TV LED backlight penetration rate is saturating as LED backlight product price competition continues. Brand manufacturers are hoping to further drop already low direct-type LED TV prices by introducing flip-chip products. Chinese LED package manufactures, including Refond Optoelectronics, All-Ring Tech, and Lightening Optoelectronics, are hoping to catch up through advancing their technological capabilities.Taiwanese LED package manufactures are currently facing increased pressure from product advancement and competition.   

The LED outdoor lighting replacement trend is growing with over 600 cities in the U.S. already planning to switch old streetlights to LEDs, according to Commercial Times. New York plans to switch roughly 25,000 streetlights to LEDs by 2017, making it the largest undertaking in the North American market. Europe, China, and Japan are also initiating replacement projects. LEDinside estimates that compound annual growth rate will surpass 20 percent in 2014-2017, which will encourage lowered stock prices.

Scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have suggested a method that could significantly increase the efficiency of green-blue-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes based on GaInN/GaN, AlGaN/GaN, and AlInN/GaN quantum wells. Their approach could enable advances in solid state lighting and the creation of low threshold lasers and high power light LEDs. Their research is published in the January 25 and November 26, 2013 issues of Applied Physics. 

A Malaysian city, Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ), new building standards will make LED lighting mandatory in new commercial buildings or mixed developments to meet the city’s goal of becoming a green sustainable city by 2030, according to a report by The Star.

Alliance members present integrated systems for building automation and smart homes on the basis of the batteryless wireless standard, setting new trends in the direction of artificial intelligence

With the installation of LED fixtures, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville's, Thompson-Boling Arena is one of the first in the world to feature lights that are smaller, brighter and up to 85 percent more efficient than conventional arena metal halide lights.

Soraa, specialist in GaN on GaN™ LED technology, announced the world's most efficient LED, which it will integrate into the market's first full-visible-spectrum, large form factor lamps. Soraa's third generation (Gen3) GaN on GaN™ LED achieves world-record setting wall-plug-efficiency, outperforming the nearest competitor by 20% at normal operating conditions. In just one year, Soraa has achieved a remarkable 30% increase in white lumen per watt (lm/W) efficiency over its prior generation LED, setting a pace of technology evolution unrivalled in the LED industry. Soraa's Gen3 LED will be available in the second quarter of this year in a variety of product offerings: modules, large form factor PAR and AR lamps, and MR16 lamps.

Korean design firm Everyware has made a robotic arm  from wood that is computer programmable to create beautiful 3D light paintings. Below is the company's intro about this impressive tiny robot:

The CL-200A chroma meter is the successor to the CL-200. It can measure the color temperature, illuminance, chromaticity, excitation purity, and dominant wavelength of various light sources. The CL-200A meter exclusively does this under LED, Organic LED (OLED), and other forms of Organic Electroluminescence (EL). 

"The 88EM8187 raises the performance bar for the entire industry as consumers can now get the true incandescent experience that includes excellent dimming performance along with the energy savings provided by LEDs," said Philip Poulidis, Vice-President and GM of Internet of Things Business Unit. "Even the best of the available competing IC solutions require bulb manufacturers to make several trade-offs when developing a product. For example, manufacturers may need to limit the number of wall-box dimmers with which their LED bulbs are compatible, to sacri...

In response to the increasing demands of DALI control for LED lighting applications, MEAN WELL introduced the DALI to PWM converter~DAP-04. Along with MEAN WELL’s LED PSU equipped with “3-in-1” dimming function, this new product makes the DALI control possible on LED lighting fixtures. DAP-04 equipped with both DALI dimming and push-dim functions.

Shenzhen-based Deren Electronics latest 2013 financial results fell short of market expectations, according to a report by China International Capital Corporation Limited (CICC).

- New connected street lighting model solves two issues simultaneously: offering city officials an innovative way to afford next generation energy efficient LED lighting to meet sustainability goals, and enabling network operators to offer improved city-wide mobile broadband and app coverage   - Citizens will benefit from improved mobile network coverage for data communications and enhanced safety with brighter, well lit streets Philips and Ericsson combine the benefits of mobile connectivity and LED lighting in a ''lighting-as-a-service'' model for cit...

Zhejiang East Crystal Electronics Co. announced on Feb. 20, 2014 that they have received Jin Hua City Intermediate People’s court in Zhejiang, China, verdict regarding a contract dispute between subsidiary Zhejiang Orient Crystal Optics,  Crystaltech HK Co. and Zhejiang Yunfeng.

