Rambus intros revolutionary LED light bulb

USA: Rambus Inc. has introduced its latest lighting invention turned product – a highly efficient, long-lasting and innovative LED family of light bulbs.

The new family of bulbs offers the high-quality light, simplicity and ease-of-use of traditional incandescent bulbs while delivering the energy efficiency, durability and reliability of the most advanced LED technology. The first offering, an A19, 60 watt equivalent, is designed to provide consumers with the quality and lighting distribution of traditional incandescent bulbs using close to one-quarter the power and lasting up to 25 times longer.

These new bulbs take a fundamentally different design approach than other LED light bulbs on the market. The inventive seed of this lighting solution is Rambus’ MicroLens optical technology, which in the bulb enables the use of a cylindrical light guide with the ability to produce a consistent, spherical distribution of light.

This open structure allows for the innovative use of convection to keep the bulb cool. The result is a family of bulbs with increased energy efficiency, significantly improved lifetime and reduced bill of materials cost by utilizing fewer or lower-powered LEDs. The technology embodied in MicroLens optics has a proven track record in backlighting cell phones, computer screens, televisions and other displays.

The Rambus solution was designed to solve critical consumer lighting issues such as efficiency, reliability, and performance in a cost-effective manner. Building on Rambus’ core strength in electronics, this bulb offers broad compatibility with dimmers, resulting in no humming or buzzing, unlike alternative offerings.

“We are pleased to introduce our revolutionary design for innovative and efficient LED bulbs. Our unique design has all the benefits of the best LED technology available and offers a significant bill of materials cost savings,” said Jeffery Parker, president of the Rambus Lighting and Display Technology division.

The Rambus LED bulbs will be sold through partners and will be available at retailers and professional channels within Q2 2013. Rambus plans to expand its offerings with additional A19 and PAR offerings during 2013.

Global fiber optic patch cords market to grow at CAGR of 14.45 percent over 2011-2015

IRELAND: Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global Fiber Optic Patch Cords Market 2011-2015" report to its offering.

One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the increasing number of broadband connections. The Global Fiber Optic Patch Cords market has also been witnessing the emergence of ultra-high-capacity optical networks. However, the limited infrastructure for fiber optic networks could pose a challenge to the growth of this market.

The key vendors dominating this market space are Amphenol Corp., 3M Co., Sumitomo Electric Networks Inc., and Tyco International Ltd.

The other vendors mentioned in the report are LEMO SA, China Fiber Optic Network System Group Ltd., Sunsea Telecommunications Co. Ltd., Centuryman Communications Equipment Co. Ltd., Shenzen LinkCom Communication Co. Ltd., Optech Technology Co. Ltd., and Cables Unlimited Inc.

An analyst from TechNavio's Networking team, said: ''With the deployment of 10G and 40G optical transmission networks in recent years, there is a trend toward the deployment of high-capacity optical network by network operators. Many big vendors such as Alcatel Lucent SA, Ciena Corp., and Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd have announced that they are going a step further by innovating and conducting trials for capacities as large as 400G and 10 petabits per second transmission. Although these capacities are much larger than required currently, they are still considered as future investments considering the present explosion in data traffic.''

According to the report, the increasing demand for applications such as internet protocol television (IPTV), HD videos, and video conferencing has boosted the number of broadband connections across the globe. This, in turn, has increased the demand for fiber optic cables and cords as they are required to manage these connections. Additionally, there is a huge demand for fiber optic cables for laying the undersea cable network infrastructure. As a result of the growth of the internet, and an increase in the number of gadgets and devices that use broadband connections, the demand for submarine fiber optics has increased.

Cree launches industry’s first driver compatibility program for LED modules

USA: Cree Inc. introduced the Driver Compatibility Program for its LED products. The new Driver Compatibility Program provides LED lighting manufacturers with a list of drivers that are compatible with Cree LED modules, as verified through evaluation and testing by Cree.

By leveraging the technology and features of third-party drivers, the program enables lighting manufacturers to quickly address the requirements unique to various countries, further differentiate their products and address more applications.

The first of its kind program allows Cree to extend its LED module warranty to the use of Cree’s LED module with a compatible third-party LED driver. Cree’s LED modules warranty was previously limited to the use of a Cree LED module with a Cree driver. The Driver Compatibility Program demonstrates Cree’s continued commitment to helping LED lighting manufacturers overcome the challenges of bringing high-quality products to market faster.

“Cree’s Driver Compatibility Program enabled us to find a driver that meets a customer’s specific dimming requirement,” said Fred Farzan, president of Nora Lighting. “Because of the program, we solved the customer’s problem and won the business.”

