It’s not healthy to look at your iPhone before bed. I know, we all do it. The white light of your device actually sends signals to your brain to produce energy, which isn’t ideal before you start counting sheep. That tricky thing called melatonin is actually pretty important. What if a lightbulb could actually help manage all that?
That’s where GE comes in with its new line of smart LED lightbulbs, simply called ‘C’. These two lights offer different variable settings that adjust throughout the day to improve your circadian rhythm. Think Hue meets Advil PM…or something like that.
Two bulbs were introduced by GE today: C Life and C Sleep. Each offers a similar feature set with different lighting temperatures depending on your needs. C Life has variable modes for normal, everyday activities and functions more like a traditional bulb. C Sleep automatically adjusts during the morning, afternoon and evening to help the body recognize the correct time of day.
For example, C Sleep provides a cool, vibrant light in the morning to curb the production of melatonin. This helps the body recognize that the day is beginning and it should wake up. In the evenings, the bulb turns to a warmer color, basically the opposite of your smartphone. The body takes note and begins the cycle of producing chemicals that promote a good night’s sleep.
Both of the bulbs use Bluetooth LE technology and can be controlled by GE’s free iOS and Android app. Much like Hue and WeMo, this app will have built-in support for “scenes” and scheduling. No hub is needed as the bulbs do not require Wi-Fi connectivity. This summer we saw a similar style product from Saffron, which was just launching a new Kickstarter project. GE’s name and history of lighting products will likely bring more consumer interest than a start-up.
C by GE LED light bulbs will be sold directly and are set to go on sale in early 2016. The C Life will retail for $15 while the C Sleep will go for $25. A starter pack with two of each lights will retail for $50.
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[9to5-press-release]
GE Lighting Unveils Connected Lighting Designed for Sleep Cycles Via Its First E-Commerce Business
EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio (October 29, 2015)—Today’s smart home market is anything but simple—it’s very fragmented with no clear platform winner. GE wants to make it easy for consumers to use smart LED lighting, while ensuring interoperability and a positive user experience. GE today announced its first connected LEDs designed for sleep and everyday illumination—called C by GE—that can be controlled without using a smart hub.
“GE wants to simplify the customer experience for smart home technology—both through how customers use the smart bulbs and how they learn about it at CbyGE.com,” says Linda Boff, GE’s Chief Marketing Officer. “Simple-to-use lighting can be your first experiment in the smart home. We chose Bluetooth® as the platform—a technology many users already know and trust—combined with GE’s quality of light that consumers trust.”
While the market for smart home products is still young, GE recognizes that consumers need faster, easier ways to learn about and access innovative smart home products, so GE Lighting is also launching its first e-commerce business, www.CbyGE.com, which will sell C by GE performance bulbs directly to consumers. With doorstep service, GE aims to simplify the shopping experience and educate those who are new to smart lighting technology.
The C by GE portfolio features two new connected products, C Sleep and C Life, and these smart bulbs:
- Deliver Intelligent Illumination: C by GE smart LED bulbs take lighting beyond basic illumination with new features designed for sleep circadian rhythms. C Sleep, a bulb with three distinct settings, creates the perfect bedroom light—warm and calm at night, and crisp and vibrant in the morning. Having studied the science of light and how it impacts our lives, GE’s C Sleep provides warm, calm light to prepare you for sleep, increasing your body’s production of melatonin. And in the morning, C Sleep provides cool, vibrant light, reduces your body’s production of melatonin, helping you feel energized and awake. C Sleep retails for under $25 at CbyGE.com
- Deliver Simplicity & Control: Both C Sleep and C Life use Bluetooth-enabled technology—no additional connections, equipment or hubs required. C Life, an affordable, everyday connected LED bulb gives consumers an easy way to light their intelligent home, creating optimal light at every moment, whether you’re cooking, working to just hanging out. C Life retails for under $15 at CbyGE.com
- Deliver Customized User Experience & Interoperability: To optimize the user experience, GE is developing its own app with light scenes and application recommendations. And, these bulbs are compatible with the existing Wink platform, so consumers can program C by GE to interact with other smart devices throughout the home.
C by GE LED bulbs provide the same quality of light consumers expect from America’s most trusted lighting brand, and they last 20 years, based on 3 hours of operation per day. To fully bring C by GE to homes, these bulbs will be available online in a Starter Pack, including two C Life and two C Sleep bulbs, which retails for $49.97 at www.CbyGE.com starting early 2016.
About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) is the world’s Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the “GE Store,” through which each business shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and intellect. Each invention further fuels innovation and application across our industrial sectors. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry. www.ge.com
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