LED firm Philips introduced the Hue lighting system that consists of three color tunable LED light bulbs and a control device at the end of 2012 with a retail price of US$199/unit. The firm noted that the product will be introduced to Asia markets such as Hong Kong and Japan starting the second quarter of 2013. The firm plans to introduce a series of color tunable LED lighting fixture products in the future.
According to Henk Veldhuis, director of Standard Connectivity of Philips Lighting, since the launch of Hue in the Apple Store at the end of 2012, the product has been launched in 29 countries. In addition, more than 20,000 users have downloaded the Hue app, said Veldhuis.
To establish a global open wireless control standard, international firms such as Philips and Osram formed the ZigBee Light Link (ZLL) Alliance. Since its establishment in 2002, the alliance has attracted 400 members including firms such as GE, Panasonic and Toshiba.
Veldhuis added that ZigBee has superior characteristics compared to Wi-Fi such as low energy consumption and costs. In addition, a battery for a ZigBee device can last for 10 years while for Wi-Fi, the battery can only last for three weeks, said Veldhuis.
Due to the low-energy consumption characteristic of ZigBee, Philips is currently developing control technology that does not require batteries, said Veldhuis. Users can control lighting color with the movement of fingers, and this technology is likely to be introduced to the market in 2013, according to Veldhuis.
