Elgato is launching Avea tunable LED A-lamp based on the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) wireless interconnect, at the IFA 2014 consumer electronics tradeshow in Berlin this week.
Elgato plans to focus on apps and smart devices to turn to solid-state lighting (SSL) technology as part of the new smart home equation.
Avea is priced at $49.95 and is available from the retailers as well as the Elgato website.
The 7W Avea lamp can produce 430 lm at 300K CCT. The lamp also features the ability to provide seven dynamic color scenes that induce settings including sunrise to tranquil nighttime environments.
The lamp also provides a wakeup function slowly increasing the light level up for an awakening experience.
Control of the Avea lamp is handled through Apple smartphones and tablets. The company plans to add support for other devices such as Android-based phones and tablets also.
Elgato is not the first company to announce a BLE-based lamp but the usability of such products remains unclear and the technology makes sense for commissioning SSL products.
Hubbell Lighting announced such capabilities in luminaire products at LightFair 2013. Lighting Science Group also showed Bluetooth-based retrofit lamps at the same trade fair.
BLE features connecting smart devices and light bulbs without any wireless bridge. But, when the smart device leaves the room, the control goes beyond any scenes preloaded into the luminaire. With technologies such as ZigBee and the necessary wireless bridge a stubborn connection to the lamp via the Internet is possible.
Elgato in particular faces several challenges. The lamp is only the equivalent of a 40W incandescent model in terms of white light output. The compatibility issue emerges in terms of Android and other devices. Anyhow, it offers a 25,000 hours of life and the Elgato BLE implementation allows a user to control ten lamps form one smart device.
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