Philips' concept LED bulbs

Philips is showing off these new LED-based takes on the good old light bulb, which allow direct interaction with the fixture to change the lighting effect. The lights are part of Philips Design's Next Simplicity project, in which they're putting a designery twist on everyday objects. We've been testing this concept at Engadget labs on some traditional light bulbs, and recommend you hold out for these low-heat LED versions, which could be surfacing in a couple years.

[Via Inhabitat]

[Bible and Apologetics Teacher @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM]

I wonder if there's any data on the obvious power savings of these bulbs per year * bulb lifetime vs. the cost of buying them.

[Samuel Lago @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM]

So what? I can appreciate that now, if I had a light bulb I wouldn't want to touch it and maybe couldn't because of the height of the ceeling.

This technology is problematic for two reasosns: 1) its not good to encourage contact with live electircal outages and 2. It is offensive to short people as they will not be able to reach them

Laugh if you will but you can call Snow White and the seven dwafs that anymore with subsequent advertising becsause its offensive to midgets, here in the EU and plenty have died by light socket -- try living that down.

I'd much rather have all the benefits of an environmentally friendly bulb (which cannot be dimmed) and the adantages of this new brighter, maybe multi coloured at the flick of a switch bulb all controlled by voice commands by my PC or atleast at a terminal such as a tablet or my watch.

[karch @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM]

hah, i can just imagine in the future, mistaking a regular bulb for an led bulb, and burning my hands..

[Callum @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM]

I wonder, do these fit the generic (is there a generic!?) light bulb plug. I really like Phillip's new direction - there ads in the UK (I imagine a similar campaign over the pond) is very sleek and mac-esque, not in a knock-off fashion. I really appreciate the thought they put into the little suff, why can't Ford be like this!

[Rightclick @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM]

The episode of CSI that jumps the shark will be the one where they get the killer by grabbing the fingerprint off a bulb like that one...

[TheWakeUpCall @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM]

This the never ending light bulb? Because, from my understanding I thought LEDs never blow out and stop working like traditional bulbs?

[Callum @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM]

The neve-ending light-bulb already exists, but due to the effect on light-bulb sales / price to consumers its never been brought to market. As Kramer once said "yeah they've got a cure to Cancer too". oh, wait that doesn't help any does it? Kramer's great.

Rightclick- you confusing the shark with the bulb, see: hammer-head sharks :D

[Lesbian Ham @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM]

I think they _do_ die out, but live so long that you "overlook" their death. lol.

[silicon avatar @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM]

LEDs grow dimmer after a couple years or so. They will still have to be replaced after a while.

[l "to the" ogan @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM]

its no big suprise that leds will soon replace bulbs look at the post http://therightcoast.net/index.php?entry=entry051022-171624 on the RightCoast network weblog a few weeks ago. traffic lights and much more already use leds.

[Mike @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM]

Sorry for the spelling.

I don't have exact numbers right this minute, but I did some research about the whole LED vs. Flourescent vs Incadescent thing.

Flourescent is still the best way to save money (in the house). LED's while somewhat cheap, still aren't as energy effecient and as cheap as Flourescent.

Now, the reason why LED's clusters are used in traffic lights is because those clusters are still much cheaper then the 120w or so lightbulb that are normally in traffic lights.

The biggest problem LED's face in the home is the fact that they give out directional light, therefore not making them practical for room lighting. Now, there are globe type lights with LED's, but they don't emit a lot of light.

In order to produce enough light as a "60 watt" lightbulb, you would have to have an enourmous amount of LED's, that would end up costing more than it's worth.

[Jerusalme @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM]

the design was stolen from the work of two successfull Israely designers, Ami Drach & Dov Ganchrow

see
http://www.designboom.com/eng/funclub/israeli/amidrach2.html

[Fantaz @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM]

What about cold cathode tubes?

[Zaid @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM]

We're still using incandescent lighting today, that is for 126 years since the Thomas Edison Aera.

High time for some fresh ideas. Thanks Philips for this move.

[zanna @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM]

nice idea to change the lighting effect touching the bulb after all touching is good like nintendo says :P

[Rusty Shackleford @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM]

Don't worry this will never catch on in Europe. Europe uses 220VAC and everyone knows that is too much voltage for an LED, which requires only 1.2VDC, which is quite easy to divide down and then rectilate from 120VAC, by a simple factor of one hundred, from the voltage system used in America, as opposed to a divide/rectilate factor of 183.3 from the high voltage system used overseas, no one makes a "divide-by-183.3" rectiliator, but divide-by-100's are a dime a dozen. You put 240VAC in, you blow out the LED, then the stupid Europeans will electrocute themselves changing the lightbulb like they always do because they have just way too much voltage on their 'mains.' Whoever thought that system up was a mass murderer.

The future of home lighting is laser based. Lasers are much more efficient than either fluorescent or LED. Coupled with a diffuser and a generous sprinkling of quantum dots, a laser based light will let you light your home for pennies a decade. And when you accidentally drop one and break the diffuser, you can extract the laser diode and use it to tease your cat.

[Whiplash @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM]

I think I want to date a hand model.

[S Club 1 @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM]

No 18:

- rectilate??? WTF? 'rectify' is real parlance
- rest of your post??? WTF? so Yanks can apparently probe mains outlets thanks to kiddie friendly 120V AC infrastructure designed by MotherCare?

Happy to live in a world of electric kettles

[Mike Adams @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM]

Post 17: "Don't worry this will never catch on in Europe", Philips is a European company, so I imagine they'll also try to sell their products in their home market!
Talking about murder - the USA is one of the only countries that likes to FRY PEOPLE using the national grid!

[pyro @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM]

they should atleast ventelate these, seeing that they get hot and LEd's dont need a vacuum.