“We're pleased to take part in Cree’s Driver Compatibility Program, which helps build a larger ecosystem for customers,” said John LaCorte, national sales manager of Thomas Research Products. “It offers a new level of confidence in selecting Cree LED products and compatible, highly reliable LED drivers from Thomas Research Products. This can speed time to market for customers that design LED luminaires.”

“Cree’s Driver Compatibility Program is yet another way Cree drives LED adoption, enabling everyone to win in the LED revolution,” said Mike Watson, Cree senior director marketing, LED components. “For driver manufacturers, the program provides access to Cree’s customers and products, expanding their market and enabling them to better serve lighting manufacturers. For lighting manufacturers, the program provides greater design flexibility and enables a shorter design cycle to get products to market faster.”

Cree kicks off the Driver Compatibility Program with a range of compatible drivers for the LMH2 LED Module and plans to extend to other LED products later this year.

element14 agrees new global distribution deal for Raspberry Pi

USA: Almost one year since the launch of the Raspberry Pi, the global computing phenomenon, element14 has announced it has signed a new distribution contract with the Raspberry Pi Foundation to sell the credit-card sized computer around the world.

element14, the leading high-service distributor of electronic components and home to the award-winning element14 Community, has also announced that it has now manufactured more than 500,000 Raspberry Pi's since the launch in February last year. If that number of devices stood end to end, they would span 25.6 miles, a distance exceeding even the 24 miles Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner skydived last year.

In a year that saw the world fall in love with the microcomputer, element14 brought production of the Raspberry Pi to the UK from China in September 2012.

There is no sign of a slowdown in demand for the revolutionary computer with the award-winning element14 Community, the world's largest online community for design engineers and electronics enthusiasts, helping to bring together Raspberry Pi fans to share ideas and further fuel innovation through the Code Exchange.

Mike Buffham, global Head of EDE at element14, said: "It seems every time we talk about the Raspberry Pi we say it has been a true phenomenon, but it genuinely has been one. Now less than a year on, we have manufactured over 500,000 at element14 alone, and we are delighted to have signed a new global contract with the Raspberry Pi Foundation to continue to play a pivotal role in putting computer programming back at the heart of engineers, both young and old."

Eben Upton, co-founder of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, said: "Since the Raspberry Pi was launched globally in February 2012 it has been a tremendous success story. The younger generation has demonstrated significant intrigue in learning how to build and program their own computer device.  And what has been great to see is the enormous growth in the hobbyist market.  I have seen projects from Twittering chickens to home beer brewing kits being created using the Raspberry Pi and its accessories."

Since the launch of the Raspberry Pi Board B element14 has released a series of exclusive accessories that enable owners to build their collection with the addition of extra functionality and capabilities. These include:

PiFace digital: Targetted at 11-16 year olds this new device stacks on top of the Raspberry Pi and connects it to physical devices such as lights, motors and sensors.

Gertboard: The Gertboard is an add-on GPIO expansion board which allows Raspberry Pi users to connect to and control more advanced physical devices.

WiPi - wirelessly connects the Raspberry Pi to a network.

PiView - enables the direct connection of the Raspberry Pi to VGA monitors from the HDMI output.

Computing enthusiasts can expect to see a lot more from Raspberry Pi in 2013 and can purchase the minicomputer at Newark element14 in North America, Farnell element14 in Europe and element14 in Asia Pacific. The Raspberry Pi is also available through CPC in the UK and MCM in the United States.

The Raspberry Pi Group at the element14 Community offers a wide range of technical tutorials, discussions, videos and support for fans of the device.

LTX-Credence announces selection of PAx tester by Shimane Masuda Electronics

USA: LTX-Credence Corp., a global provider of market focused, cost-optimized ATE solutions, announced that Shimane Masuda Electronics Co. Ltd (SME), a leading company of semiconductor assembly and test services in Japan, has selected the PAx for volume production testing of RF front end devices.

"We have been offering our customers high value added packaging and manufacturing technology for over 28 years, and we know how critically important it is to provide cost competitive solutions to customers. PAx
is the key test platform for us to meet this challenge for RF devices," said Futoshi Hiratani, chief operation officer of SME.

"LTX-Credence continues to be the market leader for testing RF front end devices and the adoption of PAx by companies like SME is further validation of that market position," said David Tacelli, LTX-Credence
president and CEO.

"PAx delivers best-in-class RF test technology while also providing customers the ability to minimize their test costs. SME joins an impressive list of customers that have chosen PAx as their test platform for RF front end devices."

