Philips AmbientLED 17 Watts LED Lightbulb (Product Review)

by Michael Graham Richard

from http://www.treehugger.com/

Photo: Michael Graham Richard

Finally a 75-Watt Incandescent Replacement (100W Model is Coming Soon)
I liked all the LEDs that I've had the chance to review so far. In fact, I use them every day and don't have much to complain about; in my office, I have a Qnuru 6.4W LED (the cool white model), in my bedroom the bedside lamp uses the FIRST 7W LED, and the living room used the Philips 12.5W LED. Until now that is... While light quality is fine with all these bulbs, brightness for most of these has been hovering around the 40-60W incandescent-replacement level, and that's not enough for all purposes. That's why I was so happy to learn that the new wave of LED lightbulbs from manufacturers like GE and Philips are cranking up the brightness. Today, let's look at Philips' brand new 17W AmbientLED model.

Photo: Michael Graham Richard

Philips AmbientLED 17-Watt Review
This review is kind of an update on my review of the 12.5-watt model of this LED bulb because they are very similar (as you can see in some of the photos below).

Photo: Michael Graham Richard

They both look like they belong on a futuristic spaceship, or at least on a science-fiction show, but what matters most is how well shape follows function. The strange curvature of the yellow part helps the LED bulb project light in all directions much better than the 'ice cream cone' design of so many other LED lights (for example, see the Qnuru and FIRST models)

The 12.5-watt model is rated at 800 lumens, while this new 17-watt model is rated at 1100 lumens.

You might be wondering if it's dimmable. Short answer: Yes, it is dimmable. I've tested it and it works pretty well.

Photo: Michael Graham Richard

As you can clearly see here, the main differences between the 12.5-watt and 17-watt models is that the cylindrical heatsink is longer on the more powerful LED bulb. While LEDs don't produce nearly as much heat as incandescent bulbs, their components are less tolerant of heat than incandescent filaments. That's why they need to shed that heat with large heatsinks.

Photo: Michael Graham Richard

Here's another example of form following function. The way the top part of the bulb is split in three sections helps it have a large surface area to radiate heat and provide airflow. In practice, once the LED bulb is lit this isn't visible and doesn't affect light diffusion. Same with the yellow exterior, which acts as a filter for the blueish LEDs inside. Once the bulb is lit, the light is of a normal warm-white tint and isn't particularly yellow.

Photo: Michael Graham Richard

Light Quality of the Philips 17W LED
Unfortunately, I'm still not set up for very elaborate light quality testing, and since my last reviews I moved to a new apartment so I can't take a photo in exactly the same room as before (I always keep the camera settings the same between these photos, and I don't tweak them in Photoshop). In fact, this new room is bigger and has darker walls than the room I used before, so the photos don't quite do justice to how bright this LED is. You'll have to rely on my word, I suppose...

I found light quality to be quite good, as with the 12.5W model. As I wrote at the time:

"If I don't tell people, they don't know it's a LED, and I could easily see myself using Philips AmbientLEDs as my main source of light without problem.

To me this really shows that LEDs are ready for prime-time, all that needs to be done is to reduce the price, and that will happen with economies of scale and as R&D into new ways to make them pays off."

Photo: Michael Graham Richard

We'll have to wait for the 100w replacement model (which is supposed to come out in a few months) before we have a truly bright LED, but this one is sufficient for most mid-sized rooms, and a couple of them would be enough for most big rooms (I guess it depends on personal preference - some people like things to be really bright, in which case you can either wait for the 100W model or just add a third or fourth 75W replacement LED).

Photo: Michael Graham Richard

Photo: Michael Graham Richard

Also noteworthy is that a Philips LED bulb using very similar technology to the one used in the AmbientLED 17-watt model won the U.S. Department of Energy's L-Prize after going through some pretty thorough tests. This is a good sign regarding the quality of these bulbs.

Price: The bulb will be available online exclusively at Home Depot at an initial retail price is $39.97.

