The latest notebook from Toshiba, the Portege R500-SP209C, includes a number of proposed "world's firsts", including a 128 GB solid-state drive, transreflective LED display, and 7 mm DVD SuperMulti drive.

The mantra of switching to energy-efficient lightbulbs is the eco-tip equivalent of Genesis to Christians; it's the oldest one in the book. So we're going to assume you've switched most of your standard light fittings to energy-saving compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) already, saving yourself around £60 over each bulb's lifetime.

It looks like it's lights out in Bonita Springs — for light emitting diode (LED) lights, anyway. After multiple debates, City Council has decided to prohibit LED-lighted signs in the city for the time being.

Texas Instruments yesterday announced a new technology that could dramatically change the perception and appeal of front projectors. Its new Brilliant Color DLP chipset works with a PhlatLight Light Emitting Diode (LED) light source to produce images. Traditionally, DLP projectors relied on a color wheel and mirror design, which would produce color images in conjunction with a lamp light source. Competing projector technologies 3LCD, which uses red, green, and blue LCD panels, and LCOS both require a lamp as well.

Linear Technology has introduced a 36V step-down DC/DC converter, LT3592, designed to operate as a constant current LED driver. Its internal 36V, 900mA switch enables it to drive up to six 500mA white LED in a single string from a 36V input for industrial and LED signage applications.

Model SKYHS-2W from HK.Tibo Electronic Lighting Co. Ltd is a rope light with a white PVC tube housing. The product comes in individual units with a standard length of 1m. Each unit contains 80 LEDs in yellow, red, blue, green or white, and has a power rating of 4.4W. The model is easy to set up and has low installation costs. It is suitable for indoor and outdoor use, and complies with GS requirements. A roll contains 50 meters.

Carmanah Technologies Corp. said it is providing solar-powered airfield lights for a United States Air Force installation in the Middle East. The order, valued at approximately USD $463,000, will enable the facility to upgrade its five-year-old system of A702 solar-powered airfield lights with Carmanah's wireless, A704-5 GEN II runway lights.

L.E.D. lighting has become the lighting industry's new Next Big Thing, with industry proponents predicting that it will eventually knock compact fluorescent lights off their perch as viable alternatives to standard incandescent bulbs. But there is another application that industry observers think L.E.D.'s will also come to dominate: television displays. In a new research report from Insight Media, a flat panel research firm, the company is predicting that by 2011, cost reductions will spur a switch to L.E.D. illumination for L.C.D. TVs.

Insight Media a market analysis firm of Norwalk, Connecticut USA, has released its new backlight unit report that outlines the future of various types of LCD backlighting technologies. These including various CFL and LED configurations. Chris Chinnock, president of Insight Media said, "Which combinations offer the best price-performance? Which ones have clear paths to high volume production? Which combination is best for a particular product? These are the type of questions the LCD BLU Report seeks to answer." Author: LIGHTimes Staff

Billions of people continue to burn dangerous and costly kerosene in lamps to see at night. Start-up d.light design, which aims for no less than to eliminate kerosene around the world within a decade, is launching three off-grid lighting products for developing regions. "We believe that 1.6 billion people without regular access to electricity deserve high-quality, safe and dependable light that they can afford," said Sam Goldman, CEO of New Delhi, India-based d.light design, in a Monday statement.

The LED module BACKlight Protect is the ideal solution for permanent and luminous lettering and light boxes in outdoor applications. The robust housing protects the modules from dust, moisture and condensation through dripping or splashing water according to ingress protection IP 66. The special encapsulation of the LED modules ensures maximum robustness during installation and operation. Further convincing features of the BACKlight Protect LED modules include flexibility, efficiency and a homogeneous illumination of advertising spaces with brilliant colors.

Following recent trends in the industry, TFT LCD panel maker Chi Mei Opotelectronics (CMO) is focusing on 16:9 aspect ratio and LED backlight products, estimating such applications will reach a penetration rate of around 55% of the company's shipments by 2010, outpacing the global average. CMO is being active regarding its lineup for 16:9 LCD monitors with sizes including 15.6-, 18.5-, 21.6- and 23.6-inch.

d.light design yesterday announced the launch of its first line of revolutionary lighting products, custom-designed for urban and rural households in developing countries that do not have regular access to electricity and are currently relying primarily on dim, polluting and hazardous kerosene lanterns for lighting.

Billions and Trillions of Colors: A Visible Difference? provides readers with valuable insights regarding color that may be a revelation to many. For example, the technical paper points out that manufacturer promises of billions or even trillions of colors are not necessarily the best barometers of color quality. Why?

FERNDALE, MI – From circuit boards to LED lighting, Midwest Circuits has adapted its business to maximize the company's strengths. Innovation is at the core of the shift to LED lighting. A novel PCB design will help Midwest Circuits become an integral part of the upcoming LED lighting system boom. Midwest Circuits has developed a proprietary metal core printed circuit board that mitigates the thermal management challenges associated with LED lighting system design.

