It will never hit the hardware store shelves. There is so much wrong with it. The base is dangerous, and smaller bulbs are already available. Fluorescents and LED's will soon replace incandescents for most applications.

Another "designer" on the loose.

So it's either incandescent or candles really. Of course the government will make the typical kneejerk ill thought out reaction to the whiny green idiots (who know even less than the government), and force us all to use CF most likely, despite the fact they cause migraines in susceptible people (myself included) and are a toxic nightmare.

The screw-in on this one is scary, simply because it looks like a huge gap on either side. That seems really dangerous.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1076366/Let-energy-saving-ligh t-Traditional-bulbs-banned-sale-2010-reduce-greenhouse-gases.html

I believe that more spherical bulbs are better able to resist the atmospheric pressure. It looks like the flat bulb has thicker glass to compensate.

Not much use in the UK where we mostly use bayonet fitting bulbs which would be hard to do.
Anyway, in this house we have lovely CFL bulbs which come on in less than a second, last for many years and can be recycled at the local dump and some shops.