Nova Scotia, Canada, has launched a pilot project to use energy-efficient LED streetlights replacing the conventional streetlights in several parts of the province, aiming to reduce energy consumption.

Taiwan’s major LED markers have all seen their March revenue surging beyond expectation, with Formosa Epitaxy Inc. taking the lead with a 68.5% rise from February. Epistar Corp. and Unity Opto Technology Co., Ltd also post robust revenue records.

The option to have LED lights replacing the streetlights on Main Street, Romeo, Michigan, U.S. has been discussed by the Romeo Downtown Development Authority (DDA). This idea was brought out by Janine Saputo the DDA Coordinator after she looked into light-emitting diode (LED) lights as a energy efficient lighting option when pursuing a downtown revitalization grant opportunity from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC).

Dai Nippon Printing Co. Ltd has developed a new flexible OLED-based poster by combining a regular EL panel and organic EL panels.

The Willis Independent School District in Texas, USA is considering posting LED signs on every campus in the district.  The idea was brought to the school board this week by Todd Cabra, a factory representative from Affordable Signs and LEDs, and also a parent of two WISD students, after he noticed A.R. Turner Elementary, the school of his youngest daughter, did not have an LED sign like Brabham Middle School or Meador Elementary School.

AGFA-Gevaert NV, IMEC of Belgium, and Holst Centre, Philips Research and TNO of the Netherlands have prototyped a flexible OLED lighting panel in which highly-conductive transparent resin electrodes are used in place of ITO (indium tin oxide).  

After release of the energy efficient C8000 REGZA LCDs, Toshiba is ready for its higher end LED backlit ZX8000 (labeled SV670 in the U.S.) series. Featuring a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio and local dimming technology, this series also pack the latest edition of Super Resolution+ upconverting, ClearScan 240Hz motion and fifth generation Pixel Pure image processing.

Hamamatsu Photonics has recently launched its new LC-L2 range of UV curing systems. Comparing with the established LC-L1 range, the LC-L2 systems feature higher power UV LEDs of high durability ensured by the company's heat dissipation technology.

A group of scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences has recently developed a new type of LED made from plastic like organic materials, which is an important step towards the goal of improving the efficiency of light bulbs. This cheap and efficient LED is designed with a simplified "tandem" structure, and can produce twice as much light as a normal LED——including the white light desired for home and office lighting.

Solid state lighting has been claimed by some to be more energy efficient and more environmental friendly than other forms of lighting technology. But is it ready to enter the mass market?

Litepanels, a Vitec Group company, has recently released its new 1 x 1 LED light fixture the 1 x 1 Bi-Focus, which is also the first LED light fixture capable of variable spot and flood focusing. Comparing with the inefficient Fresnel lights, the ultra-thin and portable 1 x 1 Bi-Focus offers a cool-to-the-touch, low energy draw solution that provides the flexibility of the width of light beam.

This LED bubble gun is really cool! It blaster bubbles and light up, too. Three AA batteries are needed to power the bubble blaster as well as the LED lights, and two bottles of bubble fluids are included in the package. During the day, it’s a all normal picture. But at night, the $4.50 LED bubble gun fires magical molten blue sparks.

This April, the month of the 40th World Earth Day, Lemnis Lighting has released a new energy-efficient LED product, the Pharox LED bulb. The bulb developed using the most advanced lighting technology produces light equivalent to that of a 40Watt incandescent bulb, while with only 5W of energy. And the life-span of the bulb reaches up to 50,000 hours or approximately 35 years.

Cypress semiconductor has recently developed PowerPSoC which has been claimed by the company to be the first single chip device to control and drive high power LEDs. PowerPSoC features four integrated, independently operated 32V/1A mosfets based on Cypress' PSoC platform, with up to four programmable hysteretic controllers providing controlled current output. Floating load buck, floating load buck-boost, and boost converter topologies provide design flexibility. The device also supports 16bit dimming.

Ilumisys, Inc., a provider of solid state lighting technology and products, has recently claimed Patent No. 7,510,299, which has been issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the replacement of fluorescent tubes with LEDs.

Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (TAEC) has released on Wednesday two new highly-efficient white LED drivers, TB62730WLG and TB62750FTG, both of which designed to drive white LEDs for backlight use in LCDs. The two LED drivers were among several products Toshiba launched yesterday for expanding its Mobile Strategic Initiative, a product and customer support program aimed to facilitate ease of design for new mobile phones and other portable devices.

Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL), a global leader in product safety testing and certification services, announced Wednesday to become a strategic partner of Luminaire Testing Laboratory, Inc. (LTL) . And it has also become the first Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory to provide Energy Star testing of LED products.

The Centennial Bulb, the longest burning light bulb in history which has been burning for the last 108 years at fire station No.6 in Livermoore California, has yesterday been replaced with an energy efficient LED bulb.            

A $65 million advertising plan has been rolled out by Samsung to promote its LED-back-lit LCD TVs, which will involve online advertising, extensive in-store merchandising displays, print advertising, national network and cable TV spots and mall showcases, lasting from end of March till end of June. And this is only a beginning, for Samsung has got a 2009 year-long national advertising campaign to leverage the company’s leadership position in LED-back-lit LCD TV technology, according to the company on Tuesday.

The NOKIA 1661 will come out on T-MOBILE USA later this year. The phone is economically priced, and is ridiculously simple, while the amazing built-in LED flashlight will be the biggest attraction to all. With a built-in speakerphone, FM radio and flashlight, consumers can stay well connected when away from home or the office. With the built-in LED flashlight, consumers won't be left in the dark again as the Nokia 1661 easily lights the way.

Taiwan LED makers say the LED industry may recover earlier than other industries, with the application range of LED expected to become wider this year and more and more LEDs being installed into notebooks, monitors, LCD TVs as well as lighting fields. Several factors have driven up the global LED industry, and for mainland China, the bright outlook mainly owes to the encouragement from the government, concluded the industry watchers.

Sharp Corp recently released 10 models of LED street lamps which are designed with lenses for widening the illumination area, with one of the models equipped with solar battery.

In spite of the global economic downturn, demand for LED lighting will continue growing in the next year, forecasted Cree CEO Chuck Swoboda in a Tuesday interview with Reuters.

Energy Focus, a fiber-optic and LED lighting provider, said Tuesday it would develop LEDs for the U.S. Army to replace rockets flares which are used to provide infrared light to soldiers wearing night vision goggles on the battlefield.

Last year in San Jose, California, the local government had turned off streetlights in some district to meet the environmental goals, while this year, more LED lamps could be installed in the next few months to get the same result. To reach Mayor Chuck Reed's Green Vision aim of powering the city's 62,000 streetlights with renewable energy, the city’s Transportation and Environment Committee will come up with some steps on April 6.

Avnet Electronics Marketing, an operating group of the global technology distributor, Avnet, Inc., and the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to cooperate in the promotion of the energy-saving LED lighting industry.

Kulicke & Soffa Industries, Inc. yesterday launched its new ConnX-VLEDPSTM automatic ball bonder. Before this official announcement, ConnX-VLED had made its first appearance during March 17-19 at SEMICON China 2009 in Shanghai. As an extension of the company’s leading ConnXPSTM ball bonder, ConnX-VLED also comes with high brightness and high-power LED lamps generally featured by devices specifically designed for vertical LED applications, offering a best solution for diverse LED applications.

Broit Light, a company based in Wayzata, Minnesota, USA has last week launched its initial production of LED bulbs at its production facility in Long Lake. The start-up company has claimed to have come up with a line of more energy-efficient and adaptable light bulbs.

These Pimpstar rims we’ve never seen before have been newly invented by Dub Custom Wheels. These Pimpstar rims can display images as you roll down the street, and they are programmable using a Wi-Fi equipped laptop.

Infineon Technologies AG has recently released a low-cost LED driver IC which offers thermal protection and high output current accuracy for high-power LEDs in general lighting applications.