Philips

LED lighting will again show off its versatility and efficiency as the light source for the ball drop in Times Square on New Year's Eve.

In a tradition that started in 1907, a glowing ball will drop to mark the passing into the new year in New York City. Inside the geodesic sphere now used, there are 32,256 individual LED lights behind 2,688 triangles made of Waterford crystal, according Philips, which provides the LEDs.

The aluminum ball itself, which made its debut with LEDs in 2008, is 12 feet in diameter and weighs almost 12,000 pounds. … Read more

In 2012, 100-watt incandescent bulbs will be a thing of the past, but fear not, as there's some great energy-efficient lightbulb tech to illuminate the way. It ranges from compact fluorescent lights to LEDs to halogen bulbs, and, if Philips has anything to do with it, bacteria-powered lights.

As part of its Microbial Home project, which also birthed the urban beehive, Philips set about designing a natural lighting system based on biological processes. The result? The Bio-light concept. … Read more

You wouldn't normally consider keeping a beehive on the second floor of your loft apartment in the middle of the concrete jungle, but Philips' urban beehive concept just might change your mind.

The urban beehive consists of an outside flower pot with a bee entryway above it. A glass container full of honeycomb frames sits on the inside to tempt the little buzzers into making a home.

A pull on the bottom of the hive is a smoke actuator that lets you calm the bees down before you pop off the cover or collect honey. Bees are incredible creatures, but you don't want to piss them off.

The beehive sports a sleek look that will fit right in with your modern sense of style. Philips touts the benefits of pollination, a fresh honey supply, and the educational interest of having a hive at your fingertips.… Read more

HP is now the top-ranked tech company, according to Greenpeace's latest guide to greener electronics.

The guide's criteria has been updated to take into greater account energy use, conflict minerals, green products, and supply chain energy use.

Greenpeace released its latest rankings today, showing HP moving ahead three to the top spot. It's a big leap considering that just six years ago HP was targeted by Greenpeace as one of the worst tech companies for using fire retardant materials suspected of being hazardous. At the time, Greenpeace members stood outside of HP's headquarters and handed out … Read more

High-tech air filtration systems and HEPA filters are becoming standard fare in luxury vehicles these days, but what are you going to do about that funny smell in your 2004 Chevy Aveo? There's only so much that a pine tree air freshener can do.

Perhaps you should check out the newly announced Philips GoPure Automotive Clean Air System.

The GoPure was the odd bird in Philips' booth at the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX) in Las Vegas, which was otherwise filled with the manufacturer's line of automotive lighting products. This portable air filtration system is aimed at motorists with allergies, drivers with small children who may be sensitive to airborne germs and particles, and people who want to remove bad smells from the air in their car.… Read more

For iPhone 4S users hit by the battery drain problem, there's now an app that tries to help them get the most out of their current charge.

Updated last week to support Apple's latest iPhone, BatterySense can't conjure up any more power from your battery. But it does tell you how much time is left on your current charge depending on what you're doing. And it offers some tips and tricks on how to get more out of a single charge.

Created by the folks at Philips, the free app works on the iPhone, iPad, and … Read more

Philips recently released its Ambient LED 17/75-watt-equivalent retailing for $39.97. As it indicates, the bulb gives off roughly the equivalent light of a 75-watt incandescent bulb, but uses only 17 watts of power to do it.

Many sites have been doing head-to-head tests of various LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs coming on the market. However, I'm often asked where someone can find just a "regular person review" on how LEDs stack up against CFLs (compact fluorescent lights) and the soon-to-be-phased-out incandescents without getting too buried in stats on lumens, kelvins, wattage, and the rest of the … Read more

AT&T and Verizon are working "behind the scenes" to stamp out new 4G wireless entrant LightSquared, according to billionaire hedge fund manager Philip Falcone.

Falcone, speaking to CNBC today, claimed the two telecommunications giants aren't competing fairly and are using their power to undermine LightSquared, which is run by Falcone's Harbinger Capital.

LightSquared is attempting to build a nationwide 4G LTE network that it will sell on a wholesale basis to other carriers that want to resell its services. But the company has run into a major hurdle with a coalition of companies reliant … Read more

Philips has won the equivalent of grueling car rally race for lighting.

The Department of Energy today awarded Philips' 60-watt equivalent LED bulb with the first L Prize for energy-efficiency lighting. Philips wins a $10 million cash prize. The product could be in stores as soon as early 2012, according to the DOE.

To win, the bulb needed to generate as much light as a 60-watt incandescent at 900 lumens but consume less than 10 watts. Its life has to be rated at over 25,000 hours, or 17 years of using a bulb four hours a day.

The bulb, … Read more