DURHAM, N.C., June 11, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Cree, Inc (Nasdaq:CREE) announces the sample release of a 90W, highly efficient GaN HEMT microwave transistor for general-purpose military and industrial applications such as electronic warfare, radar, tactical radios and EMC applications. This transistor provides superior performance over wide bandwidths compared to other technologies such as GaAs MESFET or Si LDMOSFET.

Amperor, Inc., a professional power supply design and manufacturer, is pleased to announce the addition of its LED power supply family to the AmperorDirect.com website. Through the website, Amperor is committed to help LED sign and illumination builders improve their LED light displays, and to simplify their power architecture.

LEDs will lead, and soon. A new report by iSuppli says 90% of notebook PC screens will be made of light emitting diodes within four years, up from a mere 3% last year. The research firm says sales of notebook PCs with LED screens will jump to more than 17 million units this year from about 3 million last year. This is good news to makers of LED chips. Such companies include Monolithic Power Systems, (MPWR) Cree, (CREE) Philips Lumileds, (PHG) Agilent (A) and privately held Luminous Devices.

Soon wayward travelers along life's long, dark Whitesville Road could be led to Jesus by light-emitting diodes.Harvest Faith Community Church at 7777 Whitesville Road just got a variance to put up a sign outside that uses light-emitting diodes or LEDs, which Columbus' Board of Zoning Appeals had been reluctant to allow because the church is in a residential zone.The church, which already had paid $20,000 for the 30-square-foot sign before the zoning snag came up last month, worked with city regulators on a compromise.

Hewlett-Packard Co. on Tuesday launched a bevy of new products, including breakthroughs in touch-screen and LED displays as well as 17 new notebook computers. In the massive unveiling in Berlin, Germany, Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP (NYSE: HPQ) introduced the HP TouchSmart All-in-One PC with touch-screen capability, a line of new notebooks that includes the ultra-light, ultra-mobile Voodoo Envy to compete with Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple Inc.'s (Nasdaq: AAPL) MacBook Air, and a new, billion-color LED.

All light emitting diode (LED) screens installed by the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) on the city's main roads have been switched off till a six-member committee of the PHA issues its recommendations in this regard, said a PHA official on Monday. The PHA installed LED screens on The Mall, the Canal, Kalma Chowk, Defence Housing Authority, Jail Road, Park Lane, Gulberg, Cavalry Grounds and Cantt during the previous government's regime.

Ingolstadt, Germany - Audi is offering the Audi R8 supercar with the option of full LED headlamp technology in addition to daytime running lights.The immediate launch of the technology required a waiver by the European Union with the LED headlamps more closely resembling daylight and greater contrast easier on the human eye, the car maker said.The 3,590 euro option rounds off the list of options available for the mid-engined 420 hp sports car that sells for 104,400 euros (161,957 dollars) in the basic version in Germany.

The Philippines'first ever electronic billboard has been installed by Globaltronics on the Insular Life Building in Makati City. The LED based system is 30 metres in length and 1.5 metres high. It runs the local stock exchange ticker tape, and other relevant stock market information, breaking news, traffic information, weather and other public service type announcements.

Clarity in Sound, Light and Vision specified and fitted the fixtures housed in compact IP65 flood enclosures to the Hatfield, UK, swim center ceiling. As of last month, 24 LED fixtures are now installed in the ceiling of a Council-owned Hertfordshire, UK, swimming pool building, reducing the pool's carbon footprint and pleasing the pool's visitors.

Orlando, FL, lighting company Eworks Pro Corp. designed the amusement park ride system from scratch.  On May 22, 2008, Pacific Park in Santa Monica, CA, introduced an all-new $1.5 million, 130-ft Pacific Wheel ferris wheel featuring more than 160,000 energy-efficient LED lights that will provide energy savings and complement its solar-power program.   Pacific Wheel

Linear Technology Corp's new LT3755 LED controller has a 4.5 to 40V input-voltage range. It drives external FETs to illuminate as many as 14 1A white LEDs from a nominal 12V input, delivering in excess of 50W. The part uses a high-side-current sense, enabling designers to use it in boost, buck, buck-boost, SEPIC (single-ended-primary-inductance-converter), and flyback topologies. The LT3755 can deliver efficiencies of more than 94% in boost mode. A frequency-adjustment pin permits the user to program the frequency between 100kHz and 1MHz.

The new OSTAR® Projection SMT LED from OSRAM Opto Semiconductors is more compact and efficient than ever before and is designed for integration into ultra-miniature pico projection applications where space is at a premium. This compact LED module measures just 5.8 x 4.7 x 1.5 mm and, in contrast to its predecessor, does not require additional connectors on board for electrical interface. Thanks to SMT (surface mount technology), this new version of the OSTAR® Projection LED is now suitable for standard soldering processes.

LED lighting has been all the rage in the computer world forever now but what about LED lighting around the house? What about LED lighting that looks like it is literally tearing through your wall? Judging by this concept, designer Billy May almost surely has. His Torn Lighting is perfectly disguised on your wall while hiding it's LED secrets from view. The result is the rather impressive illusion sure to leave your guests bemused, provided you paint it to match your walls of course.

