Taiwan LED driver IC leading provider Macroblock presents its newly developed MBI5037, a 16-channel constant current LED driver with smart power-saving modes and advanced error detection. MBI5037 is especially designed for long use of LED traffic sign applications with power saving up to 99%.

Lustrous International Technology, a lighting-class LED packaging company in Taiwan,is proud to announce the launch of two new series of high power LED products,Diamond and Crystal. Both two new series of high power LED are active and orders accepted from Jan, 2009. Both Diamond and Crystal are designed to meet energy star standards for manufacturinglighting-class LED fixture or light source at a significantly competitive cost.

Pacer International Ltd. announces the opening of a new sales office based in Cork, Ireland, continuing the company’s ongoing expansion.

High Power LED applied for automotive, aviation, decorative lighting, architectural lighting, theme parks, utility plants, street lighting, emergency lighting, safety lighting, industrial lighting, LED sign, Traffic signaling, LED lighting. Focusing on this market trend, Chang-Yu Technology has announced new competitively Sorting & taping machine for high power LED.

Validity Sensors, Inc., a privately-held biometric sensor company specializing in convenient, secure and reliable fingerprint authentication solutions, launched their latest innovation LED fingerprint sensor. Validity offers bi-color LEDs in fingerprint sensors, which enhances end-users’ experience by alerting them when a finger swipe is required and whether a swipe was accepted or not. The LED feature also allows for improved aesthetics and user experience for Notebook PCs and other consumer electronic devices.

Orb Optronix has measured several solid state lighting products that cause retinal injury if viewed directly. The products that exceed risk group category RG-1 blue light hazard limits in the ANSI/IESNA RP-27.3-07 ‘Recommended Practice for Photobiological Safety for Lamps, Risk Group Classification and Labeling’ standard along with IEC 62471:2006. The RG-2 categorization cautions against direct viewing of light sources with the human eye.

Luminus Devices, Inc. is showcasing its patented PhlatLight LED products at CES from January 8 to 11. The company will demonstrate PhlatLight technology that combines the benefits of both LED and laser technologies at CES 2009. This unique solid state lighting technology is ideal for display and illumination applications that require high brightness and the efficient harnessing of light from a small point source. Luminus’s patented PhlatLight® LED products are the brightest. The following products are on display:

Vivitek Corporation, a leader in the environmentally responsible manufacture of today's most innovative visual display and presentation products, will be showing its first 1080p LED projector at the 2009 CES this week in Las Vegas. The quiet, new HC7500A, breakthrough projector, provides the growing HD home theater market with the industry's brightest, pure-color, video to-date.

Moritex Corp developed a bar-shaped LED lamp ”SpectraTrue” in cooperation with Schott AG of Germany, its parent company, that has already released a bar-shaped LED. Moritex says with a high color rendering property, it can precisely reproduce the colors of products and showpieces.

LED lighting manufacturer Albeo Technologies introduces its SecurityLED line of general illumination light fixtures. The SecurityLED product family, built with Albeo's white-LED TEMPR(TM) thermal technology, provides high-efficiency, "zero" maintenance, general lighting solutions for demanding applications.     SecurityLED Sloped Surface Light Fixture

Ushio Lighting Inc. has started sample shipment of the "LED Filament Bulb," a light bulb that uses LEDs as its "filaments." The company says the bulbs have a color temperature of 2,500K and a transparent glass bulb.

Austriamicrosystems, a leading global designer and manufacturer of high performance analog ICs, has extended its portfolio of specialized LED drivers and controllers for the latest generation of LCD TV backlighting with the AS3693B 16 channel LED controller IC.

Avago Technologies has announced a new competitively priced 1-Watt high power LED emitter for use in solid-state lighting applications. The company said this LED emitter is ideal for use in architectural, contour, retail display, decorative and garden lighting applications. The ASMT-Ax00 LED features a low-profile package design, wide 130-degree viewing angle, and the ability to handle high thermal and drive currents. It comes in a variety of colors.

It’s reported that Sven Rotgers has joined GE Lighting as Business Development Manager for Specification Lamps to head up the company’s Specification team covering the UK, Nordics and Ireland. Sven joins GE Lighting from Philips where he has worked for the last eight years. At GE he will be responsible for leading his sales team to create new and maintain existing partnerships with customers specifying GE lamps. About GE Lighting

Diguang International Development Co., Ltd. will present at the world-renowned annual consumer electronics trade show include CCFL/LED backlights, LED lamps, mini-size laptops, 19'' super-thin LED displays and other innovations at the International CES Exhibition in Las Vegas, January 8 to 11, 2009.

