Philips Hue: Automated Home Lighting Gets Colorful

Philips sent out a review sample of their new Hue lighting system, a set of three Hue lights with the Hue Bridge that allows you to remotely control the lights. Besides being able to turn the lights on or off, the big claim to fame of the Hue is that you can set the lights to a variety of colors, or you can even program them to cycle through colors.

Home automation systems are often proprietary and can be quite expensive, so the entry of Philips into this market (albeit in a limited fashion) with their Hue lighting system has the potential to shake things up a bit. The lights have colored LEDs, and while the initial pack only includes three of the Connected Bulbs, you can potentially add up to 50 lights throughout your house/property. One thing that hasn’t changed yet however is that pricing is quite high: the initial kit will set you back $200. But how does the Philips Hue work in practice, and might it be worth the cost of entry?

We also have a new writer for this review, so say hello to Ashu Joshi.