Looks like a closed hardware: even if the full schematics, layout and BOM are published, they are useless, as both the CPU and its sister chip won't be available for retail.
Looks like another attempt from Broadcom to attract new developpers. Unfortunately, they do it their usual way: no datasheet provided without NDA, closed-source driver for the GPU, patent-crippled HDMI interface...
Price is not everything: I'd like it free (as in freedom) too!
I just wanted to submit an idea: it looks like that most of the proposed gadgets (besides the Web server and dev boards) feature an USB device interface to connect to a PC.
In order to achieve this function, I see that 2 different solutions have been used:
a PIC18F2550 with built-in USB device
an FT2232H with High-speed USB 2.0 using bit-banging
My idea consists in providing a unique (well, maybe two) USB interface boards, and then to develop additional pluggable boards for them:
JTAG debugger with buffered signals using a CPLD
SPI/I2C/etc like Bus Pirate
Logic Analyzer with CPLD or serial RAM chips
Infrared
CPLD/FPGA programming interface
As we would seldom use all these devices at the same time, this would save some cost if you buy several of them.
Actually, such a board already exists: this is your FT2232 breakout board... So basically, why not develop "shield-like" boards for it?
