Philips Hue Web-Enabled Lights Launched Starting at Rs. 16,995

Philips on Tuesday launched the Hue, its Web-enabled home lighting system, in India. Hue lets you control lights wirelessly and also create and change shades at your whim, even if you're not at home. Priced at Rs. 16,995, the Hue Starter Kit comes with three Hue lamps and a bridge to control them. Separately on sale are the Hue Go (priced at Rs. 8,995 without the bridge) bowl-shaped lamp, Hue Beyond (Rs. 22,995 without bridge) table lamp, Hue Bloom (Rs. 6,750 without bridge) spotlight, and LightStrips (Rs. 6,500 without bridge).

For those who haven't used Hue before, the bridge available in the starter kit will allow the bulbs to connect to the home Wi-Fi router. Once users have one of the above bulbs, lamps, or strips, and a bridge, they will then required to download the Hue app (available for Android and iOS) on their smartphone. Once done, the bulbs are supposed to be connected to their existing holders, after which they can remotely controlled via the app.

While it's definitely fun, the application of this gadget can be seen in a number of things. One can, for instance, use the Hue lamps as an alarm, and manage daily schedules among other things, including party lighting based on the music playing, based on several third-party and first-party apps.

Users can easily set, and automate the lamps to dim, or increase the light intensity depending on your mood. That's not all, you can pick an image and have your living room shaded with the same colours. You can also connect it to IFTTT to get you a gentle notification when it is raining outside, and similar things.

Interestingly the company recently announced that it would bring its Hue smart lighting range to Apple's HomeKit platform later this year. Once that happens, users will be able to tap on Siri, Apple's voice-based virtual assistant to control the 16 million colours the smart LED offers.

Commenting on the launch, Harsh Chitale, CEO, Philips Lighting - South Asia, said, "Philips Hue will change the way people have experienced and interacted with lighting till now. Connected LED lighting redefines the possibilities with lighting taking it beyond illumination and creating value to enhance ur lives".

Apart from Snapdeal, the Philips Hue range is available for purchase from Philips Light Lounges, select retail Croma outlets, and Reliance Digital across India.