Pepe Le Hue: Pricing For Philips' Latest Wireless LED Light Dimming Kit No Longer Stink

Philips has a great product with its Hue LED lighting system, but up to this point, it's suffered one glaring flaw: it's a little pricey. It seems the company isn't ignorant of this fact, nor the one that most people are not going to buy into the Hue ecosystem until it becomes more affordable.

Fortunately, a cheaper solution is on its way, and while it's only been announced for Europe, it seems likely that demand could bring it to other parts of the world, including North America.

The latest product is called Hue wireless dimming kit and will retail for €40 (~$45 USD). It'll include a simple dimmer switch as well as a single light bulb - additional bulbs can be purchased for about $20 a pop. The included switch allows you to turn the bulbs on or off, and of course dim them. If you'd rather not use the switch like a remote control, you can affix it to a wall and use it like a normal light switch.

As a lesser-expensive version of the full-blown model, it's hard to be surprised that some features are missing with this kit. You can't use colored bulbs, for starters, and that rules out taking advantage of the different mobile apps that exist. In fact, this kit rules out any mobile interactivity in general.

Despite what it lacks, this dimming kit's price point makes the Hue ecosystem a lot more affordable to get into. As an apartment-dweller, this kit tempts me a lot - so it'd be nice to see it expand beyond its European borders in the near-future.