A Kickstarter project to create a smartphone-controlled, Wi-Fi connected light bulb has smashed through its $100,000 goal, raising $260,000 with 58 days to go.
The LIFX, as this light bulb is called, is a LED bulb that saves energy and lasts up to 25 years. It’s easy to install — you merely need to replace your current bulbs with LIFX bulb, and download an iOS or Android app, which you can use to control the lighting in your house.
The project creators claim the smartphone app will also let you choose any brightness for a specific bulb, a room or a whole house, visualize music, assemble your lights into “groups” and more.
Backers of the project who pledge $69 get one LIFX bulb; for $99 you get two, and for $196 you get 4 LIFX bulbs. Those who pledge a whopping $5,000 will get 100 LIFX bulbs.
We’ve seen several similar projects in the past, but the LIFX bulb uses an innovative master/slave concept, wherein the “master” bulb connects to your home router via 802.11n and then onto all the other LIFX bulbs in your home via an IPV6 802.15.4 mesh network.
The fact that the project is currently featured on top of Reddit’s tech section also helps. During the time it took to write this article, the project raised an amazing $20,000.
How do you feel about this idea? Would you dish out $69 for a light bulb that does all this?
Read More: http://mashable.com/2012/09/17/lifx-led-bulb/
September 17, 2012