Broadcom seems to be easing up a bit with their introduction of their WICED (pronounced Wicked) line of Bluetooth Smart and Wifi wireless modules.
- $20 dev board keyfob that connects to an iPhone our of the box.
- lots of firmware source code examples
- available iOS source code
- free compiler toolchain and USB programming
- open schematics and pcb files
- open forum: http://community.broadcom.com/
As a designer, I know it's easy to have a bad experience with a particular manufacturer and then avoid them like the plague in the future.
One time we designed in an Atmel TinyAVR into something, and as soon as we finished it went completely out-of-stock for 12 months.
We had to throw the boards and firmware away and start from scratch again using a PIC.
(We've never used another Atmel processor after that.)
But I try to remember that it's just a bias in my mind, and personal biases don't always jibe with reality.
Rationally, I understand that Atmel's not a bad company just because they had one supply chain glitch 7 years ago.
- $20 dev board keyfob that connects to an iPhone our of the box. - lots of firmware source code examples - available iOS source code - free compiler toolchain and USB programming - open schematics and pcb files - open forum: http://community.broadcom.com/
As a designer, I know it's easy to have a bad experience with a particular manufacturer and then avoid them like the plague in the future.
One time we designed in an Atmel TinyAVR into something, and as soon as we finished it went completely out-of-stock for 12 months.
We had to throw the boards and firmware away and start from scratch again using a PIC.
(We've never used another Atmel processor after that.)
But I try to remember that it's just a bias in my mind, and personal biases don't always jibe with reality.
Rationally, I understand that Atmel's not a bad company just because they had one supply chain glitch 7 years ago.
So my advice is: try to keep an open mind.