Philips has unveiled a new light bulb that could revolutionise the way in which we illuminate our homes, by enabling you to pick and choose the colour, brightness levels and time they should switch on and off, all through your mobile device.

The Philips hue web-enabled LED bulb is controlled via your smartphone or tablet, which makes it possible to change the colour of the bulb, matching a specific shade from a photo stored on your mobile device or a number of presets from Philips to help you work, relax or play. 

With the ability to control the bulbs remotely - up to 50 in total - the Philips hue LED enables the user to program specific times when the bulb should switch on, as well as dimming or turning the brightness up to suit the mood, even when out of the house. The system also includes an alarm that works in the same way as its Daylight bulb, which wakes you with natural light rather than an abrupt noise. 

Specific lightning modes can be saved, so an ambience can be recreated immediately with a touch of a button.

The Philips hue LED pack comes with three bulbs and a bridge that connects to your home’s Wi-Fi router, with the system working in a similar way to the Sonos music system by creating a mesh network in your home with each bulb automatically connecting to the system.

To get the most out of the system, Philips recommends you have three lights in each room. 

Available exclusively from the Apple store from 30 October, the Philips hue LED pack will cost for £179. The system will also play nice with Android devices but Philips has explained to Pocket-lint that not all the features will be available. 

For those who don't have a screw fitting in the lamp or light they want to convert, Philips recommends heading down to your local electrical store for a bayonet to screw fitting adapter. They should cost around £3 each. 

Philips has also confirmed it will be making an SDK available for others to tap into the lights to create apps of their own, which could lead to games like Angry Birds offering specific lighting environments in which to play certain levels if you have the bulbs in your house. 

We will be bringing you a more comprehensive look of the new system shortly after we've managed to get it set up in the Pocket-lint office. 

READ: Philips Hue (complete system) review