Marvell, a semiconductor and electronics company based in Santa Clara, CA, announced recently that it will soon introduce the “8801 chip” to the LED consumer and manufacturing markets. Marvell claims that this new product, which is only about the size of a penny and is slated to cost about the same as other LED electronics, will improve several aspects of LED lighting. When integrated into LED light bulbs, the chip can improve both their color rendering index (CRI) and the precision of their dimming functions. Over the years, LED CRI has improved, but has not yet reached the quality found in incandescent bulbs. Marvel claims that the 8801 chip will allow for a CRI of 95, the highest yet attained by any LED bulb. The chip will also allow lighting manufacturers to create wireless network functionality in their bulbs, much like that of the Google Android smart bulb we blogged about earlier this week. This would mean that consumers could potentially control and schedule their home lighting via their smart phones. Learn more at Marvell.