Taipei, June 9, 2008 (CENS)--Lite-On Technology Corp. has begun small-volume shipments of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for notebook PC backlight units (BLUs) in May, while the firm`s many other related products would be launched steadily in the second half, according to company CEO Teng Kuang-chung, Lite-On Technology registered revenue of NT$2.73 billion (US$89.5 million at US$1: NT$30.5) for the first quarter, down 12% from the fourth quarter of 2007, yielding the position of Taiwan`s No. 1 LED packager to major rival Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd.

LCD-TV today uses CCFL backlight technology, but many think that LEDs backlights is the future. But costs remain an issue in the adoption of LED backlights for larger-sized LCDs. Using a new cost model tool developed by Insight Media and validated by industry experts, the model finds that the price decline for LED backlights will be steep, allowing a rapid changeover to begin around 2011.

Japan's Toshiba Corp (6502.T: Quote, Profile, Research) aims to raise sales of its non-commercial LED lights and other energy-saving light bulbs to 1 trillion yen ($9.50 billion) in 12 years by expanding sales abroad, its president said on Thursday.

Now, the revolution has come in PC industry. Users can get new screen technology, which avails sharper and more vivid images, longer battery life and slimmer design in laptops. In computex trade fair in Taiwan, laptops showcased featured with light emitting diode (LED) - backloit displays. One of the world's popular PC makers, Apple has introduced Macbook Air, which is featured with LED display, lighter with CCFLs and consumes less power.

Lamina Lighting has opened the Lamina Design Center, a product showroom and design studio at 336 West 37th Street in Manhattan. The Center is located in the Arts Building (www.theartsbuilding.com). The building is also home to lighting designers, artists and other businesses in the creative field.

LED International Holdings Ltd. said Sino Boost International Holdings Ltd. has agreed to subscribe for 29.69 million shares in the LED display and lighting company at 1 pence each, for a total consideration of 296,921 pounds. With the subscription, Sino Boost International is boosting its stake to in the AIM-listed company 16.67 percent.

Martin Kubanka designed the lighting for the 2008 final of the Miss Universe Slovak Republic. The event was staged at the National Tennis Centre in Bratislava. Kubanka used over 100 Robe moving lights at the core of his lighting design for event.

Lamina Lighting of Westampton, New Jersey USA announced that it has launched a new line of high lumen output white LED products. The company says that the line, which includes the Lamina TitanTurbo TruColor White LED, delivers light output of up to 2000 lumens. In addition, the company notes that it offers a unique "TruColor" feature that maintains the natural colors of an illuminated object. The special optics give the packaged LED the ability to focus light into a tight 60-degree cone angle.

Sony celebrated the launch of its XBR8 tricolor-LED-backlit LCD TV lineup with a Pioneer-style darkened-room shoot-out. The 55" XBR8 was pitted against an unnamed popular plasma set. What you see above is the LCD on the left, and the plasma on the right. But wait, we thought plasmas always had the upper hand when it comes to non-crushed black levels!

Ideal for mobile entertainers, bands and theatrical performances, the LS-70 LED System provides everything needed to set up a first-rate LED stage lighting system right out of the box. The all-in-one package consists of four screw-base LED bulbs — one each in red, green, blue and yellow — four Par 38 polish par cans, a T20F 4-channel foot-operated chase controller, and an LTS-6 light stand.

Friendly and futuristic in appearance, the Moppels are a breed of helpful LED companions who provide the perfect light for not so perfect situations.What's nice about this little thing is that it can sit on the couch arm and light your book, or better for clamping onto the top of your Mac G5 so you can see the ports in the back of the machine. (beware magnets)$30: (uses 3AA or USB) @Scientifics

Missouri City is about to begin a pilot study that involves using more energy efficient, improved streetlights throughout neighborhoods in the city. City council authorized the study with CenterPoint Energy during this week's regular meeting. The city will be looking at replacing existing incandescent streetlights with light emitting diodes, commonly known as LEDs.

Optek Technology offers a complete series of 1W single-LED assemblies on metal-core PCBs. Designated the OVTLZ Optimal I Star Series, the assemblies consist of OPTEK's Lednium Series 1W LEDs, which offers long life and low thermal resistance (<2°C/W)—integrated with a thermally-conductive heat spreader substrate to achieve an overall thermal resistance of 4.9°C/W from LED junction to an additional heat sink.

The City of Red Deer is throwing a new light on drivers and pedestrians starting this week with the replacement of traffic lights with more energy-efficient lighting. All the incandescent lights at the city's 125 signalized intersections are being replaced with LEDs (light emitting diode), which use about 90 per cent less energy than the older lights. The changeover will take three months and save $120,000 a year.

FLOWERY BRANCH - Flowery Branch City Council Wednesday ended the city's moratorium on LED billboards and passed a regulation ordinance amendment that the city attorney said he defend in court.Craig Lutz made the motion to approve after proposing changes other council members accepted.Those changes control sign message transition and duration; they prohibit message sequencing, and regulate illumination and brightness; Lutz said the city could defend it.

LEDs and their target markets are changing rapidly. David Spragg looks at how distributors must evolve to meet the needs of this rapidly evolving arena.