Aesthetics keeping you from adopting your own Amazon Alexa?
Well now you’ve got no excuse.
Because the first Amazon Alexa Voice Service integrated lighting product has arrived.
In simpler terms: it’s an AI lamp.
The new LED lamp from C by GE (the connected products arm of GE Lighting) can read you the morning news and order pizza like any current Alexa-enabled product. But by combining the voice-command technology with a handsome table lamp, GE is making the case that smart tech and a stylish home are not mutually exclusive.
It’s certainly a step up from C by GE’s app-controlled lightbulbs, most of all because you don’t need an app, or any device besides the lamp itself, to get started. That means no Echo unit, no hub and no smartphone required.
Simply connect Alexa and ask away.
Of course, kneejerk reactions to the lamp’s design have drawn comparisons to TRON and Microsoft’s personal assistant, Cortana … and circular AI lights will forever give us 2001 flashbacks. That said, Richard Clarkson has it under control. You’ll remember him as the man behind that floating storm cloud speaker, and as he’s part of this design team, we’re confident the final product will stand the test of time.
No word on how much the lamp will set you back, but it will be available for preorder in early 2017. If you already have a leg lamp-level monstrosity you can’t wait to replace, you can sign up to get first dibs.
GE promises this is simply the first of a whole “suite of connected products.” But before you start mixing and matching your AI devices, there’s something you should see.
This article was featured in the InsideHook newsletter. Sign up now.