If you like this article, you can follow me on Twitter (@Michael_GR) and Stumbleupon (THMike). Thanks.

Surfing at Night: Is This Guy Bloody Crazy Nuts or What?

From: http://gizmodo.com/


Mark Visser Rides JAWS at Night! from Fortrus Sports on Vimeo.

Famous surfer Mark Visser got his board and a couple helicopters to Jaws, the huge wave reef on Maui Island, Hawaii. Then, at night, he tried to kill himself. I mean, he went out surfing 40-foot waves at night.
The shots of him riding a 40-foot wave is so perfectly awesome that it looks computer generated at times. But it's not. He was wearing a buoyancy vest and a modified surfboard with built-in LED lighting.

The lighting technologies were created especially for the project by Solus Corporation using ground breaking NASA submarine lighting to ensure the wave and board were lit in the right places, at the right time and illuminated the wave without hindering the vision of Visser, the jet ski drivers and the helicopter pilots.

The video is beautiful and scary. It will be included in a new documentary series called 9 Lives. [Transworld Surf via The Scuttlefish]

Eyes on With Samsung's Stunning D8000 TV

by Terrence O'Brien

from http://www.switched.com/

The Samsung D8000 is the company's new top-of-the-line TV, and it's a stunner. It's a miraculously thin, Internet-connected, 3-D, LED-backlit piece of beauty. It even comes with a touchscreen remote that lets you watch video and check your social networking accounts. But the most impressive things about the D8000 are the incredible viewing angles (the picture being almost perfect even from the sides), and the 0.2-inch bezel, which practically disappears when the TV is turned on. Samsung hasn't announced a release date or a price, but you can be sure it won't be cheap. Check out the video below.

LEDs Could Save Your Wrinkled, Pimpled Face

From: http://gizmodo.com/

Forget botox—if you want better-looking skin, start looking closer to home. At your LED-backlit LCD, for example. The Light Masque, pictured, is the secret to eternal beauty according to specialists, using red LEDs to diminish lines and spots.

Near-Infrared light might not sound like it can diminish lines and spots, but London-based inventor John Tsagaris is claiming it uses "the latest NASA technology" which has already been tested on astronauts and the US Navy. Nice to know the men upstairs and on our seas don't have spots or lines, then.

With blue LEDs medicating spots and rosacea, and red LEDs "supercharging" skin cells and going even deeper, the inventor of the Light Masque reckons his patients see effects after the first 25 minute session, but should have three sessions a week for two weeks just to ensure results stay. At £75 ($115) per session, it may be cheaper to just get botox. Not that you need it—Gizmodo readers are beautiful as is, obviously. [Daily Mail]

Send an email to Kat Hannaford, the author of this post, at khannaford@gizmodo.com.

All About The Times Square New Year's Eve Ball

Each year, millions of eyes from all over the world are focused on the sparkling Waterford Crystal Times Square New Year's Eve Ball. At 11:59 p.m., the Ball begins its descent as millions of voices unite to count down the final seconds of the year, and celebrate the beginning of a new year full of hopes, challenges, changes and dreams.

New Video: Making the New Year's Eve Ball

For 2010 Waterford Crystal has designed a new sparkling "Let There Be Courage" triangle. The crystals feature a unique interlocking ribbon pattern woven into the Celtic knot. The triangles, each about 3/8" thick and 6.8 ounces in weight are custom made and built to exacting standards to withstand the stresses of high winds, precipitation and temperature fluctuation that exist over 400 feet above Times Square. 288 are being installed alongside crystal installed in previous years. Waterford has also released a New Year's Eve iPhone app called "Clink-Clink"! More >>

The "New" New Year's Eve Ball

On November 11th, 2008, The co-organizers of New Year’s Eve in Times Square (Times Square Alliance, Countdown Entertainment) unveiled a new Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball at a press conference at Hudson Scenic Studio in Yonkers, New York.

