An earlier report by Women Citizen projecting Apple’s smartphone dominance is to be challenged by Samsung’s AMOLED technology has been proven wrong by a recent Bloomberg report. Apple has no intention of being left behind by Samsung in the race of developing curved smartphones, according to the Bloomberg report. Citing an unnamed source familiar with the new project, the report noted Apple is developing a new generation of smartphones with curved glass and enhanced sensors.

Microvehicles and other devices that can change shape or move with no power source other than a beam of light may be possible through research led by the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. The researchers are investigating polymers that “snap” when triggered by light, thereby converting light energy into mechanical work and potentially eliminating the need for traditional machine components such as switches and power sources. 

Researchers from the universities of Bonn and Regensburg have developed a novel type of organic light-emitting diode (OLED). These lights are suitable for the design of particularly energy-efficient cheap displays, which find applications in smart phones, tablet PCs or TVs. Applications in lighting such as in luminescent tiles are also conceivable. The scientists have now reported their findings in the journal “Angewandte Chemie” (DOI: 10.1002/anie.201307601).

This week U.S. Department of Energy released two new reports that manufacturers might want to check out over the weekend. The first is pricing and efficacy trend analysis for utility program planning, and the second is a subjective evaluation of LED PAR38 lamps. As Apple signs a long term agreement with GTAT for sapphire substrate production, Chinese manufacturers are also eager to grab a share. Also this week, Beijing court rulings give Nichia an upper hand in its patent wars with Everlight. For further details please see below:

Taiwanese LED package manufacturer Everlight announced the launch of a brand new RGB LED package product. The full color 1-035 SMB package product is the world's smallest at only 0.5mm x 0.5mm (0505) in size and can be applied in high resolution LED TVs.

Taiwanese LED chip manufacturer Epistar saw earnings turn to losses in 3Q13, due to loss on valuation of financial liability. Although, the company’s gross profit rebound rate was much lower than expected in 2013, higher gross profits from Embedded LED chip (ELC) and AlInGap products will help gross profits return to 17.8 percent levels, CLSA forecasted.

LiteOn global consolidated revenue for October reached NT $19.45 billion (US $66 million), a growth of 9 percent compared with last October. The company’s core businesses including power solutions and camera modules both reached record highs in October. Accumulated global revenue from Jan. – Oct. reached NT $173 billion

Everlight responds to Nichia's press release on November 7th regarding Chinese Patent Nos. ZL97196762.8 and ZL03159595.2 (YAG patents).

DOE has published the first in a series of four special investigations intended to extend the findings of CALiPER Application Summary Report 20: LED PAR38 Lamps, which was published late last year. The new report, CALiPER Report 20.1: Subjective Evaluation of Beam Quality, Shadow Quality, and Color Quality for LED PAR38 Lamps, focuses on a subset of the lamps from Report 20, which were separately assessed by members of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America.

A small study research has revealed patients in average hospital rooms are getting inadequate lighting exposure that it is affecting their bodies normal sleep-wake cycle, according to a Reuters report. 

Universal Display Corp., enabling energy-efficient displays and lighting with its UniversalPHOLED® technology and materials, reported its financial results today for the quarter and nine-month period, ended September 30, 2013.

Kingsun LED Lights (Kingsun) has signed a LiFi communication and positioning system partnership agreement with Beijing Tsinghua University in May 2013, according to a company post on Chinese social media website Weibo. The company has successfully developed LiFi cellphone samples. The company expects the products can reach marketization once it achieves iPhone size and weight.

GT Advanced Technology (GTAT) announced that it has entered into a multi-year supply agreement with Apple Inc. to provide sapphire substrate materials for US $578 million (NT $17 billion). Feeling the effect, Chinese sapphire substrate listed company stockholders yesterday start preparing to make a move. Shanghai and Shenzhen have 8 related concept stocks and aside from Crystal Optech stocks which is under trade suspension, all others increased.

Leotek, a subsidiary of LiteOn Technology Corp., has officially announced the debut of its first color tunable LED bulb and entry into the residential lighting market on Nov. 6. The bulb comes with a special patent that allows it to be switched to warm white light within one second. Leotek has taken its past 20 year experience in making good quality foreign outdoor lighting products to the indoor lighting market, said Danny Liao, CEO of New Business Development at Leotek. 

Samsung Electronics CEO Kwon Oh Hyun promised that the company will be delivering foldable phones by 2015 during the company’s Analyst Day, according to reports by Engadget and GottaBeMobile. com. The Engadget report noted Galaxy Round was an “incremental nudge” towards this development, and the flexible phone concept can be further expanded into wearable electronic gadgets that the company has high interest in.

North American lighting manufacturer Osram Sylvania is upgrading its portfolio of Sylvania Ultra LED lamps, providing higher efficacy, competitively priced LED lamps and downlight retrofit kits for commercial applications. These long life, energy-efficient alternatives to traditional lighting sources such as incandescent, halogen and compact fluorescent lamps now have a variety of enhancements, including efficiency increases of 10 to 15 percent compared to previous versions resulting in more light with less energy usage, improved design and dimming capabilities.

