Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook: drag2share: Giinii AudioBulb hands, eyes and ears-on

Thursday, September 15, 2011

drag2share: Giinii AudioBulb hands, eyes and ears-on

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/14/giinii-audiobulb-hands-eyes-and-ears-on/

Alright, so check this out -- that thing above is both a 5W LED light bulb and a 10W wireless speaker. Around the edge is a ring of glowing diodes with a four-stage dimmer, while the center is a 2.25-inch driver that speaks to a dock via 2.4GHz wireless. The AudioBulb from GiiNii is a fairly unique way to kick out the jams anywhere in your abode and they disappear into practically any lamp. A basic setup of two bulbs, a dock and a remote will set you back a surprisingly steep $299, but you can add on up to six more bulbs for $99 a pop. Speaking of rooms and bulbs, you can configure the speakers to work in stereo pairs or in mono, and set up two zones with different volume levels.

The dock is a chintzy feeling piece of plastic with an integrated iPhone/iPod connector and around back you'll find an auxiliary jack for the non-Apple fans. The dock can connect to the speakers from up to 100 feet away, depending on the environment, and comes pre-paired with the bulbs in the box. Adding additional speakers requires just the push of a button on the base and bulb simultaneously to get the party started. It was tough to hear the tunes over the din in the hall at Pepcom's event, but we're confident it can't quite compare with the Play 3. They did, however, give off enough light to keep their little corner of the convention well lit. Check out the gallery below as well as the PR after the break.

Gallery: GiiNii AudioBulb hands-on