Major consumer electronic manufacturers such as Apple, Samsung, and Sony might be battling on the smartwatch front, but for the fashion-conscious the bulky designs have been rather unattractive. Keeping aesthetics in mind, a fairly new U.S.-based company, G-Wearables Team, has launched the world’s smallest LED fitness tracker.

More than one month has passed since Philips Lumiblade posted a teaser video on its Facebook account hinting the company’s OLEDs will be traveling to space on a NASA space shuttle. The tight lipped company has finally revealed the OLED application in space, and to our surprise had nothing to do with the shuttle’s interior lighting. 

Japanese manufacturers are beginning to shift market strategies from a product sales promotion approach to value adding technologies, according to a Chinese-language Tech-On report. Manufacturers are restrategizing business approach as the LED industry matures, and profits shrink as LED prices fall.

Last Friday, HC SemiTek announced plans of investing a total of RMB 1.18 billion (US $189.4 million) in the third phase of their LED epitaxial wafer project. The company’s stocks will resume trading today. 

For years, companies have been adding whiteners to laundry detergent, paints, plastics, paper and fabrics to make whites look "whiter than white," but now, with a switch away from incandescent and fluorescent lighting, different degrees of whites may all look the same, according to experts in lighting.

Two more automotive manufacturers have made the switch to LED lighting. American automotive manufacturers Dodge and Jeep, members of the Chrysler Group, have introduced new LED lighting design concepts for their upcoming models. 

LG Innotek (CEO Ung-Beom Lee) announces it has begun mass producing high output UV LED chips that delivers the world class performance.The company has developed UV LED chips that can output 560mW at a drive current of 500mA, which is world class output on a single chip. Applications include industrial hardeners, light exposure systems, and counterfeit bill detectors.

Bulbing, a LED bulb designed by Studio Checha based in Israel may appear 3D to the naked eye, but a side-view reveals the luminaires are actually flat.

As part of its commitment to environmental sustainability and promoting green building practices in its more than 4,400 restaurants, this Earth Day, Tim Hortons is announcing a new initiative to replace all existing lighting fixtures in restaurants across Canada and the United States with energy-efficient light-emitting diode (LED) lighting from Philips. The conversion program will see 485 restaurants outfitted with LED lighting in 2014 alone, translating to an estimated 6.4 million kilowatt hours (kWh) in energy savings. 

More details are unveiled about Apple’s new iPhone 6 and iWatch this week. Apple is rumored to be launching limited sapphire glass cover iPhone models, while low LG Display AMOLED yield rates are expected to postpone iWatch launch date to 4Q14. Conventional luminaire manufacturers are required to meet higher energy efficiency regulations with DOE’s proposed new standard for GSFL and IRLs. LEDinside analyst Figo Wang gives an in-depth game theory model analysis on San'an Opto's production expansion strategy. 

Apple’s much anticipated iWatch launch date might be postponed to 4Q14, as the company runs into AMOLED manufacturing issues, according to Chinese-language China Times report.

With the backing and endorsement by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, the Nanoleaf LED bulb has received a lot of attention from the media and consumers. Li believes that more attention should be paid to innovative technology to help cut energy consumption in order to alleviate poverty and boost the economy. 

Dow Corning’s Chinese subsidy has recently filed an organosilicone patent infringement case in Shanghai First Intermediate People's Court against Beijing KMT Technology, according to a Chinese language OFweek report. In the complaint, Beijing KMT Technology was accused of selling Dow Corning’s patented organosilicone products as its own.

A breakthrough in speed and distance by red laser based data transmission has been made by a research team headed by electro-optical engineering professor Lu Hai-han at the National Taipei University of Technology in Taiwan. The development was announced by the ROC Ministry of Science and Technology on April 16th.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy under the Department of Energy in U.S. has recently proposed a new lighting standard to make general service fluorescent lamps (GSFLs) and incandescent reflector lamps (IRLs) more energy efficient.

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) published a white paper, NEMA LSD 40-2014 Failure Modes for Self-Ballasted Compact Fluorescent Lamps—A NEMA Update.

Researchers from Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Shizuoka University in Japan find in this latest study that broccoli aging after harvest can be delayed by red LED lights, but blue LED lights had no effect on countering the yellowing process. The study conducted by Gang Maa, Lancui Zhanga, Chandra Kurnia Setiawana, Kazuki Yamawakia et al. has been published in Postharvest Biology and Technology journal.

Intertek Hong Kong marks another milestone in LED testing today with the Grand Opening of its LED Technology Center. It is the most advanced and comprehensive commercial third party LED testing center in Asia which offers a complete end-to-end solution on LED testing.

Revolution Lighting Technologies, Inc. (Revolution Lighting), a leader in advanced LED lighting solutions, announced it has closed its acquisition of Value Lighting Inc. and certain affiliates (Value Lighting).

After five years of intensive research in the field of printed organic electronics, the "PrintOLED - Printed Organic Light-Emitting Diodes" project has been successfully concluded. The project received around € 5 million (US $691 million) in funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). 

Two Chinese companies were booted out of the bi-annual Light+Building trade fair this year for patent infringement. China’s intellectual property rights are facing an increasingly harsher environment as the LED industry enters the golden age. Coping with international intellectual rights has become a source of contention for many LED manufacturers, and a difficult issue to deal with for the Chinese LED industry. 

Apple’s new iPhone 6 is anticipated to hit the market in 3Q14, according to the United Evening News. The new model will have a larger screen than past iPhones at 5.5 inches. It has been rumored that the iPhone 6 will be priced at US$100 higher, due to the larger screen size and change in specs.

San’an Optoelectronics (San’an Opto) announced on April 16, 2014 that the company has signed a three year strategic agreement to sell LED chips to Foshan Nationstar (Nationstar). 

The U.S. Department of Energy's CALiPER program has released Report 20.2, which is part of a series of investigations on LED PAR38 lamps. Report 20.2 focuses on dimming, flicker, and power quality characteristics evaluated with a single dimmer.

New version of the first MINI with four doors, a large tailgate, five seats and optional all-wheel drive; new MINI Countryman (combined fuel consumption: 7.1- 4.2 l/100 km, combined CO2 emissions: 165 - 111 g/km) hones its profile as an all-round talent for versatile mobility and an active lifestyle.

LED lighting demands are booming this year, according to a report in the Economic Daily News. Sapphire substrate manufacturers saw good operational performance in 1Q14, and remain optimistic as the industry moves into 2Q14. 

There has been many rumors and speculations floating around the internet as to who will be the provider of OLED panels for Apple’s new iWatch. An increasing number of sources have been pointing their fingers towards LG lately. 

Lumenpulse Inc. announced that it has successfully completed an initial public offering of its common shares. In connection with the initial public offering, Lumenpulse issued 6,250,000 common shares at a price of $16.00 for total gross proceeds of $100 million. The Company's common shares will begin trading today on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "LMP”.

TNSC, a manufacturer of Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) System, announces that it has signed a Technical Agreement with ITRI in Taiwan, which is a leading R&D Institution with advanced opto-electronic technologies.

San’an Optoelectronics (San’an Opto) announced the joint venture with Seoul Semiconductor and Seoul Viosys (Viosys) on April 10th 2014. San’an Opto holds the largest share in the venture with 49 percent, investing around US $980,000. Seoul Semiconductor has a 25 percent share with US$ 500,000 investment, while Viosys holds 26 percent with a US$ 520,000 investment. The joint venture will cover areas including design, R&D, production, LED product sales, and provide related services.