The new Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball is a 12 foot geodesic sphere, double the size of previous Balls, and weighs 11,875 pounds. Covered in 2,668 Waterford Crystals and powered by 32,256 Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDS, the new Ball is capable of creating a palette of more than 16 million vibrant colors and billions of patterns producing a spectacular kaleidoscope effect atop One Times Square.

The organizers also announced that the new Ball will become a year-round attraction above Times Square in full public view January through December.

“For one hundred years, the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball has attracted millions of revelers to Times Square on December 31st to celebrate the beginning of the New Year” said Jeff Straus, president of Countdown Entertainment and co-organizer of Times Square New Year’s Eve. “The new Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball will be a bright sparkling jewel atop One Times Square entertaining New Yorkers and tourists from around the world not only on December 31, but throughout the year.”

“The New Year’s Eve ball is bigger, better and brighter than ever, just like Times Square itself,” said Times Square Alliance President Tim Tompkins. “And like Times Square, it’s not afraid to show off. That’s why we’re proudly putting it on display year-round so visitors to the neighborhood can enjoy a true Crossroads of the World icon.”

WATERFORD CRYSTAL created an exclusive “Let There Be Joy” design for the crystal triangles on the new Ball. Designed and crafted by Waterford artisans in Ireland, “Let There Be Joy” features the design of an angel with arms uplifted welcoming the New Year on each of the 1,728 new crystals. The remaining 960 triangles are last year’s “Let There Be Light” design of a stylized radiating starburst.

"The new 2009 Times Square New Year's Ball represents the perfect blend of time-honored craftsmanship and state of the art technology," says Pete Cheyney, Director of Corporate Communications for Waterford Crystal. "The theme for the Waterford crystals on this year's Ball, "Let There be Joy" reflects our belief that New Year's Eve is a time when happiness and optimism for the future should be at the forefront of everyone's thoughts. We at Waterford consider the Ball to be of our Company's greatest achievements."

PHILIPS LIGHTING provided the new solid state lighting technology for the Ball, resulting in an astounding increase in impact, energy efficiency, and color capabilities. Capable of creating a palette of more than 16 million colors and billions of possible patterns, the 32,256 Philips Luxeon LEDs in this year's Ball represent more than three times the number of LEDS used last year, to deliver a brighter and more beautiful New Year's experience than ever before. And this year’s Ball is 10-20% more energy efficient than last year’s already energy-efficient Ball, consuming only the same amount of energy per hour as it would take to operate two traditional home ovens.

"At Philips Lighting, we are proud to be driving innovative and energy-efficient solutions for the world's broad range of lighting applications - from celebrated landmarks to consumers' homes -- and we're especially delighted to be the official Lighting Partner to the iconic New Year's Eve Ball in Times Square," said Philips Lighting Company Director of Corporate Communications Susan Bloom. "Now bigger in size and incorporating even more powerful and energy-efficient Philips Luxeon LEDs than last year, this year's Ball will deliver a New Year's Eve experience that will be brighter, more beautiful, and more sustainable than ever before."

FOCUS LIGHTING created a spectacular and unique lighting design that utilizes over 3,500 lighting cues to orchestrate the colorful moving patterns of light radiating from the Ball. Theatrical techniques were used to show the beauty of each facet of each individual crystal, making the sparkle visible whether viewed from 5’ away (as members of the press have seen it) or from 500’ when viewed from the streets of Times Square. It is like accenting a performer on a stage.

“We tried to create a beacon of light in the sky over Times Square,” says Paul Gregory, Principal Lighting Designer for Focus Lighting.

The companies listed below also provided essential contributions to the development of the new Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball:

E:Cue Lighting Control provided lighting control system

Hudson Scenic Studio provided structural engineering design and development

Landmark Signs assembles and operates the Ball

Lapp Group provided power and control cabling

Lighting Science Group provided the 672 LED modules and technology integration

History of the Times Square New Year's Eve Ball

Revelers began celebrating New Year's Eve in Times Square as early as 1904, but it was in 1907 that the New Year's Eve Ball made its maiden descent from the flagpole atop One Times Square.

