On December 31st all eyes will be focused squarely on one of NYC's most well-known pieces of real estate - the top of One Times Sq., from which the historic Times Sq. ball makes its famous descent every New Year's Eve. This year, however, will mark a unique and exciting milestone for the much-revered Times Sq. ball, as it undergoes a green makeover and, for the first time in its history, is outfitted with 100% light emitting diode (LED) technology as its light source.
Upgraded from the incandescent and halogen lighting technology that lit the ball in years past and in commemoration of the ball's milestone 100th anniversary, the LEDs on this year's ball will deliver a far brighter and more energy-efficient experience for New Year's revelers than ever before. The ball's 9,576 high-power Philips Luxeon LED lights will deliver a color palette of over 16 million hues and will enable the potential for billions of amazing special effects that were never before possible with the previous technology. And the ball will do this more energy-efficiently than ever before, requiring only 1-2 watt colored LEDs to produce the light output that it took 40-watt colored incandescent bulbs to deliver previously. In fact, the new Times Sq. ball will run on roughly the same amount of energy as it takes to power only 10 toasters or just one oven/range!
When first dropped in 1907 to hoards of fascinated on-lookers, the ball was adorned with cutting-edge lighting technology for its time: 100 25-watt incandescent bulbs. One hundred years later, lighting technology has come a long way and this year's unprecedented lighting display will feature a variety of effects controlled through high-tech software, further enhanced by Waterford Crystal's beautiful double-cut crystal façade.
Inspiring to view and environmentally-friendly, the new ball celebrates the powerful, energy-efficient, and exciting capabilities of rapidly-emerging LED technology and takes a hat off to a new era in green lighting solutions. But the ball's beauty and simplicity may be what resonates most among the million visitors expected to crowd Times Sq. as well as the billions around the world who will enthusiastically join in to watch its landmark descent on television in the last hours and minutes of 2007. Jeffrey Straus, president of Countdown Entertainment, the company which co-produces the annual Times Sq. ball event, said "this year's ball will be like a jewel in the sky over Times Sq.!"
On behalf of the entire team at Philips, we wish everyone a very happy and healthy holiday season and a wonderful, prosperous, and green 2008....happy new year to all!

Susan Bloom is director of corporate communications for Philips Lighting & Advance