New lamps for old, or brand new fixtures?

It’s generally accepted that if you started with a blank sheet of paper, you wouldn’t design LED lamps that look much like conventional incandescent or fluorescent lamps (either linear fluorescents or CFLs). This is because it’s difficult to match the thermal and optical characteristics of LEDs with the form factors of conventional lamps and their sockets. Even so, there is a huge potential market for retrofit LED lamps that offer high performance at an acceptable price point, and companies are racing to stake their claim. Literally minutes ago I received an email entitled “First 100-watt-equivalent LED bulb” – see below for more details.