Samsung’s new foray in the LED bulb market has become reality as the products are hitting the shelves now, after being announced back in May. Seven LED bulbs are available and can be plugged in the most common types of lamps/fixtures as a drop-in replacement. LED lights are cool in many ways, but the power consumption (1/4 of a normal bulb) and overall sturdiness is what I like the most about them. Pricing is what I like the least: at between $20 and $60, they are much more expensive than conventional bulbs, so you will have to figure out when your investment will eventually pay for itself.Also, LED pricing tends to fall and you can expect that manufacturing capacity for those is going to rise in the coming years. A Decade from now, we may even have a capacity surplus, but that’s so far away that we shouldn’t care so much for now.
In any case, Samsung and other manufacturers are jumping into the LED bulb market which is expected to grow intensely for the next decade or more. Samsung has a lot to gain: it can re-use some of the technology that it develops for high-end products like TV and displays, and I suspect that Samsung will also recycle from manufacturing plants – while making a profit on the bulb themselves.
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