The Nobel prize has largely become arbitrary in its pursuit of being the most exclusive awards. After knowing about just a few instances like Obama getting the Peace prize as soon as he was elected the President, this year's Physics prize going to only 3 scientists for what actually is the result of many more people working in a group, and now this - I think the award is losing its charm. It has certainly lost respect in my eyes. Its only a matter of time before it becomes an obsolete concept.
Seems ironic that a body that recognizes people for exceptional work in the sciences, it itself is based on highly subjective and debatable decisions.
You can argue that the blue led has done more to improve things than the original. Blue was the missing led color for many years, meaning that low cost/power light bulbs and displays were not possible. The original led was used primarily for indicator lights, while the blue led enables a great leap forward in the way we provide lighting and display surfaces.
Also, the problem/solution for blue leds was way more interesting and challenging imho.
One more small counterpoint... DWM in fiber optic networks was given a huge boost by blue leds. The increase in bandwidth has led to multimedia streaming services that have made conventional optical disks largely outdated for consumer use... even the more recent blu ray formats designed to take advantage of the blue leds are not as popular any more.
Seems ironic that a body that recognizes people for exceptional work in the sciences, it itself is based on highly subjective and debatable decisions.