LEDinside, Taiwan LED industry research institute, estimates Taiwan’s streetlight market to show perspective business valued at around NT$40-50 billion for the Taiwan’s LED firms due to the government’s plan to spend NT$200-300 million to install LED streetlights on some of the island’s roads in 2009 as demonstration for the use of the new light source in streetlight.

Nexxus Lighting, Inc. announced that Gary Langford has been appointed as the Company’s new Chief Financial Officer effective January 5, 2009. Mr. Langford will replace John Oakley, who has resigned to pursue an opportunity as CFO and Senior VP of Operations at another publicly traded company outside of the lighting industry.

Cree, Inc. reported that Robert Ingram, vice chairman Pharmaceuticals of GlaxoSmithKline, was elected to the Company’s Board of Directors and to the Board’s Compensation and Governance and Nominations Committee beginning December 29, 2008. Robert Ingram does not have the electrical engineering background of some of the board members, but he has gained some notoriety for his role at the pharmaceutical giant.

Taiwan LED chips and products maker Opto Tech has decided to delay its factory construction in Ningbo, China. Opto Tech indicated the delay is for an unspecified period, and construction will begin when the business environment becomes favorable.

Taiwan LED makers, including Epistar Corp., Everlight Electronics Co. and Opto Tech Corp., are hopefully to benefit from LED backlight notebook PCs sales boom with increasing popularity of LED backlight notebook PCs to generate demand for 1.5-2 billion LED chips in 2009.

Energy Focus Inc., a maker of LED lighting based in Solon, Ohio USA, announced that it has installed LED lighting to retrofit the high-bay lighting in a hanger deck on board an Arleigh Burke class Destroyer.

During the economic downturn, many manufacturers are setting to reduce the output and dismiss workers at manufacturing lines. But, small and mid-size LED makers are busy running manufacturing lines.

Taiwan surface-mounted chip LED manufacturer Harvatek Inc. recently announces that it would start an automotive-LED partnership with Osram in 2009 after two years of effort.

Orient Lighting introduces its high power UFO LED grow lights. LED Grow Lights do not consume as much power, do not require ballasts and produce a fraction of the heat of HID lamps, which adopt ideal wavelength LED emits only Photosynthetically Active Radiation to grow plants effectively and affordably. Besides, they produce little heat and save Save 75% power over HID grow lighting.

Cree Inc. has announced that it and Boston University have reached agreement with Bridgelux Inc. to settle the parties’ patent infringement litigation and to dismiss all claims and counterclaims in the suits. As part of the settlement, Bridgelux, a privately held company based in Sunnyvale, Calif., will pay royalties and license fees to settle litigation over patents held by Cree and Boston University.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Lighting Research Center (LRC) has enhanced its outreach education by taking the LED Lighting Institute “on the road.” In addition to the traditional three-day seminar held each spring and fall at the LRC, a two-day LED Lighting Institute program option has been added, which will be hosted at a program sponsor site each year.

After several years of foundering holiday sales for energy-efficient LED lighting, LED manufacturers and retailers reported sales that were surprisingly brisk even during an economic downturn.

Recently, Marktech Optoelectronics, Toshiba's optoelectronic partner in the U.S. expands its LED driver product family with two new high-performance devices from Toshiba - TB62777FNG and TB62778FNG. Their constant current LED drivers delivering a continuous current that can be regulated for superior illumination in the back-lighting of LCD panels, TV displays and notebook PCs, as well as light control for large RGB panel LED displays.

MAGA Essense Ltd. is promoting its LED light bars and T8 LED lighting fixture. The light bars are ideal for stairway lights, parking lot lights, showcase lights, cove lights, and fridge lights while the T8 fixture is made for offices.

OSRAM Opto Semiconductors announced that its series of Golden DRAGON LED has been chosen by Advanced Thermal Devices, Inc (ATD) for its LED illumination projects in Taiwan. Integrating the cutting edge chip technology and fitted with a silicone dome for greater light extraction efficiency, OSRAM’s Golden DRAGON and Golden DRAGON Plus LEDs provide high quality lighting solution for outdoor illumination. Both of them are characterized by an exceptionally long lifetime. There are two LED illumination projects ATD has been working with OSRAM.