Tuesday 15 September 2015

Upcoming reviews

I have decided to post reviews of some of the products I have been buying lately. Upcoming are:

  • Osram Lightify smart bulbs;
  • Samsung SmartThings IoT/home automation hub;
  • New Balance Minimus 20v4 trainers;
  • and the Pioneer AppRadio with Carplay.
Let me know if you are interested in any particular aspects of the above products and I will try to include that in the review.

Wednesday 9 September 2015

Philips Hue Go Review


Around six years ago I bought some Home Easy home automation devices, which have served me quite well with their simple but robust functionality. Recently I have been tempted by some of the newer home automation devices, which offer more features than my Home Easy setup, while prices have been falling to acceptable levels. I therefore decided to donate my Home Easy setup to my mother and invest in some new devices: Philips Hue B22 bulbs, and a Philips Go light. Soon to be added to this haul will be the Samsung SmartThings hub, and some Osram Lightify bulbs. Of the devices I have purchased so far the one that has surprised me the most is the Philips Go light, which will be the subject of this review.

Purchase 
In my haste to pick up one of these devices I bought mine from a Maplin store, for £79.99. The transaction went smoothly, though Maplin keep Hue devices in their stockroom, thus the purchase takes a little longer than normal while a member of staff retrieves the item.

Unboxing 
The box itself was not in pristine condition. I do not know whether that was down to Philips or Maplin, however I was more interested in the contents than the packaging. Unfortunately once I broke the seal and opened the box I discovered that the Go lamp was a little dirty, and the front cover of the unit was sitting slightly proud of the body. This was easily resolved by pushing it back into place, but this was a little disappointing for a brand new device from Philips.

Setup 
I already have a Hue bridge set up, and connecting the Hue Go was simple: I plugged it in to a power source, searched for new lights via the hue app, and added the Go. The app found the lamp, and it has worked quite well every since. That said, it does not always respond to commands on the first attempt. This may be because the lamp now sits on my bedside table and is the furthest device from my bridge.

In Use 
Unlike other Hue lights, the Go does not require a Hue bridge to function; a button on the back of the unit allows the user to alternate between seven preset colour and brightness outputs. Connection to the bridge allows for a great deal more variation, however. The Go is capable of reproducing 16m colours, as well as having LED specifically for 'white' light, unlike the Bloom or Iris units. The Hue Go is rated for a maximum of 300 lumens. This is less than half of what the hue B22 bulbs I have are rated at, however the output is surprisingly bright.

I intend to use the Go primarily as a bedside light, and it is more than adequate for that purpose. I also used it on battery power while I was taking a bath; the output was also sufficient to bathe my entire bathroom in a relaxing purple hue.

While I have not yet tested the maximum battery life, Philips claim the device will achieve 2 - 3 hours depending on light output. This seems achievable.

One of the main reasons I wanted to use a Hue light at my bedside was so I could simulate sunrise and sunset. I use an app on my iPhone for this purpose, and the Go has proven itself to be ideal; it is able to dim very deeply for the beginning stages of the simulated sunrise, while the ultimate light output is sufficient to wake me up. It certainly beats my alarm as a way to be roused in the morning!

I will update this review as I use the Go more, however I am very pleased with it so far.