The range of new products promising to transform your humble abode into a "smart home" has exploded in recent months, but not all so-called "Internet of things" devices are created equal.
Bucking the trend toward everyday items that include obscure embedded features, France-based AwoX has come up with a simple smart-home solution that seamlessly merges utility with entertainment in its StriimLIGHT device.
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The LED light bulb doubles as a Bluetooth speaker that you can control using the AwoX Smart Control app on your smartphone, or from your desktop on Mac OS X and Windows. The app allows you to brighten or dim the light, apply an alarm timer to its functions and control the speaker's volume.
For those who don't have a smartphone to connect to the StriimLIGHT, each bulb comes with a separate credit card-sized remote control. Delivering 110 to 240 volts of LED illumination, the device pumps out sound via a 10-watt speaker, which is plenty of audio power for most rooms.
There's also a Wi-Fi version of the device called the StriimLIGHT Wi-Fi, announced at this year's CES, which operates in the same way as the Bluetooth version.
So while the StriimLIGHT doesn't measure your energy consumption or produce fancy infographics detailing the ambient lighting metrics of your home, it saves space while intelligently wiring your home for sound.
Both versions of the StriimLIGHT, which have limited availability in the U.S., are priced at $99. The AwoX Smart Control smartphone app is available for iOS and Android.