphones. The new products would be configured just as if they were yet another Hue lamp connected to the local ZigBee network.
"Adding color to a home doesn't need to just be about art and paint; the flexibility of smart LED technology means light can play just as big a part in creating a unique atmosphere in the home that is flexible and personalized to you, and this is just the beginning," said Sridhar Kumaraswamy, general manager of Philips Consumer Luminaires EMEA. "At Philips our core focus has always been to improve people's lives through meaningful innovation and we believe we have done just that by expanding the infinite possibilites of hue through Friends of Hue."
The new LightStrips some in 2m lengths that deliver 120 lm, although users can cut the strips to the required length. The 8W strips are priced at EUR 89.95 (about $120) and will be sold at Apple stores initially. The 12W LivingColors Bloom also outputs 120 lm and is priced at EUR 79.95 (about $107).
Both new products can produce up to 16 million colors. The products can be dimmed, tuned for color, and switched on and off locally and remotely. The lighting products are already available in some stores.
Philips has repeatedly added either new technology elements or products to the Hue family this year after announcing the products late in 2012. For example, Philips and Disney recently announced some Disney-character-themed products that integrate Hue lamps and interactive elements for kids. Back in May the company enhanced the Hue app.