Texas Instruments Inc. of Dallas, Texas USA, has introduced a six-channel, 40-V white light emitting diode (LED) driver with a built-in, high-efficiency boost regulator and 1.5-A FET. TI boasts that the TPS61181 is the smallest LED driver to manage up to 60 white LEDs at once.

Available in amber and red colors, 1 W Moonstone(TM) LED emitter ASMT-Mx00 is capable of being driven to high current of 350 mA to deliver up to 42 lumens output. Energy efficient product features 120-deg viewing angle, exposed pad for heat transfer, low-profile design of 3.3 mm H, and greater than 8 kV ESD. Utilized in architectural, garden and decorative lighting applications, emitter is compatible with IR soldering processes, and is encapsulated in heat and UV resistant silicone compound.

Texas Instruments, a developer of semiconductors, has introduced a six-channel, 40-V white light emitting diode driver, TPS61181, with a built-in boost regulator and 1.5-A FET. TI has claimed that TPS61181 is the smallest LED driver to manage up to 60 white LEDs at once. The TPS61181 gives engineers designing medium-sized portable applications an easy path to LED design.

Philips Electronics India, a consumer electronics and healthcare equipment company, is looking for acquisitions in the lighting, lifestyle and healthcare segments. "We are working on around three proposals currently for possible acquisitions. We are sitting on a cash surplus of Rs 600 crore," said S M Datta, chairman of the company. Meanwhile, the company is scouting for local partners to launch economical range of products across its lighting, lifestyle and healthcare segments.

Helping display manufacturers meet demands for more efficient power technologies in displays, Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) introduced today an innovative, six-channel, 40-V white light emitting diode (LED) driver with a built-in, high-efficiency boost regulator and 1.5-A FET. The smallest LED driver to manage up to 60 white LEDs at once, the TPS61181 provides high power efficiency and accurate current regulation for medium-sized displays used in notebooks, portable GPS, industrial and medical applications.

At the recent euroLED 2008 event in Coventry, UK, PerkinElmer Optoelectronics, a supplier of specialty lighting, optical detection technologies, and digital imaging, showcased its new white LED product range as the latest addition to its growing ACULED family of standard and custom high-power LEDs (for applications including illumination, medical lighting, aircraft lighting, projection, and signaling).

AccessDiscounts.us - a leading supplier of grow lights, residential lighting and commercial lighting, today announced the rising interest in LED lighting for commercial and residential lighting needs.

Carmanah Technologies Corporation is providing solar-powered airfield lights for a United States Air Force installation in the Middle East. The order, valued at approximately USD $463,000, will enable the facility to upgrade its five-year-old system of A702 solar-powered airfield lights with Carmanah's wireless, high-visibility A704-5 GEN II runway lights.

Being named European Capital of Culture 2008 was without doubt a proud day for the City of Liverpool. As such the M62 Rocket Junction plays an important part in establishing a first impression for visitors, investors and the travelling public.   FAST FACTS The development of LEDs has meant that lighting installations can achieve impressive energy saving and impact indirectly on CO2 emissions. Industry: City Beautification Location:

Apple's new MacAir notebook is so slim it has created a new sub-category of laptops. And one of the key enabling technologies behind this innovation is the LED backlight unit. Not only do LED backlights offer increased battery life for notebooks, they can enable much thinner displays – and innovative new thinking about product design. Product planners need to be looking at the possibilities these LCD backlight innovations are creating. Such technology may indeed be the way companies can differentiate their products and offer users additional benefits.

When Raj Patel looks down from an airplane, he doesn't see streetlamps dotting the ground. He sees potential business partners.

It's reported that HB LEDs used for lighting applications is one of the fastest growing market segments in the HB LED industry. With a growth rate over 60% since 2006, this application is one of the most intriguing elements for adaptation of HB LEDs. In order to address this market, Strategies Unlimited will be releasing its third edition of The Market for High-Brightness LEDs in Lighting Applications - 2008. This report will contain the following information: • Market data and forecasts through 2012 broken out by material type, color, and package type.

On June 2, 2008, a date that will live in infamy, the solid state lighting community was suddenly and deliberately attacked by the combined communication and policy forces of the Office of Air and Radiation the US Environmental Protection Agency... It will be recorded that the distance from a government-inspired concept to an actual policy makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago.

TarmLED 4x4 highlighted a recent event staged by Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart, Germany. The system was installed horizontally above the heads of 400 invited attendees, creating an LED ceiling. At the finale of an approximately two-minute laser performance, the Mercedes symbol appeared in breathtaking brightness on the auditorium's "LED sky" and bathed its entire interior in a gleaming, unforgettable, closing vision.

Panasonic said on  June 11th, 2008 it was releasing a new mobile phone accessory which connects Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones to cordless handsets in the home. It is known as the Panasonic KX-TH1211 Link to Cell and you'll find it pricing around for around $100 (model KX-TH1212 includes two handsets and retails for around $130).