[Sender]

I've seen a 5-watt Lumistar LED flashlight with a 'bulb' the size of a peanut...bright too. If even that were in the form of a laser diode, it would be impressive.

I don't know how hard it is to scale up the ubiquitous, cheap laser diode.

[kingu]

*drool* I want one of those flashlights... But for now, I'll have to live with my three watt until the price drops. Speaking of LEDs, I'm really curious to see if the quantum dot technology will make it to market this year or next. Really looking forward to real 'white' white LEDs.

As for the future of laser diodes - the leading edge continues to fly far ahead of consumer electronics.