Toshiba has announced a six-year, 100 billion yen (about $1.11 billion; 1 USD = 89.7951 JPY) investment plan in LED light bulb manufacturing.

The discontinuation of many foreign-held patents on diode-based technologies by 2010 is expected to cut prices of China-made LED bulbs and tubes further. Among the multinational companies with several licenses expiring in the next few months are Osram, Nichia and Cree.

Lemnis Lighting on Friday announced that its Pharox60 LED light is now available in the U.S. online and soon will be for sale on Amazon. Pharox60, the world's first dimmable LED bulb compatible with home light fixtures, is shaped like a traditional incandescent bulb, consumes 6 watts of power and can replace a 60-watt bulb. An LED replacement for an incandescent bulb.

LEDtronics® announces its first series of energy-efficient LED replacements of wall-pak luminaires for wall washing and security lighting. The high-power WWL20-24X2W-XPW-001W floodlight runs on a wide range of voltages, from 100 to 277VAC, consuming only 56 watts of power.

Osram Opto Semiconductors partnered with the Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary, Canada to help a team of 600 students send an LED illuminated message to the International Space Station as it passes overhead. On September 19th, 2009, in the dark of night, the students gathered in a remote field to send their message to the International Space Station as it passed over Calgary, 300 km (186 miles) above the earth’s surface.

Progress Solar Solutions, LLC, an innovator in providing high-performance, eco-friendly and cost-effective solar solutions for commercial, government, institutional and residential communities, announced they are now offering a unique solar outdoor lighting product developed and manufactured through Inovus Solar.

Vision X Lighting has launched the Reflex, the brightest, most efficient and versatile LED lighting system. Each light utilizes new 10-Watt LED technology providing ultra-bright 900 lumens per LED with the lowest amp draw.

Veeco Instruments Inc. announced yesterday that Bridgelux, Inc., a U.S. lighting company and leading supplier of energy-saving light-emitting diode (LED)-based light sources, has placed a multi-unit order for Veeco's TurboDisc® K465™ gallium nitride (GaN) Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) systems to support its production ramp.

Toshiba Lighting & Technology Corp will release high-output LED light bulbs with a total flux equivalent to that of a 60W incandescent lamp. (Left) Components of the light bulb. (Right) An LED package developmed by Toshiba Lighting & technology.

OSRAM and Safegate jointly develop robust and efficient LED lighting for taxiways. The ever-increasing volume of passengers and freight in global air traffic makes greater demands on safety too. Because of its major impact on passenger safety, airport operators are paying special attention to the lighting of runways for take-off, landing and taxiing.

The Sharp LC-40LB700X allows a user to watch TV and also play Blu-ray, DVD and CD discs. The integrated Blu-ray player features BD-LIVE to access additional content via an internet connection and a USB terminal for added local storage. High definition audio is achieved with spectacular sound reproduction thanks to 5.1 Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS-HD high resolution audio output.

Lighting Science Group Corporation, a global leader in LED lighting products, will preview its next generation line of LED retrofit lamps that will be available in the fourth quarter of this year. The new line of lamps will have substantially increased light output compared to LSG's current line but will be available at about half the cost. LSG's new line of LED retrofit lamps has the potential to dramatically expand the market for LED lighting technology.

UPEC will demonstrate its innovative products and solutions, including Street Light, Intelligent Lighting Management System, and Interior Lighting Products, at Hong Kong International Lighting Fair from 27 Oct. to 30 Oct. 2009. According to UPEC, the Intelligent Lighting Management System uses electronic dimming gear and area wireless control, and each street light could be individually controlled, monitored and manipulated. By using the Intelligent Lighting Management System, that could achieve energy-saving, labor costs reducing, and reporting accuracy increase.

Digital Projection International (DPI), an Emmy® Award-winning manufacturer of high-performance projection systems, announced the brand-new M-Vision Cine LED. The new Cine LED delivers 3-chip color saturation with the imaging fidelity of Texas Instruments’ DLP® technology. The single-chip M-Vision Cine LED adds the first Lifetime Illumination™ display to DPI’s already extensive single-chip product line.

Larson Electronics announces the addition of the MRAP/MATV infrared LED light for vehicle mount applications. The LEDLB-24-VIR 72 watt LED light was designed specifically to support military vehicle blackout applications. With dual power supplies, the visible LEDs turn off when the blackout system is activated while the infrared LEDs continue to illuminate.

Cree announced the commercial availability of the XLamp® XP-G LED, the industry’s brightest and most efficient lighting-class LED. The XP-G LED can produce up to 367 lumens when driven at 1A, at a typical efficacy of 111 lumens per watt; making it 46 percent brighter and 64 percent more efficient than the highest-performance XR-E LED, with an 80 percent smaller footprint.

