App Wrap: "Hue," "iRig Keys"
Updated: 11/28/2012 05:30 AM
By: Adam Balkin
NY1 highlights the coolest and newest apps for your cell phone or mobile device in the twice-weekly segment "App Wrap." NY1's Adam Balkin filed the following report.
Hue
Your eyes are fine, as is your TV: these bulbs are changing colors and yes, that's an iPhone changing them.
It's a new wireless lighting system from Phillips called Hue. All you do is screw the bulbs into any socket, download the Hue app, then link your phone to a round "bridge," so to speak, that connects to your Wi-Fi router. From there your phone can chance the lights to any one of 15 million colors, Phillips says.
The app comes preloaded with some interesting settings, but you can also create your own. Just take any picture, slide the bulb number over the color you want, and that's the color it becomes. You can also switch the bulbs on and off remotely from anywhere in the world. Plus, since they're LEDs, they draw just more than eight watts, making them very power efficient.
The Hue starter set, which is being sold exclusively at Apple stores, comes with three bulbs and costs around $200. Additional bulbs will run around $60. The Hue app is free and available for iOS and Android devices.
iRig Keys
And if you play the piano or are hoping to learn, IK Multimedia, the company behind lots of high-end musical tools that link to iOS devices is out now with the iRig Keys.
The iRig Keys is a piano keyboard with 37 keys that works with several apps, but IK has two it designed specifically for the device: the iGrand Piano and SampleTank.
For the pro, there are numerous buttons and knobs for changing settings, pitch and octaves. For the non-pro, it's quite simply a way to play if you're not too keen on virtual pianos.
iRig Keys is out now for $100 and connects to iOS devices, PCs and Macs.
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