Leatherman Acquires LED Flashlight Company

Leatherman Tool Group Inc. has completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Zweibrüder Optoelectronics GmbH &Co. KB (say THAT five times fast!). They are best known for their range of LED Lenser lights, the most popular LED Light in Europe. 

The acquisition gives the largest multi-tool maker in the world another range of technology to incorporate into  their tools. With lumen outputs ranging from tiny to 1000 plus there are a host of applications for the LED Lenser products.

LED Lenser brings a range of unique approaches to lights, including combining lens and reflector based systems in a single flashlight. This overcomes the weakness of either approach and allows their lights to be equally effective in up-close and distance applications.

Their Rapid Focus method of adjustment is simple to accomplish with one hand and is incorporated into all their lights with Advanced Focus System functionality. Although only completed at the beginning of August it will be very interesting to see the applications that a company like Leatherman can find for these LED lights.

Further info on LED Lenser and Leatherman are available at their websites.

Packlight Packs A Bright, Flexible Punch

Who doesn't love LEDs? I sure do. That bright white illumination is so attractive I feel like a fly that's attracted to that electric blue light of death. Simply put, the Packlight is a flexible light strip that you can bend and shape to light up various objects and where you need a bright light most. The possibilities are pretty much endless with the Packlight, using it for photography and video purposes comes to mind. This isn't just another LED strip, the Packlight packs 45 bright LEDs in a waterproof, silicone constructed strip that can bend and hold its shape, and even magnetically attach to metal surfaces thanks to the built-in strong neodymium magnet ends.

Other features like multiple brightness modes, built-in USB rechargeable battery and hanging river holes makes this the perfect light source for anything that comes your way. The Packlight is one sweet gadget to have around, and it can be pre-ordered in black or red for $45 over at Kickstarter.

Apple Updates 27" LED Cinema Display With Thunderbolt, Ethernet, Firewire

Apple has release quite a few updated products today, one of them is the new 27" LED Cinema Display with the same gorgeous 2560x1440 LED backlit IPS display and appearance, but with a few new added perks. The new 27" LED Cinema Display now comes equipped with a Thunderbolt port for blazing fast 10Gbps transfer speeds and daisy chaining goodness, Gigabit Ethernet port to reduce even more cable clutter on your MacBook Air or Pro, a Firewire 800 port and X3 USB ports. The Thunderbolt cable will replace the USB cable used to transfer audio and video into less cable clutter and saving you an extra USB port on your Mac while the MagSafe charging cable will power up your Mac. The new 27" LED Cinema Display will still set you back $999, available now.

Apple LED TV Coming?

Rumors are going around that Apple is working on an actual Apple Television, not to be confused with the Apple TV. Apple posted a new job listing seeking people to work on a next-generation power supply technology. 

Apple states that this job position - "primarily involves high-density offline power supply's development for Apple's next generation Macintosh platforms spanning from notebook computers, desktop computers, servers, standalone displays and TV." Yes that's right, TV! Notice how Apple separated "TV" from "standalone displays". Apple did not even mention their little streaming accessory, the Apple TV. What will be the price point of a large LED TV from Apple is hard to say. Apple's current 27-inch LED Cinema Display is priced at $999.