Word on the street -- and by "street" we mean "the internet" -- is that Apple will begin exclusive use of LED BLUs for displays in all of its MacBooks come 2009. According to the Chinese-language paper Economic Daily News, the computer-maker's Taiwanese supplier of LED backlight units, Kenmos, will increase shipments in the coming year of the brighter, longer-lasting, better dressed components. Of course, the paper could be making this all up to toy with our emotions and break our little hearts... but why would they do that?

Turns out our local zombie-infested Apple store was already stocking yesterday's new Santa Rosa-based LED-backlit MacBook Pro -- and so naturally we had to do our own wholly unscientific comparison. Now, for starters, please note: all side-by-sides were taken with an 8 month old 2nd gen MacBook Pro with CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent tube) backlight and matte display on the LEFT, and the 3rd gen MBP with LED backlight and matte screen on the right. Apple told us the difference would be imperceptible -- was it? Check out the pics, and read on for some thoughts.

Apple left a little mystery in their MacBook Pro announcement today, and being that this marks their first official release of an LED-backlit laptop we had to take out the guesswork and get confirmation on a few of our more burning questions.

• All 15-inch MBPs now use LED-backlit displays standard; 17-inchers still use CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent)
• Apple claims users can see a battery-life benefit of between 30 mins - 1 hour (depending on use). They did not have stats on exact efficiencies between LED and CCFL backlit displays.
• The new LED backlight is the same brightness: 300 vs 300 nits of the previous gen's CCFL
• The viewing angle is also the same as before
• In other words, besides faster time from fully-off to full-brightness and an increase in battery life, Apple claims users should notice absolutely no perceivable difference between last-gen displays and the new LED-backlit ones.

Other bits

• To clarify, MacBook Pros are using Santa Rosa, but MacBooks are not yet using Santa Rosa
• Even though the MBP is 0.2 pounds lighter, we're still without an internal / integrated 3G option

We seem to have been draining our phone batteries even faster than usual this week, so we find TPO's power-saving display sensor tech to be pretty encouraging news for the future. The Taiwanese display manufacturer has figured out how to integrate ambient light sensors directly into a standard LCD screen, resulting in more accurate light readings than the usual external sensor setup. The system can also compensate for temperature with the addition of a black level sensor, which means the screen can detect light levels from 3 to 10,000 lux and adjust the backlight accordingly. The sensor tech is designed for small screens in mobile devices, and TPO estimates that the setup reduces overall power consumption around 30% under normal use, which would maybe let us get through a day without resorting to buying that enormous external battery pack we've been dreading. No word on when we'll see these screens hit the consumer level, but TPO says mass production won't start until 2008, so better keep that charger handy for a while.

Samsung believes that by 2010, 30% of all LCD televisions will include LED backlights instead of the conventional flourescent used in most sets now. What's different from the LED units we've seen before is that Samsung wants to use white LEDs, with single diodes custom-coated to produce the same backlight previously requiring combinations of red, green, and blue bulbs. Samsung recently invested in Intematix, which produces custom phosphor coatings for LED bulbs to create uniform color -- required in a television to faithfully reproduce colors. Until recently costs have been higher for LED backlight units, keeping them relegated to higher-end models. Samsung claims the single bulb process reduces costs by 40%, but time will tell whether white-only LEDs are truly better or cheaper than tri-color LEDs, or if they are just the next "Reveal lightbulb" marketing gimmick.

[Via I4U News]

All the same sexy, but this time we've got a bit more info on the upcoming U1F 11.1-incher from ASUS. Of course, that LED backlight inside the 5mm thick LCD is the highlight, but there's plenty more to love inside this 18mm thick laptop (0.7-inches, though it tapers up to 1.1-inches thick). Oddly enough, one of the neatest highlights is the optional external disc drive. This one ain't no stripped down combo drive number, but instead houses a Blu-ray / DVD super multi burner for the ultimate in optical goodness. We're not sure what you'd be doing with a Blu-ray movie on this WXGA LCD, and there don't seem to be any HD outputs for slapping video onto a big screen, but we like the chutzpah all the same. Under the hood there's a Core Duo U2400 processor with a Intel 945GM Express chipset and Intel a/b/g WiFi. Hard drive options range from 40 to 80GB, the webcam is of the VGA variety and connectivity includes gigabit Ethernet and Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR and A2DP. With a 3-cell battery on board, the U1F weighs 2.2 pounds, thanks to the magnesium-aluminum / carbon fiber built case and an LCD about half the thickness and 1/3 lighter than the traditional kind. The LED backlight also boasts of better luminance, faster response time and lower power consumption than the traditional LCD, and combined with some fancy ASUS Power4 Gear eXtreme power management should have battery life up 20-25 percent over traditional laptops. Still no word on price or availability, but you'll be able to get this thing with Vista Home Premium or Vista Business when it does ship.

[Via DailyTech]

Sure, we've heard the heartwarming stories of SMS savings a boy's life and TiVo preventing a man from heading to prison, but this round of "Gadgets Saving Lives" features none other than the token iPod as the center of attention. While Griffin has long since had the idea of using the iPod to power a flashlight-type device, a mushroom hunter (yes, they do exactly as the title describes) resorted to the backlit LCD in his Apple in order to lead rescuers to his location. While enjoying a presumably thrilling evening of picking 'shrooms from the wild brush in Vancouver, Washington with his mother, Pini Nou somehow found himself off the beaten path and lost under a cover of darkness (and wild grass, too). By phoning in authorities and faintly describing his surroundings, troops were able to get close enough to view the white glow emitted from his PMP, and 20 minutes later he was safe and sound, albeit "cold, tired, and aching." So, there you have it kids, the ultimate excuse to get an iPod for the holidays -- safety.

[Thanks, Napo M.]

LCD TVs using LEDs for backlighting aren't exactly new -- Sony's high-end Qualia line has had this feature for a while -- but getting them down to a price affordable for most consumers has still proven to be an unattainable goal. Samsung had a 40-inch 10,000:1 contrast ratio beauty on display at IFA 2006 last month, and now the good folks at JVC are showing the model pictured above at CEATEC 2006. No deets on pricing, specs or even size are available yet, but if plasma isn't a good fit for your wall or budget -- and waiting around for SED is too much of a bore -- LED backlighting is the best bet for improved color reproduction and black levels in LCDs.

We do love us some LED backlighting, and Samsung has the goods at IFA this year. Their new LE40M91 LCD measures a reasonable 40-inches, runs at a 720p resolution, and manages an easy to love 10,000:1 contrast ratio. The display also features 450 nits of brightness, and a 146% color gamut. Best of all are the rumors that this display could be going for a mere $3,000 when it's released, and the dual HDMI ports don't hurt none either. The display is accompanied by a pair of non-LED LCDs, but they aren't too shabby all the same. Measuring 40 and 46-inches respectively, the LE40F7 and LE46F7 manage 1080p resolutions, 6000:1 contrast ratios, 127% color gamut and 450 nits of brightness, along with all the same connectivity of their LED cousin. Since this is all going down at IFA, Samsung is just announcing these displays for European markets right now, but our hopes are definitely for eminent and wallet-friendly Stateside releases.

[Via HD Beat]