BlueBulb Bluetooth Light Bulb

Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED

Welcome to another exciting episode of “You’ve Got to be Kidding.” Today’s star attraction is the BlueBulb, an ordinary-looking LED light bulb whose distinguishing feature is its Bluetooth connectivity.

Screw the bulb into any standard lamp socket, turn it on, and an array of 6- and 9-watt LEDs will produce a soft white glow. Nothing special really. But pair the BlueBulb with any Bluetooth 4.0 Apple device (Android compatibility is coming soon) and download an app, and it transforms into an electric rainbow capable of spitting out a million colors.

After $20,000 in quickly crowd-sourced funding at fundanything.com, the Bluetooth-controlled light bulb has the (possibly dubious) distinction of being the first of its kind. (There are, comparably, numerous more versatile LED bulbs out there that use Wi-Fi and Internet IP connectivity.) Of course, one of Bluetooth’s core strengths is its gentle battery demands. The trade-off is the 30-foot transmission distance. For cellphones and portable speakers, the wireless protocol is a perfect marriage. For a light bulb? Eh, there might be grounds for a divorce.

Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED

Despite its limited utility, at least setting up the BlueBulb is simple. After screwing the bulb into your lamp socket and installing the iPhone app, Bluetooth pairing takes about 10 seconds. The app menus are straightforward enough. Sliding arrows on the rainbow-colored palette at top can be moved to the color of your choice. A separate white-light adjuster then lets you inject a given amount of white coloring to produce a brighter, more pastel mix.

I found the BlueBulb’s most useful function was its Sleep/Wake setting. After creating just the right color blend, I switched to the Sleep/Wake menu and set the time I wanted the bulb to power on. I’m a light sleeper, and accordingly I have blackout curtains and a planetarium’s worth of appliance LEDs covered up. So when my custom green lantern pre-setting popped on, I knew it was time to get up. You can also adjust light’s duration, a nice option for slow risers. Heavy sleepers will obviously be better served by a traditional sound alarm.

Still, there’s no getting past the BlueBulb’s inherent Bluetooth limitations. Move your phone more than 30 feet away from the actual bulb and you lose all control. Unlike many Wi-Fi-enabled LED bulbs, you can’t set schedules or switch on the lights from a remote location either. What you’re left with is basically a fun digital novelty with limited real-world purpose.

Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED

WIRED Adjustable to over a million color combinations. Can be set to power on and off at preset times. Low power demands and long 25,000-hour life.

TIRED Bluetooth’s short range limits you to 30 feet of light control. Weak illumination (even at its brightest setting) provides little more than mood lighting. $69 is too much for a novelty device.