Recently, Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc. (TAEC) has announced the TL12W02-D, a high power, high brightness white LED for commercial, residential and industrial lighting applications that can provide a typical flux of 90 lm when driven at only 250mA.

Recently, Philips has signed a public-private partnership (PPP) agreement with the Dutch Government, which will see the development of a new generation of sustainable, LED-based, solar-powered lighting products for sub-Saharan Africa. The new PPP agreement aims to provide 10 million people in 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa with affordable, appropriate and sustainable energy solutions and services by 2015.

Recently, Opto Tech, has landed a big order for LED displays for use on freeways in the U.S. With the new order and its ongoing construction project of a large-sized LED marquee in Suzhou China, which is worth NT$5-600 million, Opto Tech is very likely to see its single-month revenue break the NT$700 million mark, hitting a new high in the third quarter of 2008.

In Philippines, The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is mulling to use energy-efficient and durable light-emitting diodes (LED) to replace bulbs in Metro Manila's traffic light system.

According to company sources, affected by seasonal impact, quite a few Taiwan`s LED (light-emitting diode) makers, including Unity Opto Technology Co., Ltd.,Harvatek Inc. andEpistar Corp. and Opto Tech Corporation, Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd., suffered declining sales revenue in June.

Yesterday, Marktech LED Lighting Products announced the grand opening of their online store, MarktechLEDlighting.com, and spoke to consumers about the importance of energy conservation. At their online store, consumers will find creative illumination ideas that are designed to leave a minimal footprint on the environment.

Recently, Hisense, China flat-panel TV maker, is mass producing its own self-developed 42-inch LED backlit LCD TV (TLM42T08GP), as part of its Anyview series of TVs, the new LED backlit LCD TV has a thickness of only 55 millimeters, according to Chinese language Sina.com report.The report indicated, Hisense will invest in a large-size LED backlight module unit (BLU) plant in China during the second half of the year according to Hisense's develop plan.

Recently, Intellectual Property Bank Corp (IPB) has announced its "Applicant Score Rankings" based on the company's proprietary benchmarks for technical competitiveness of manufacturers engaged in the LED lighting system business. According to IPB, a company that provides consulting related to intellectual property, Nichia Corp is the top manufacturer on a basis of competitive technology in the LED lighting system area.

Recently, Sony Corp and other Japanese companies said they will team up to jointly develop key technologies to make large-sized organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels for use in TVs.

Yesterday, Analog Technologies Corp., a leading provider of electronic design and manufacturing services, announced the launching of a wholly-owned subsidiary focused on high power LED integration for Solid State Lighting OEM’s. The newly formed operation, Lumagine, LLC will be responsible for design and manufacturing services of high power LED light engines and assemblies.

If you're a habitual destroyer of snooze buttons, there's at least a smidgen of a possibility that picking one of these up could stop that habit. Seiji's stylish LED Alarm Clock Blocks (¥8,190; $76) rely on a trio of LED-filled boxes to convey the time (right down to the second), and best of all, the trifecta can be arranged however you'd like (horizontally, vertically, etc.) in order to please your fuzzy eyes in the AM.

Recently, Taiwan's share of the growing notebook market is expected to continue slowly rising. But systems makers on the island nation face challenges such as the transition to LED backlights and the need to expand their overseas markets.In Taiwan at least 15 companies currently design and make notebooks for major brand name companies. Two of those former no-name manufacturers—Acer Inc. and Asustek Computer--have established significant notebook businesses under their own brands, thanks in part to their close ties to the many key component suppliers in Taiwan.

It’s reported that temples in the Greater Taipei area are going green in accordance with the government's carbon-reduction policy.

It’s reported that the Japanese government is backing Sony, Toshiba, Sharp and some other companies in joint research of new display technology called organic light-emitting diodes, or OLED.An agency set up for encouraging research, The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, or NEDO, said in a statement Thursday it has chosen the companies with the aim of developing a 40-inch OLED display sometime after 2015.

Recently, Everlight Electronics Co., a Taiwanese supplier of LEDs (light-emitting diodes), has won a big order for LED surgical lights and is scheduled to fill the order starting the second half of this year, according to company sources.

