NXP has announced the LPC800-MAX – an mbed/Arduino development board based on the LPC812 – which will be released in April 2013.
NXP is working with key partners to develop LPC800-MAX, a development board which combines mbed, LPCXpresso and Arduino connectivity, allowing users to choose and work with their favorite elements from each environment. The breakthrough interoperability of the LPC800-MAX development board is made possible thanks to the unique flexible switch matrix feature introduced in the LPC800 family of microcontrollers, which allows users to configure nearly any pin for any available function. Further, with the new mbed USB onboard interface, users can choose if they want to use cloud-based mbed tools for development, or if they would rather use an off-line tool chain, such as the LPCXpresso IDE, for development and debugging. The board will be available in April for a suggested retail price of € 16.00.
For more details on the LPC800-MAX dev board, visit Lpcware.
I like.
Why does everything have to follow the Arduino?
Everyone want to jump onto that train because it became so damn popular. ;)
Arduino is just a convenient way to stack boards and daughterboards should be compatible.
There is nothing wrong with piggybacking on other people’s success.
Unless Arduino can be upgraded, I don’t see it competing much longer because of the new Beaglebone II coming out and the Raspberry Pi which is more popular. While some people have done amazing things with Arduino, it is a platform for beginners and everyone started somewhere. Some use the Arduino to cheat and they get the same results as someone who has been in electronics for 20 years but because it makes things easier, it doesn’t mean the Art student who wants to connect motors and lights has arrived. You have to be willing to learn microcontrollers and stop letting the bootloader do everything for you.
I keep saying that it isn’t the form factor that has made arduino so popular, it is the simple DEV environment. People keep trying to copy the form factor and the shield layout and hoping to copy the success, where they fall down is that they just use one of the compiler vendors for the IDE. So now people are overwhelmed with the environment. You have to read a data sheet to figure out how to use it and you have to wade through 100 menus to figure out how to compile and download.
mbed is quite under-rated, and works very well. It gives basic users an approachable method of using ARM-Cortex gear. Had a quick look here: http://tronixstuff.com/2013/10/18/mbed-nxp-lpc800-max-development-board/