Portable LED lighting covers a wide range of applications from flashlights to camera flash, to strobe lighting, to small colored sources and should also include portable traffic signs, amber warning lights and other mobile niche-type light sources. For these applications the low power demand from LEDs allows solar power to be considered for many uses. In the case of amber safety lights, their replacement with CVD produced HBLEDs greatly extends the useful lamp and battery life, improves flash brightness and potentially provides more user-friendly lighting that can be solar powered. In the small portable lamp category, e.g., the flashlight and the new stick-on lamps, the LED has revolutionized the industry as battery and lamp life can be extended to years for some small lights instead of months. LED stick on lamps that can also serve as safety lights to protect people taking late evening strolls. Miniature versions such as key ring lights have become popular with the use of small LED chips and miniature batteries with existing battery lives being extended by factors of five to ten.
A significant key to the development of a new application segment is the availability of useful products for the consumer to purchase. This goal has been achieved, as a range of LED items can be selected from and purchased at recreational and department stores, with many being in the $1.5 to $ 50 price range and with some "stick-on" LED lights filling the low-end price slot. There is competition for small LEDs from mini-krypton bulbs, which although less expensive, draw more power from the battery and have bulb replacement expenses.
