I bought a couple of the Cree bulbs from Home Depot a few days ago. I thought I would show the packaging and give you my thoughts so far.
I bought 40W, 60W and 75W bulbs, to compare to 40W, 60W and 90W incandescents. We have always used incandescent bulbs, except back when there were only "Pre-Edison" candles,
These bulbs look like maybe they are second generation. The first ones had smaller heat sinks than these ones seem to have. At least if memory serves me right, but I have been wrong before. The photos of the packaging are so you can read the label information without having to go to HD.
Anyhow, We have the 60W in the office lamp, (which had a 60W incandescent in it) and it is usually on for about 8 hours a day/night. My concerns were; Will it be as bright as an incandescent? Will it be close to the color temp of an incandescent? Will it overheat, or be hotter than an incandescent?
What I have found with the 60W, is that it looks just like an incandescent bulb to my eyes, or close enough that I can accept it and feel comfortable with it. It's also every bit as bright as the incandescent. As far as heat goes, my main concern was how hot the socket would be. After it had been on for two hours, I turned it off and removed the bulb. The heat sink was very hot. Every bit as hot as the glass bulb of an incandescent, but no hotter, but the threaded socket was only warm to the touch. That sold me on it, as the bulb sockets on incandescents are usually quite hot after being on for an hour or two.
All in all, I am impressed with the color temp and how the heat is handled within the confines of making a bulb that is appealing to the public. I certainly do not agree with the heat sink being white in color, but I can understand how it would not market well in black, compared to white.
It will be interesting to see how these bulbs last long term, but after a few days, I like them as well or better than incandescents. The two reasons I bought these over Phillips and GE were the fact that they are made by Cree and because they most closely resemble an incandescent bulb in outward appearance.