Before the holidays, Philips brought a new technology to market for those with disposable incomes and a knackering for ambient lighting. The Hue concept is simple (and reminds us of Philip’s earlier attempts at lighting for TVs): the bulbs have variable range of color support via LEDs and they’re network enabled, allowing you control the light level and color via your iPhone.
Sure, a set of three bulbs will set you back $280 (Amazon.com) but the effect is quite impressive, especially with the iOS support coming native to the system. But that’s just the problem as those on other platforms were left in the cold.
Now a new company called Oni seems to be embracing Windows Phone by releasing their first (of a few) “lifestyle” apps. Oni: Light Control, now available for $3.99 on the Store, is a fully-featured light control system for Philips Hue. It even adds some features like voice control and the ability to pick colors from photos, allowing you to make custom templates for your home.
We’re not going to lie: we have more important things at the moment to spend our money on instead of those Philips Hue bulbs (and presumably a new lighting system for our home). But while we laughed at the notion back in October, we’re now considering for the future because…well, it’s just darn awesome looking.
We also like Oni (www.oni.io). They seem like a serious software company prepared to bring high-quality apps to Windows Phone and Windows 8 (see ‘Hub’ for Kinect coming soon and two other “classified” apps in the works).
Look, what we’re trying to say is forget the rent, mortgage payment, your kids lunch for the month, your car loan and go invest in Philips Hue’s ambient lighting system for your home, crank up the disco music and grab this app so we keep Oni around. That and if you live the Glenn Quagmire life-style, you’ll thank us later.
Pick up Oni: Light Control for $3.99 here in the Store with a free trial (Windows Phone 8 only). And you must watch the accompanying videos. Thanks, Hiiiiiiiii, for the tip
Update: You can actually buy the 3-pack Start kit of Philips Hue for $200 ($80 less) from Apple.com.
