Sony's Multifunctional Light Is a Smart Bulb That's Also a Speaker

Sony arguably deserves the award for some of the most interesting product launches at this year's CES trade show. The Japanese company took everyone by surprise when it unveiled the new PS-HX500 turntable, and now, after the trade show, the company unveiled a product called the Multifunctional Light.

As the name suggests, the Multifunctional Light is much more than your regular light bulb. Featuring Toshiba's LED lighting tech, the Multifunctional Light can connect to your smartphone or Wi-Fi and can be scheduled to turn on as per your convenience. But that's not all.

The Multifunctional Light comes equipped with motion, temperature, humidity, and luminance sensors. The company says that the Multifunctional Light can sense when a user enters the room, and can automatically control the light as well as the TV or an air conditioner. The Multifunctional Light also doubles as a 5W speaker and a microphone. A user could utilise the Light to play music or listen to messages.

There's no word on pricing, however, and we also don't know when and if Sony will launch the Multifunctional Light outside its home market, where it is said to be available to purchase in the first half of 2016.

Sony has had an eventful year so far. It utilised the CES trade show pretty efficiently launching a range of products including some Walkman models, ultra-thin TVs, 4K handycams and action cameras, wireless speakers, headphones, and a Blu-ray player.

While still in the nascent phase, the market for IoT products is growing at a rapid pace. Samsung, LG, Philips already have a rich offering in the field. Newcomers such as Cube26 are also enticing users with their new low-priced gadgets.