Apart from lighting, LED backlight unit (BLU) applications are another driving force for the growth of LED market. The adoption of LED backlighting in medium and large-sized LCD panels has become more promising since Samsung first introduced the term “LED TV.”

Seoul Semiconductor has recently announced that Havells Sylvania, one of Europe’s largest lighting companies, released Concord Stadium spotlight range using Seoul Semiconductor’s Z-Power LED P4 series products.

Samsung LED TVs have taken the world by storm. To keep up with their sales, Samsung is now aggressively increasing its procurement of LED backlit panels. According to survey, Samsung’s LED panels currently account for around 60% of the global output of such panels. Its efforts in LED TV field has significantly attributed to the promotion of LED back-lit TVs to be tomorrow’s market mainstream and also pushing the LED industry forward.

Sharp Corporation will introduce into the Japanese market four models (60V-inch, 52V-inch, 46V-inch, and 40V-inch*1) of the LX Series “LED AQUOS” LCD TVs from November 10, 2009. Coming on the verge of 2010, the tenth anniversary of the first AQUOS LCD TVs, this series employs a newly developed LCD panel and an LED backlight.

Fairchild Semiconductor brings designers of cell phones, medical, portable and consumer applications a boost switch that provides high efficiency in boost conversion circuits. The FDFME3N311ZT combines a 30V integrated N-Channel PowerTrench® MOSFET and Schottky diode for exceptionally low input capacitance (55pF typical) and total gate charge (1nC) to improve efficiency in DC-DC boost designs.

Designed with a unique, shimmering, flame-like movement effect, BULBRITE unveils the energy efficient and versatile LED Retrofit Candle. Ideal for a variety of applications including churches, theaters, pubs, hotels, historic homes and buildings, the LED Retrofit Candle is the most realistic looking bulb replacement available for 120V lighting fixtures. Its patented electronics create a shimmering flame-like movement that perfectly simulates the flickering flame of a real wax candle.

「Shuen [Xuan] is the English translation for the Chinese word meaning Bright and Shiny. Both words are relevant descriptions of this Everlight LED series. The modern, adaptive Chinese definition of the word represents that which is New, Extravagant, and Highly Sought After.」 Adding to an already broad and innovative portfolio of surface mount packaged High Power LEDs, Everlight Electronics introduces the 「Shuen」 Series - its most powerful and brightest LED series in a slim ceramic package.

MEGAMAN®, a leader in eco-friendly lighting solutions, yesterday unveiled its latest LED Reflector Series in the presence of over 200 distinguished guests, including top-notch architects, interior designers and real estate developers, as well as leading retail chain operators and prominent hoteliers, in an enchanting show event at Cyberport.

Mitsubishi Electric announced that Guinness World Records has acknowledged its awesome Diamond Vision video board installation in the Dallas Cowboys Stadium as the World’s Largest High-Definition Video Display. The official certificate presentation took place during a pre-game ceremony on September 28th, just prior to the Cowboys vs. Carolina Panthers Monday Night Football game.

Albeo Technologies Inc., a manufacturer and supplier of energy efficient LED lighting systems, today announced that the Bowden Ice Arena in Alberta has retrofitted entirely with Albeo's C-Series High-Bay white-LED Solid-State Luminaire. Albeo's C-Series high-bay produces over 25,000 lumens at 79 lm/W, giving it a wall plug efficiency that surpasses fluorescent and HID high-bay lighting systems.

Oncor, a U.S.-based regulated electric distribution and transmission business, recently announced it has donated energy-efficient LED lighting to Big Tex to help the Texas State Fair giant achieve 67 percent energy savings from his previous lighting system.

Nowadays, many consumers should have noticed the intense promotion campaign launched by TV vendors for LED TVs. Major Korea brand vendors have coined the term “LED TV” to promote their LCD TV models that adopt the LED backlight technology. Some TV manufacturers in Japan, China, and Europe have also followed suit and introduced a series of LED-backlit LCD TV.

Philips Lumileds announced yesterday (Sep.28) that it has opened a new office in Shanghai that is being staffed with an applications team and market specialists to support the growing number of companies in China developing solid-state lighting solutions. The applications team and specialists will support customers as they design systems for reliability, efficiency and performance.

OSRAM’s LED technology contributes to the energy efficiency of Volkswagen’s L1 concept car presented at the Frankfurt International Motor Show (IAA). The vehicle, which according to Volkswagen can go into production in 2013, has headlights that are equipped with new OSRAM Joule JFL2 LED systems and matching reflectors. The LED modules take care of the dipped and main beam functions and consume far less energy than conventional headlamps.