The first New Year's Eve Ball, made of iron and wood and adorned with one hundred 25-watt light bulbs, was 5 feet in diameter and weighed 700 pounds. It was built by a young immigrant metalworker named Jacob Starr, and for most of the twentieth century the company he founded, sign maker Artkraft Strauss, was responsible for lowering the ball.

As part of the 1907-1908 festivities, waiters in the fabled "lobster palaces" and other deluxe eateries in hotels surrounding Times Square were supplied with battery-powered top hats emblazoned with the numbers "1908" fashioned of tiny light bulbs. At the stroke of midnight, they all "flipped their lids" and the year on their foreheads lit up in conjunction with the numbers "1908" on the parapet of the Times Tower lighting up to signal the arrival of the new year.

The Ball has been lowered every year since 1907, with the exceptions of 1942 and 1943, when the ceremony was suspended due to the wartime "dimout" of lights in New York City. Nevertheless, the crowds still gathered in Times Square in those years and greeted the New Year with a minute of silence followed by the ringing of chimes from sound trucks parked at the base of the tower - a harkening-back to the earlier celebrations at Trinity Church, where crowds would gather to "ring out the old, ring in the new."

(Above) New Year's Eve Ball, 1978. Photo credit: The New York Times.

In 1920, a 400 pound ball made entirely of wrought iron replaced the original. In 1955, the iron ball was replaced with an aluminum ball weighing a mere 200 pounds. This aluminum Ball remained unchanged until the 1980s, when red light bulbs and the addition of a green stem converted the Ball into an apple for the "I Love New York" marketing campaign from 1981 until 1988. After seven years, the traditional glowing white Ball with white light bulbs and without the green stem returned to brightly light the sky above Times Square. In 1995, the Ball was upgraded with aluminum skin, rhinestones, strobes, and computer controls, but the aluminum ball was lowered for the last time in 1998.

For Times Square 2000, the millennium celebration at the Crossroads of the World, the New Year's Eve Ball was completely redesigned by Waterford Crystal. The new crystal Ball combined the latest in technology with the most traditional of materials, reminding us of our past as we gazed into the future and the beginning of a new millenium.

About "Time-Balls"

The actual notion of a ball "dropping" to signal the passage of time dates back long before New Year's Eve was ever celebrated in Times Square. The first "time-ball" was installed atop England's Royal Observatory at Greenwich in 1833. This ball would drop at one o'clock every afternoon, allowing the captains of nearby ships to precisely set their chronometers (a vital navigational instrument).

Around 150 public time-balls are believed to have been installed around the world after the success at Greenwich, though few survive and still work. The tradition is carried on today in places like the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, DC, where a time-ball descends from a flagpole at noon each day - and of course, once a year in Times Square, where it marks the stroke of midnight not for a few ships' captains, but for over one billion people watching worldwide.

The Times Square New Year's Eve Ball 2000-2007

The 2000-2007 version of the Times Square New Year's Eve Ball, designed by Waterford Crystal, made its first descent during the last minute of the 20th century, at the Times Square 2000 Celebration.

The Ball was a geodesic sphere, six feet in diameter, and weighed approximately 1,070 pounds. It was covered with a total of 504 Waterford crystal triangles that varied in size and ranged in length from 4.75 inches to 5.75 inches per side.

For the 2007 New Year's Eve celebration, 72 of the crystal triangles featured the new "Hope for Peace" design, consisting of three dove-like patterns symbolizing messengers of peace. The remaining 432 triangles featured Waterford designs from previous years, including the Hope for Fellowship, Hope for Wisdom, Hope for Unity, Hope for Courage, Hope for Healing, Hope for Abundance, and Star of Hope triangles. These crystal triangles were bolted to 168 translucent triangular lexan panels which were attached to the aluminum frame of the Ball. The exterior of the Ball was illuminated by 168 Philips Halogená Brilliant Crystal light bulbs, exclusively engineered for the New Year's Eve Ball to enhance the Waterford crystal. The interior of the Ball was illuminated by 432 Philips Light Bulbs (208 clear, 56 red, 56 blue, 56 green, and 56 yellow), and 96 high-intensity strobe lights, which together create bright bubbling bursts of color. The exterior of the Ball featured 90 rotating pyramid mirrors that reflect light back into the audience at Times Square.

