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Belkin's bright new bulbs are WeMo-ready (pictures)

These automatable LEDs work right from the WeMo app, and work with IFTTT, too.

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Ryan_Crist2.jpg
Ry Crist
Originally hailing from Troy, Ohio, Ry Crist is a writer, a text-based adventure connoisseur, a lover of terrible movies and an enthusiastic yet mediocre cook. A CNET editor since 2013, Ry's beats include smart home tech, lighting, appliances, broadband and home networking.
Ry Crist
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Belkin WeMo LED Lighting Starter Set

The newest addition to Belkin's WeMo-branded family of home automation products is a smart LED kit you can control from your phone. Click through for the details.

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The WeMo Link

The starter set comes with the WeMo Link, which acts as the brains of the system with built-in Wi-Fi and Zigbee radios.

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Plug and play

To get started with the Link, just plug it in wherever you've got a spare outlet. No need to connect it to your router.

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Bulb specs

WeMo's LEDs use 9.5 watts to put out 800 lumens worth of light at a yellowy-white color temperature of 3,000 K. That makes them a very reasonable replacement for standard 60W incandescents.

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5 of 10 Screenshots by Ry Crist/CNET

App setup

Once the Link is plugged in and your lights are turned on, you'll connect to the WeMo Link's Wi-Fi signal, then open the WeMo app. WeMo will take it from there.

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6 of 10 Screenshots by Ry Crist/CNET

App controls

Once everything's connected, you'll have full lighting controls from the WeMo app, along with the ability to create rules for when and how the lights come on.

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Color rendering score

Another key spec for the WeMo LED is its color rendering score of 88. That's a good deal higher than the average LED, and higher than other smart LEDs, too.

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A closer look

With a higher color rendering score, the WeMo LED will make the colors in your home look slightly more vivid and accurate than the competition. And don't mind that low red score -- that's actually a terrific LED red score. Most LEDs struggle to top 10 points with red.

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The whole kit

Here's the whole kit. You get two bulbs and the WeMo Link for $100. The kit isn't available in Australia or the UK yet, but other WeMo products are. In those regions, that price converts roughly to AU$110, or a little over £60.

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Additional bulbs

Additional bulbs cost $30 each. Along with the cost of the kit, that's the same pricing we saw with the very comparable Philips Hue Lux starter kit. So, which one should you go with? Read our full reviews of each to shed some light on the issue.

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