First there is a parallel thread with the same subject.
Luxeon is a Lumileds technology; I agree it makes a giant step in the last 8 years trend of shifting the LED technology from indicators to illuminators.
But Lumileds/Agilent/HP/Philips can not remain such a monopoly for ever. Osram/Sylvania/Siemens as well as others like Stanley are working on high power LEDs for years.
What we don't know is that there are many technologies, some of them revolutionary invented in the former USSR which remain unknown because such mega corporations or joint ventures of the giants are simply buying for pieces of money any new technology and they keep it there until the time is right. Nobody can't even imagine what wonderful technologies are kept secret because the marketing feels the cow may still be milked with the old ones.
Just an example not related to LED, for whoever remembers Bolder, inventors of the TMF cell….where are they? Well, kept in the safes of GP battery. Why? Because this technology could revolutionize the whole industry and it is not yet the time to do that. Why not selling Lithiums and others with all the chargers and related components if the market is happy with them?
Lumileds – isn't it them who released a product which was far from being finished - just to remind everyone the famous 5W story??? And it is us who buy whatever they choose to sell, when to sell and most important at what price and then tolerate excuses. I want to see a smaller company doing something like that and remaining in business.
The emerging alternative technologies are called competition and from my point of view they serve a good purpose: this will be the only way to bring down from the high tree the guys at Lumileds and the others at Future. If there was any patent problem Lumileds would long ago stand on their rear feet, just as Nichia did a few years ago. The UFO LEDs are on the market for at least 2 years, only now became more popular on the internet.
The first to make them were Korean factories followed during the last year by Chinese. My guess is the technology originates from the former USSR and is not the same as Lumileds.
One thing is for sure....I am more than happy with this development and if everybody will see the picture at full, it will bring only advantages. Let's not be sorry for the R&D invested by Lumileds, they have played deep enough inside our pockets for the last 4 years and they will continue to do so for at least one more year and even when they will eventually drop the prices it will be only Future's pockets to be smaller, right now they make the big $$$.