Two prominent lines from Littman Brands, Hudson Valley Lighting®, manufacturer of contemporary and traditional lighting fixtures for more than 30 years, and Corbett Lighting, manufacturer of decorative lighting, are pleased to announce their participation in the renovation of The Ronald McDonald House in Long Island, New York (RMH-LI), a respite for seriously ill children undergoing treatment at area hospitals, as well as their families.

Japanese LED manufacturer Nichia announced recently , it had received the court verdict from the Beijing First Intermediate People's Court pertaining to the decision by the State Intellectual Property Office’s Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences that Nichia’s two YAG patents (ZL97196762.8, ZL03159595.2) were valid.

Taiwanese LED chip manufacturer Epistar has released their 3Q13 financial results, feeling the effects of  LED for TV backlight applications inventory adjustments.

With the continual low price trend of  in the LED market, manufacturers are beginning to consider options for lowering productions costs. LED package free products have become the focal point of the industry in 2013 with many manufacturers actively breaking into R&D and production.

The company also announced that it has entered into a multi-year supply agreement with Apple Inc. to provide sapphire material. GT will own and operate ASF® furnaces and related equipment to produce the material at an Apple facility in Arizona where GT expects to employ over 700 people. Apple will provide GT with a prepayment of approximately $578 million. GT will reimburse Apple for the prepayment over five years, starting in 2015.

A new report from IHS breaks down iPad Air's components to reveal that the new product costs are actually much lower, and the company might be getting a much fatter profit. However, costs for iPad Air display has actually gone up, despite a cutback on LEDs for backlight. The lighter weight requirement has raised subsystem prices. IHS analyst Andrew Rassweiler told AllthingsD reporter, that the new iPad Air has used optical film to help distribute light better and cut down product weight.

Quantum Electro Opto Systems (QEOS) announced today that it is entering the LED lighting and LED lighting systems business. QEOS had previously commercialized its Tilted Charge Dynamics™ (TCD) device technology to produce the world’s fastest LED, which also featured lower cost, smaller size, and importantly, extremely low total power usage; thus providing a highly “Green Energy” product for the communications industry.  The company is now leveraging its R&D capability in materials and device design, optical lens technology and packaging, to bring forth new “Smart+” LED Lighting Systems, combining eco-friendly green technology with digitally-driven and Internet-enabled smart lighting.

Intematix Corporation, a leading manufacturer of phosphor solutions and Philips Lumileds, a leading LED supplier, today announced a remote phosphor-based LED lighting module with 203 lumens per watt efficacy. It is believed that this module represents the highest level of efficacy among LED-based light sources commercially available for production in the market today.

The lighting market trend will continue its gradaul growth. LED lighting penetration rates are expected to further increase as LED prices overall falling and consumer recognition is on the rise. Backlight market orders have slid as uncertainties still surround China’s new home appliance subsidiary policy. Some LED manufacturers revenues have decreased and there has been a rebound in the backlight market compared to last month. With the Chinese Lunar New Year approaching, manufacturers’ conventional holiday stockup demands will provide a certain degree of support for LED manufacturers’ sales performance. Overall, the LED market will continue its upward climb in November.

San’an has recently released their 3Q13 financial report. The first three quarters of the year saw a revenue of RMB 2.63 billion (US $431 million), a YoY growth of 11.86 percent. Gross profit margin was RMB 761 million, a YoY growth of 14.07 percent. Net profit attributable to company stockholders after deduction of non-recurring profits or loss was RMB 645 million, a substantial YoY growth of 59.95 percent. Earning per share (EPS) was RMB 0.53. Single quarter revenue for 3Q dropped to RMB 957 million, YoY dip of 2.48 percent. 

Flickering façades, curved monitors, flashing clothing, fluorescent wallpaper, flexible solar cells – and all printable. This is no make-believe vision of the future; it will soon be possible using a new printing process for organic light-emitting diodes.

The light manufacturer Osram is equipping the Sistine Chapel in Rome with a new type of LED solution. After 500 years, the art-historically outstanding works can now be viewed to a level of precision unique until now, and the especially art-conserving installation enables significantly higher illuminance values. In addition, 60% less power is consumed compared to the existing lighting installation.

The 2013 Emerging Markets Campaign of Taiwan’s Green Trade Project Office has landed in Jakarta, Indonesia with a delegation of Taiwanese LED lighting manufacturers ready to showcase the latest innovations at the Indo LED & Lighting Expo scheduled to be held on November 6-9. A ‘Taiwan Innovative LED Lighting Product Pavilion’ is set up for the fair in the Jakarta International Expo Center (Hall A2, Booth AK 010) to present a variety of LED lighting solutions offered by Taiwanese companies.

Texas Instruments introduced the industry's first floating switch architecture that simplifies the offline linear drive of LEDs in lamps, downlights and fixtures. The AC switched matrix technique features TI's TPS92411 floating MOSFET switch and is an innovative approach to producing low-ripple LED drive current without magnetic components. The architecture provides excellent compatibility with legacy wall dimmers and delivers high power factor and low total harmonic distortion (THD). For more information, samples and evaluation modules, visit www.ti.com/tps92411-pr.