LG's first smart light bulb flashes when you get a phone call

LG isn't about to let household heavyweights like Philips corner the connected lighting space -- it just unveiled the Smart Lamp, its first take on the concept. The 10W LED bulb gives Android and iOS users a familiar level of control over their illumination, including a light-based alarm clock and a security mode that pretends you're at home. There are a couple of noteworthy tricks in this initial offering, however. The light connects through both Bluetooth and WiFi, letting it pull the sync-based stunts we've seen in a few other bulbs: it can flash when you get a phone call, or (with Android) pulse to the beat of the music. The Smart Lamp is more expensive than ordinary LEDs at 35,000 won ($32) in LG's native Korea, but it could be a good deal if you don't need the many-colored lighting of Hue and similar systems. Unfortunately, there's no word on whether or not it's coming to the US.

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Via: Android Central

Source: LG (translated)

Tags: android, HomeAutomation, household, internetofthings, ios, iphone, led, lg, lighting, smartbulb, smartlamp, SmartLighting Next: Switched On: Return of the digital hub
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Samsung Galaxy S5 Zoom details allegedly come to light

Samsung looks to be cooking up camera-heavy version of the Galaxy S5.

(Credit:James Martin/CNET)

The camera-focused Samsung Galaxy S5 Zoom, a variation on the forthcoming Samsung Galaxy S5, could feature a 20-megapixel rear camera and a hexa-core processor, according to new benchmarks.

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Thanks to details first discovered by Italian site Webtrek.it, we're getting a clearer picture of what to expect in Samsung's image-centric handset.

The model called the SM-C115 appears to run Android 4.4.2 KitKat and feature a 4.8-inch 720p display. Larger than the Galaxy S4 Zoom's 4.3-inch screen, this model may feature 2GB RAM and 8GB internal storage. Also of particular note, the benchmarks list the processor as being Samsung's Exynos 5 Hexa, a six-core chipset.

As for the all-important camera aspect, the Galaxy S5 Zoom could bundle a 20-megapixel rear shooter with a 2-megapixel front-facing lens. We might assume this one will pack all of the photo features found in the standard Galaxy S5, with maybe a little extra to boot.

For all we now know about the upcoming device, plenty remains unclear. Will this year's US model be an AT&T exclusive once again or could it get a wider release? What about price? Stick around, we'll likely find out in short order.

Topics: Phones, Rumors Tags: android, smartphones, rumors, samsung, galaxy s5

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Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet hands-on: A remarkably slim, light and powerful 10.1-inch Android slate

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If you’re in the market for a 10-inch Android tablet, your options are fairly limited. Samsung has a wealth of slates to choose from, but if you dislike TouchWiz and feel the Nexus 10 is starting to show its age, there’s one device that’s always been worth considering: Sony’s Xperia Tablet Z.

Tablets are still in high demand, so it’s no surprise that Sony came back to Mobile World Congress this year with a follow-up called the Xperia Z2 Tablet. It doesn’t look too different from its precursor, but the changes inside make this full-size Android slate an altogether different beast.

Sony goes skinny

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Relightable Dome creates interactive images where you control the light source

Stitching together a bunch of images to create a single picture is hardly a new concept. Panoramas are old hat, and Google is even using 360-degree photos to help guide your shopping decisions. But a team of students at NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program, with the help of a few others, are taking a slightly different approach. The Relightable Dome, or Relightable Photobooth, uses Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) technology which captures an object or person under a variety of lighting conditions then combine it into a single, interactive photo. Inside the box is a concave surface studded with 81 LED flashes. A custom microcontroller inside triggers each flash in sequence and a camera mounted at the rear captures an image at each stop. And, while the enclosure is custom, the camera doesn't need to be. At the back is simply a bracket that practically any shooter can be mounted on, though in this case it was a Canon DSLR. The pictures are then stitched together on a laptop using a piece of open source software and a special algorithm to create an interactive image where you control the light source. The whole process, from triggering the first flash to final file takes less than five minutes.Relightable Dome

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