Sony squeezes a speaker into LED lightbulb

How many Sony engineers does it take to change a lightbulb?

We're not altogether sure, but they've done a pretty good job. 

Seemingly plucked from a Star Trek set, this curved 360-lumen bulb packs a nifty party piece: as well as being able to control the bulb's brightness via a smartphone or the paired remote, users can play music through the bulb's built-in Bluetooth speaker.

A novel space-saving gadget, the bulb draws its power for both the speaker and LED light component through the light fitting - an idea first championed by the PLAYBULB. However, while Sony's aesthetically pleasing design can only emit a standard warm glow, the latest PLAYBULB design can allow users to switch between colours.

In fact, given that Sony's bulb doesn't sport wake-up functions or colours, and could arrive with a pricetag in the region of £120, if you're looking for a clever lighting fitting you might just want to go for the smarter £79.99 colour PLAYBULB instead.

And so - along with Philips' impressive HUE colour-changing range - here begins the great smart war for your light fittings.