All 696 lights and 90 rotating pyramid mirrors were computer controlled, enabling the Ball to produce a state-of-the-art light show of eye-dazzling color patterns and a spectacular kaleidoscope effect atop One Times Square. The now-retired 2000-2007 New Year's Eve Ball is the property of the building owners of One Times Square.

Scientists Make LED Bulbs From Salmon DNA

BY Ariel Schwartz

Where can science fiction possibly go when real-life headlines proclaim that researchers have created LED lightbulbs from salmon DNA? University of Connecticut researchers have added fluorescent dye to salmon DNA and spun the DNA strands into nanofibers to create a brand new material that gives off a bright white light. A LED light is coated with the DNA nanofibers, and voila, a salmon DNA lightbulb is born.

While other scientists have experimented with materials like silica nanoparticles and block copolymers to alter the color of light given off by a LED bulb, salmon DNA has proven most successful. Tuning the light quality from cool white to warm white is just a matter of tweaking the ratio of dyes because, according to researchers, "the DNA fibers orient the dyes in an optimum way for efficient [fluorescence energy transfer] to occur." So salmon DNA bulbs could overcome at least one hurdle for LEDs--complaints about brightness.

But despite advances in color tuning, University of Connecticut scientists don't know if their LED bulbs will be cheaper or more energy-efficient than current LED bulbs, which are already more efficient than CFLs and incandescents. And with high-end LED bulbs selling for as much as $80, price will ultimately be the barrier that makes or breaks the success of LEDs in the market.

Solar and Wind Powered Portable Charger Debuts at CES

Written by Jerry James Stone

Buzz u

Not to be mistaken for a solar powered desk fan (which is what I thought it was), the crafty Kenisis K2 is a solar and wind powered 2-in-1 charger for all your USB needs.

• » Read more on products

It can power a typical cell phone 5-times over on a full charge! Um, where do I sign up?

And while it’s designed to harvest the power of nature, it’s also quite practical. It also includes an AC adapter for when Mother Nature isn’t cooperating.

You can stand the device up or hang it from your bike. I like that idea since I sit next to a big sunny window at work - though I wish the wind turbine would also operate as a fan.

The device is expected to run for about $100. Engadget has a nice video of the device from CES here. LED indicators let you know how much juice the device has, and it has internal storage for multiple adapter tips.

Image: Kinesis.com

Tags: CES 2009, led, portable charger, solar, Wind, wind turbine

New York City To Get LED Street Lighting

New York City To Get LED Street Lighting

Written by Jerry James Stone

New York City’s Department of Transportation has tapped the Office for Visual Interaction for testing LED street lighting around the Big Apple. If successful, all of the city’s 300,000 street lamps could one day be made up of LEDs.

Of course, LEDs are just plain awesome! Their power consumption is much lower than that of standard bulbs. Heck, even lower than that of CFLs.

But the OVI contract doesn’t only replace the current high-pressure sodium lighting, but also introduces a whole new lamp pole as well. While I am a fan of LEDs, I am quite fond of the Gotham-styled lamp poles. Keep your paws off, OVI!

Okay, maybe the new poles aren’t so bad. The poles will be between four to six feet, and have up to 100 LEDs each. They will have four light sources per pole, and can create different light patterns. The light footprints can be tailored for parks, street corners or mid-block.

The city will begin testing with a mere six poles, and the testing period will end by fall of 2009. But even if the city approves the highly-efficient lamps, it’s likely they won’t roll out 300-thousand new lamp poles all at once.

Image: dbox