Reviewing the Sonos is overdue. I’ve had a Sonos system since early 2013 and, well, I know reviews are supposed to tease you all the way to the end of the many thousands of words I’m writing for free…
…the long and the short of it is that Sonos is freakin’ awesome and if you can afford to buy into it you should.
Bear in mind this isn’t so much of a proper review as it is an embarrassing admission to how many of these things I ended up buying.
[Update! As of early January 2014, I have added a follow up review here]
[Update! If you just want to buy the best Hue controller app for iOS, get iConnectHue and don’t look back. I wouldn’t use my Hue system without it.]
In part 1 I revealed the Secrets They Won’t Tell Hue and some of the things that I like about Hue. Here I show my personal unboxing journey, some applications I’m using, and my stunning conclusion.
[Update! As of early January 2014, I have added a follow up review here]
[Update! If you just want to buy the best Hue controller app for iOS, get iConnectHue and don’t look back. I wouldn’t use my Hue system without it.]
This is an account of my experience with the Philips Hue. It is my review, or my re-Hue, if you will. There are so many puns I could’ve used to title this article, but I think the one I ultimately chose sums up my nightmarish experience. There may be some occasional swears in here, too. Also, I will endeavour to create a Hue pun pretty much at every opportunity.
Caveat: I don’t really know how the Bridge and Bulbs work, I’m just guessing based on a little bit of knowledge and my experience with Sonos. Feel free to correct me in the comments, or share your own experiences!
Imagine me and Hue, so happy together…
[Edit: November 13, 2013 – I’ve had the latest update of the Pebble OS for a few days now, and it addresses the major problem I highlighted in this review: the poor notification compatibility with iOS. As of a few days ago, the Pebble app and OS have been updated to integrate with iOS 7’s new notification system, and it’s finally propelled the Pebble into the non-technical user space.
Before, Pebble would forget the settings of your notification system if it ever lost BT connectivity, leaving you only with SMS/iMessage and phone call notification until you manually reset the notifications for the apps you wanted. This was merely an inconvenience for wearers with a technical bent; try explaining to your dad why this expensive watch isn’t behaving as expected, though.
Now, all this is resolved. Pebble remembers which apps are set in notification centre. I now get location reminders and Find Friends reminders and more. It’s fantastic. On the horizon is the Pebble SDK 2.0, which promises to unlock even more of the built-in-but-still-disabled hardware. Pebble is seriously kicking some goals, folks. If the previous iOS compatibility was holding you back, hold back no more. Get into it already and be cool like me!*
Now, please read on to my original review, which still holds mostly true.
*coolness not guaranteed, yo.]