As flip-chip technology becomes more mature, there has been a clear increase in flip-chip applications this year. Those within the industry have been actively applying flip-chips into flash LEDs. Samsung has taken advantage of the expanded range of flash LED products and announced the launch of their new flash 2016 LED  with flip-chip technology this month.

Large smartphone manufacturers were under the spotlight at the annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) on Jan. 24, 2014. Samsung and HTC launched their flagship smartphone models at the show. Samsung’s S5 and HTC’s M8 both incorporated dual flash LED designs. Dual-color flash LEDs are projected to become standard specs in high-end smartphones.

Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA) and key strategic partners of the UAE’s Ecological Footprint Initiative announce the introduction of an indoor lighting standard in the UAE and call on residents and businesses to switch to energy efficient lighting as of today.

According to a recent top-hundred ranking list of domestic patent application in 2013 by Intellectual Property Office (IPO) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), Lextar Electronics Corp. remained in the first place in LED industry in Taiwan,. In the ranking, Lextar was also second to none in number of granted patents and invention patent applications. This was the third consecutive year that Lextar topped in patent application in Taiwan LED industry, revealing its effectiveness in technology and patent deployment.

In response to Nichia’s press release on February 20 related to the U.S. Patent No. 6,653,215, Everlight clarifies that the decision made by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is not final and still appealable. The decision itself has no effect on Everlight’s products.  Everlight will appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) against the USPTO’s decision.

The most populous city in the Philippines is making the switch to LED streetlights. Quezon City, part of Metro Manila, will replace the current sodium streetlights with new energy efficient LEDs.

Following two years of revenue decline, HTC is hoping the launch of new wearable devices will help turn profits around. The company may demonstrate one of three wearable devices at the upcoming tradeshow in Barcelona, though the company is still unsure if they will show the devices publically or just give carriers a glimpse.

The BMW i8 represents the first production vehicle in the world with a laser light. Osram played a decisive role in the development of the laser light source. Laser light is considered the next development step in automotive lighting and offers new design possibilities in addition to its functional advantages.

Access Fixtures reports that LG LED bollard lights have superior efficacy and significant energy savings compared to metal halide equivalents. Using only 12 watts, the LED bollard lights use less than 20% of the energy required for 50w metal halide bollard lights. While the LED bollard lights drastically reduce energy use, they also emit an average of eight times more light than the MH equivalents. 

Alkilu, a U.S. based company is ambitiously raising funds to launch an affordable OLED lighting product, Aurora All-Terrain light. The LEDinside editorial team found at Lighting Japan 2014, OLED panel pricings can range from US$50-US$ 192.08 a piece. The Aurora All-Terrain pricing of US$ 74 falls somewhere in between, so its not too far off from its affordable claim.

Konka and A&A Optoelectronics in Canada will be continuing their distribution relationship in Canada, after establishing a good business relationship last year. In 2014, A&A will launch new series of products from Konka to continue their leading position in Canada. 

Thomas Research Products is excited to introduce an advanced new line of DC LED Light Engines, offering OEM customers simple solutions for solid state lighting. Thomas Research Products is a leading manufacturer of SSL power solutions.

Philips new LED light positioning system for retail applications has caught the market attention this week, with some media noting it can be a contender for Apple’s iBeacon system. Samsung has launched new LED packages for smartphone applications, which will also be applied in its Galaxy S5. Veeco revenue plunges 36% in 2013 compared to a year earlier. Breakthroughs in Mn 4+ red phosphor technology will also be creating new trends in the LED industry. For more please see below:

In the sapphire substrate industry, GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT) has reaped benefits from its multi-year partnership with Apple, but other sapphire substrate manufacturers have seen revenues drop. Veeco’s latest financial reports showed losses in 4Q13, reflecting a dire need to change business strategies, while Rubicon’s yearnings were below financial analyst estimations. With smartphone applications on the rise, manufacturers that enter the smartphone market early will be the biggest benefactors. 

LiteOn Technology announced on the 19th that the merger date with Leotek Electronics will be pushed back from April 7th to June 29th due to business requirements.

At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a federal court has ordered a light bulb manufacturer and its owners to pay more than US$21 million for misleading consumers by exaggerating the performance of their Light Emitting Diode (LED) light bulbs.