LED production value to grow by 12 percent YoY in 2013; handheld app still being key sales driver

TAIWAN: According to LEDinside, the LED research division of TrendForce, global LED production value is expected to hit $12.4 billion in 2013, representing a 12 percent YoY growth.

Handset application and LED lighting product demand are expected to be the key sales driver to spur corresponding LED demand. Yet, given that the oversupply issue will not be eased in near term, every LED manufacturers will aggressively deploy into new applications and consolidate with peers in order to secure sales and enhance profitability.

Handset and tablet PC to be new sales driver
Japanese and Korean vendors have started adopting 4.75” panel upon their established technology foothold in panel production with the Japanese vendors lead among peers by introducing smartpone with 5” high-resolution panel in 443ppi resolution.

LEDinside estimates that LED Market value for smartphone application to hit US$710 million in 2013, built on the estimated 870 million smartphone shipments amount. Thanks to the consistent migration for bigger screen size with higher resolution, some smartphones are expected to increase amount of adopted LED for backlit to increase to 10 from an average of 6-8, representing a sharp growth.

Tablet PC and handset that constantly demand for bigger panel size with higher resolution fuel corresponding LED growth. Demand for corresponding flashlight in handset will also on the uptrend as camera specification advances.

Larger LCD TV and high resolution panel to drive backlit demand
LEDinside anticipates that the amount of LED for use in TV backlit application to grow by 30-50 percent, driven by TV vendors’ brightness request into higher resolution panels.The growth is expected to compensate the current weak LED backlight demand amid negative sales impact from a slow economy and high panel inventory at China market.

With LED backlight market expected to expand in 2013, the rising market share of TV sizes ranging from 50”, 55” and 60” should help spurring corresponding LED demand. Most current large-size 50”-60” edge-lit LED TVs adopt an average of 130-150 LEDs installed.

The technology advancement of LED and LGP (Light Guide Plate) that in turn requires lesser LEDs is not expected to bring negative impact to overall LED demand in a meaningful way as an increasing shipment in large-size LED TV will still help driving the demand growth. Also, new direct type and slim direct type LED TV models are expected to be available on shelves in 2013 on a secured market share.

Vendors from China, Japan and Taiwan have already launched ultra-high-definition 4K2K (3840*2160 pixel) panels recently in order to please consumers with better image quality in bigger panel size.

LED lighting price competition to continue throughout 2013
Demand for LED lighting is consistently growing worldwide, despite some temporal drawbacks such as the Europe debt crisis and the recent election of new Chinese leaders that discourage large-scale projects.

In Europe, demand for LED lighting has started emerged as EU (European Commission) bans on the sale of incandescent light bulb after the end of 2012. In Taiwan, more LED street lamp bidding projects are also bringing sales to local vendors.

While demand is picking up, LEDinside concerns more about the lean profitability. Vendors are believed to launch more competitive solutions to address market trends on one hand and deploy into other areas on the other hand in attempts to offset the fierce price competition pressure. Of which, industrial lighting, plant lighting and freezer lighting all as some areas expected to deploy into.

Global capacitive sensors market worth $17.89 billion by 2018

USA: According to a new market research report of "Global Capacitive Sensors Market (2013-2018) By - Sensing Applications (Touch, Motion, Pressure, Proximity); Devices (Touchpad, Buttons, Slider, Screens); Verticals (Factory Automation, Medical, Consumer Electronics, Automotive), 2013-2018" published by MarketsandMarkets is likely to grow at a CAGR of 15 percent from 2013 to 2018 and reach $17.89 billion in 2018.

The capacitive sensor is one of the booming sensing technologies in the sensors industry. Capacitive sensors are continuously replacing other sensors in different applications that are used in various industry verticals. The report covers all the major applications of the capacitive sensors; namely touch sensing, motion sensing, position sensing, and capacity measurement applications.

In different industry verticals, different capacitive sensing applications are used. The report also covers the major industry verticals like consumer electronics sector and non-consumer electronics sector. The non-consumer electronics sector is further segmented into commercial and factory automation industry. The sub-segments of each and every sector are also described in the report.

Capacitive sensors are penetrating in the overall market of level sensors, flow sensors, and position sensors. The penetration rates of the capacitive sensors along with the total available market for each application are discussed in the report.

Smartphones and tablets market is expected to boost up the sales of the capacitive touch sensors market in the present sensors industry. Reducing price of the other similar technologies like gesture recognition is expected to be a major threat for the capacitive sensors market.

The market for capacitive sensors is expected to show a linear growth in the subsequent five years because of the continuous technological advancements and improvements in the features of capacitive sensors.