It’s reported that OLED faces a renewed attack from rival technology Field Emission Displays (FED), after Sony spin-off Field Emission Technologies (FET) confirmed it will purchase Pioneer's plasma factory next year.A FET spokesperson said, “We will purchase the factory, but at this point in time, we are still in discussions with Pioneer as to the method of purchase”. He said whether the company would pay cash or use other means was still unclear.

Recently, Luminus Devices, Inc., the developer and manufacturer of PhlatLight (Photonic Lattice) LEDs that are used in display and lighting applications, announced it has received its 21st United States patent for its PhlatLight technology. This rapidly growing patent portfolio highlights Luminus Devices' technology leadership in the LED industry. And with 120 additional patents pending in the United States and foreign countries, Luminus will continue its leadership in solid state lighting innovation.

It’s reported that Juno Lighting Group has partnered with Dialight, an LED lighting specialist, to develop and launch a series of low-profile linear LED lighting systems for Juno's DanaLite brand.

Recently, Taiwan's share of the growing notebook market is expected to continue slowly rising. But systems makers on the island Taiwan face challenges such as the transition to LED backlights and the need to expand their overseas markets.

Recently, Capital Vending, Inc. in Laurel, Md. has developed energy saving LED light strips designed specifically for vending machines. These light strips are designed with a connector that attaches to the existing harness in the machine, eliminating the need for a ballast. On-location installation typically takes just a few minutes. These LED strips are protected in clear acrylic tubing which helps protect the LED’s and allows them to be shipped individually without damage.

Everlight, Taiwan LED packaging company, is going to adjust its shipment proportion going to the handset segment from 40% in 2007 to 33% this year due to weaker demand, according to Everlight chairman Robert Yeh.

With costs for LED backlights using a mix of red, green and blue LEDs remaining high, LED industry players are considering using a combination of blue LEDs with red and green phosphors for TV-use backlights. In 2009, such designs may become popular.

It’s reported that Stan Glasgow (president and COO of Sony Electronics) says that Sony is making progress on moving to larger OLED screen sizes. At the moment, Sony sells an 11-inch OLED TV for $2,500, which means it is hardly a mass market product. He says, the next step, will be a 27-inch version, followed by a 40-inch version. He says they are “awfully close” to selling a 27-inch OLED version commercially.

It’s retorted that Philips is offering around 1000 patents related to LED luminaires, and will charge licensing fees such as 5% of net selling price for color-changing luminaires. On June 30, Philips introduced a patent licensing program for LED-based luminaires used in the general illumination, architectural and theatrical markets. Philips has pulled together a list of about 1000 patents – including those originally filed by Color Kinetics - that it says address the basic control technologies required in a broad range of LED lighting applications.

Recently, GE Lighting Systems has debuted the first two of many upcoming outdoor LED lighting systems: the LED StreetDreams post-top fixture and an outdoor area light.

In 2008, Low-cost notebook (netbooks) are expected to become popular. However, LED players have pointed out that material costs have increased while ASPs continue to fall leading to lower-than-expected gross margins. industry players warn, orders from netbook backlight applications may contribute to LED revenues but not necessarily to profits in the third quarter.

Recently, Malaysia-based SMT LED manufacturerDominant Semiconductors Sdn Bhd is offering a brighter white LED in the DomiLED product range (DDW-PJG).

Today, Power Integrations (Nasdaq:POWI), the leader in high-voltage integrated circuits for energy-efficient power conversion, announced a series of design ideas to help designers of LED driver circuitry benefit from the company’s recently introduced LinkSwitch-II family of AC-DC power conversion ICs. The new design ideas (DI-184, DI-185 and DI-186), demonstrate that LinkSwitch-II ICs are well suited for power supplies and ballasts driving high-brightness LEDs.

It’s reported that Hitachi Ltd. (TSE:6501) and Canon Inc. (TSE:7751) have agreed to jointly develop and manufacture small and midsize organic electroluminescence (EL) displays for digital cameras within two years. The two firms plan to set up in early July to handle the project, they will transfer a total of about 100 engineers to a new organization.

Today, Samsung SDI said that it will be spending over $500 million USD to boost production of next-generation OLED displays to six times its current level by mid-2009. This latest move comes as panel makers try to get bigger shares of the growing market for OLED displays, which offer better contrast ratio, slimmer designs and better energy efficiency than current LCD or plasma displays. However, production costs are still high, too high to make OLED TVs available to the masses.