Encouraging consumers to "play with light," Philips has launched the mobile version of its ambiance-generating Hue line with the Hue Go lamp.
The Hue Go lamp, a hemispherical light, receives its orders from smart things, throwing hues of several colors across the room to enhance whatever vibe the user is trying to maintain.
While not waterproof or weatherproof, the $108 Hue Go Lamp is designed so it can accompany consumers around their homes and even outside when the weather permits. The lamp will last up to three hours on a single charge, which takes about an hour and a half, though it can be plugged in so it can throw light indefinitely. The Hue Go light is expected to be ready for the market by late May or June.
Along with delivering several hues of light - warm or cool white - the Hue Go Lamp projects that light in several different modes: Cozy Candle, Sunday Coffee, Meditation, Enchanted Forest, and Night Adventure.
"Each dynamic effect has its own characteristic flow and mix of colors, delivering 'living' light that enriches a romantic dinner, a relaxing bath or a Zen moment," says Philips.
The Hue Go can also relay alerts to users via light. Users can set up colors or light patterns to indicate the arrival of an email message, missed call or even changes in weather and more -- the Philips Hue series is compatible with over 200 apps.
Philips sees a world in which all lights are connected, according to Sridhar Kumaraswamy, business leader for Philips' connected home systems. Lighting is already prominent in the Internet of Things and Hue series of lamps will be the "go-to lighting brand for the home," he says.
"With Philips Hue Go we are building further on our ecosystem, enabling people to experience light in a new way," said Kumaraswamy. "People can take the light wherever they want, creating the light that suits their moment, taste or mood. It gives people even more choice for how they wish to bring the fun and impact of connected lighting into their homes."
A few days before unveiling the Hue Go Lamp, Philips announcing that it was selling a majority stake in Lumileds, its combined LED components and automotive lighting business, to a consortium headed by Go Scale Capital, a new investment fund that focuses on LEDs and electric car battery technology.
Philips is upbeat about the transaction, due to Go Scale Capital's aim to generate long-term growth, according to Frans van Houten, CEO of Philips.
"We have significantly improved the performance of the LED components business and optimized the industrial footprint in the Automotive lighting business over the last few years, and established a strong management team and innovation pipeline," said van Houten. "We are therefore convinced that together with Go Scale Capital, Lumileds can grow further, attract more customers and increase scale as a stand-alone company."
Go Scale Ventures is funded by GSR Ventures and Oak Investment Partners. Philips sold Go Scale an 80.1 percent stake in its lighting components division for $2.8 billion. Lumileds supplies lighting components to the general illumination, automotive and consumer electronics markets and in 2014 it generated sales of around $2 billion U.S. dollars.
