LED

Five LED projects to light up your home

LEDs, or "light-emitting diodes," have come a long way since they were introduced as red, green, and blue computer indicator lights.

These days, LEDs are available in endless shapes and sizes, a wide variety of colors and neutrals, and offer many benefits over traditional incandescent lights.

For starters, LEDs can potentially cut energy usage by 25% in the U.S. How? Here's the science, made simple: incandescent bulbs convert most electricity to heat, whereas LED lights convert most of the energy into light. That's why LEDs don't give off heat the way traditional … Read more

Philips' pricey LED bulb has impressive specs

Philips on Sunday will start selling an LED bulb that sets a new bar for performance -- and price.

The company will release the Philips L Prize LED on Earth Day for $50, which includes an "automatic incentive" from the company. The general-lighting bulb came out of the Department of Energy's L Prize competition to develop long-lasting, efficient, and less expensive LED lamps.

Philips claims its L Prize LED is the most efficient 60-watt LED equivalent and improves on features from Philips own existing LEDs.

It gives off 940 lumens, consumes 9.7 watts, and has a … Read more

When should I upgrade my HDTV?

Let's say you've had your HDTV for a few years now. Let's say you can't stop reading new TV reviews. Let's say you find excuses to stop at Best Buy to stare at the wall.

OK, you want a new TV. No problem. But do you need a new TV? Are the current models really that much better than what you have?

Let's take a look.… Read more

Finned LED streetlights go for flashy look

Cree is leaning on high design to get LED lighting onto lamp posts.

The company today introduced new lines of streetlights that use long-lasting and energy-efficient LEDs, including AeroBlades lamps which are an array of LED light sources in blade-like strips.

Cree also updated its traditional LED streetlights for overhead lighting and developed a lamp with traditional bulb designed to fit into historic districts.

The products are the first since Cree, which makes LED light sources, purchased Ruud Lighting to expand its lighting fixture business. LEDs are a good fit for street lights in that they last longer than other … Read more

More LEDs in new iPad can mean less battery life

By doubling the number of LEDs in the new iPad, Apple cut somewhat into battery life--particularly when used at full brightness--something you won't find on Apple's tech spec page.

Though the new iPad's battery is 1.7 times larger than the iPad 2's, all of those extra LEDs still take a toll on battery life at full brightness--as Raymond Soneira, president of DisplayMate Technologies, told CNET in a phone interview yesterday.

"The [power consumption of the] LEDs is 2.5X compared to the iPad 2, and the battery is 1.7X [larger]...so what happens … Read more

LED backlight a likely culprit in iPad heat issue, says expert

Reported heat issues with new iPad are most likely due to a combination of more backlights and more power needed to drive the backlights, an expert told CNET. This follows a CNET report attributing extra heat to the new iPad's A5X chip, also.

Apple has doubled the number of LEDs in the new iPad to achieve the same brightness as the iPad 2, driving up power requirements and therefore heat, Raymond Soneira, president of DisplayMate Technologies, said in a phone interview today.

"The LED power at maximum brightness is 2.5 times that of the iPad 2," … Read more

Will Valkee's LED earbuds alleviate jet lag?

Finnair business travelers flying between Helsinki and Shanghai will soon have the chance to be test subjects on the effect that "brain stimulation" headphones have on jet lag.

The $240 earbuds, made and tested by Finnish company Valkee, already blast LED lights instead of music into desperate and willing ear canals with the intention of alleviating seasonal affective disorder. (The company has claimed, too, that the light helps improve reaction time--at least in Finnish hockey players.)

Now Valkee is working with the airline Finnair to determine whether the lights may instill a sense of well-being in long-distance … Read more

Why the new iPad's resolution is irrelevant to HDTVs

With all the incessant hoopla about the new iPad, the one comparison that keeps popping up is that its 2,048x1,536-pixel resolution is "greater than an HDTV!" or "1 million more pixels than your TV!"

Not only is this irrelevant and a senseless comparison, but it has no bearing on the future of HDTVs, as some have implied.

Here's why.… Read more

The 404 1,009: Where we'd rather have a Bloomin' Onion (podcast)

We're able to peel CNET television Editor Ty Pendlebury's eyes away from the Sharp 80-inch smart TV he's reviewing right now to sit down with us for a show about language translation apps, overused QR codes, Batman impersonators, and more.… Read more

Set up color LED alerts on the Galaxy Nexus

The Galaxy Nexus has a hidden LED near the bottom of the glass on the front of the phone. Normally, you'll see it blink white for notifications, but what if you want more information than "you missed something, *blink blink*"? With one app, you can adjust the color of the LED so you can see what you missed at a glance. Additionally, you'll be able to set audible reminders that repeat as often as you tell them to. Here's how to get started:

Step 1: Download and install Light Flow from the Google … Read more