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A colorful Misfit in the smart bulb category (pictures)

The Misfit Bolt is a Bluetooth smart bulb that offers a full array of colorful lighting possibilities.

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Ryan_Crist2.jpg
Ry Crist
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1 of 11 Chris Monroe/CNET

Misfit Bolt

Misfit is best known for its wearable tech, but this year, it added a color-changing smart bulb to its catalog. Click through for a closer look.

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2 of 11 Chris Monroe/CNET

Distinctive design

The Misfit Bolt is a stylish-looking smart light with a black metal base supporting a fully color-changing bulb.

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3 of 11 Chris Monroe/CNET

Heat sinks

Those spiraling black grooves look great -- but they also work to channel heat away from the most sensitive parts of the bulb's electronics.

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4 of 11 Chris Monroe/CNET

Lighting specs

The Bolt draws up to 13 watts of power to put out light that's up to 800 lumens bright. You can pick any color or color temperature that you like, but the default is a familiar soft white glow at 2,700K.

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5 of 11 Chris Monroe/CNET

Non-omnidirectional design

The dome-shaped bulb doesn't extend out any further than the base of the bulb, which keeps the Bolt from putting its light out evenly in all directions.

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A non-ideal reading light

That non-omnidirectional design means that this light wouldn't be the best pick for a bedside reading lamp. The majority of the light goes upward, not downward.

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7 of 11 Screenshots by Ry Crist/CNET

Misfit's app

Misfit's app is a colorful, well-polished application that puts color-cycling presets front and center. You can also pull up a full spectrum of colors, then drag a bulb icon to your shade of choice.

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8 of 11 Screenshots by Ry Crist/CNET

Colorful presets

Those preset color cycles include everything from "Rainbow" and "Volcano" modes to "Date Night" and "Forest" modes. You can also pick a color from one of your own pictures.

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9 of 11 Screenshots by Ry Crist/CNET

A smart sleep aid

Other features are geared toward your nightly sleep schedule. You can set the bulb to simulate a sunrise in the morning to help ease you out of bed, or set it on a timer at night to gradually fade out as you gradually drift off to sleep.

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Color time

For the most part, Bolt's color quality is right on the money -- though the bulb's colors are a bit dimmer than what you'll see from the competition.

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11 of 11 Chris Monroe/CNET

Price point

Misfit is currently selling the Bolt LED for $43 per bulb on its website. That's a little cheaper than what you'll pay for most other color-changing smart bulbs. Read our full review to see how it stacks up against them.

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