Free News Alerts by Keyword
Interested in embedded technology? Are you an engineer or designer? e-clips helps you follow the latest news on key topics like multicore, FPGAs, 8051, ESL, PC/104 and more!

e-clips news alerts by keyword

by jason mcdonald, senior editor | read other blog posts

Three chips. A new decade. Many engineers compare and constrast the Atmel AVR, Microchip PIC, and TI MSP430 in their 'design shortlist.' The Microchip PIC is proof that older architectures never really die - they just get better and better with age, proliferating into more and more devices at better price / performance rates. The Atmel AVR and Texas Instruments MSP430, in contrast, are newer contenders - both targeting the lower end of the market, both adding new and better features for better price points. All three had some great recent news in 2009, and we also thought it time to identify the best Web starting points as you - the designer - compare and contrast these three alternatives for embedded systems design.

contents of this post:

1. microchip pic
2. atmel avr
3. texas instruments msp430
4. feedback - read it
5. feedback - give it

microchip pic

On its website Microchip (http://www.microchip.com/) gives eight reasons why it is No. 1 in the 8-bit market... We won't go into all eight, but for the curious design engineer the website does provide a plethora of information on the Microchip PIC family. So check it out! One of the most attractive reasons is Microchip's MPLAB® Integrated Development Environment (IDE), a free, integrated toolset for the development of embedded applications employing Microchip's PIC® and dsPIC® microcontrollers. On the news front, Microchip unveiled its PICDEM#153; Lab Development Kit earlier this year, targeting students, educators and engineers who need to get started cheaply and quickly Microchip’s 8-bit Flash PIC® microcontrollers (MCUs) with 20 or fewer pins. Another example of the company's efforts at making development easy is its New PIC16F1937 Kit for Enhanced Mid-Range Core Development , announced on 12/29/2009.

The company also has robust third party support - for example a new PIC16F1937 Kit for Enhanced Mid-Range Core Development from CCS. The company has a fantistic microsite of Third Party Tools for the Microchip PIC Family .

Other resources not to miss are:

• Microchip Youtube Channel

• Microchip Direct

• Free eBooks on the Microchip PIC

• PIC Micro's and C

Of course, you can track all the news and best websites for Microchip PIC at eg3.com's Microchip PIC page .

atmel avr

The Atmel AVR has been a favorite architecture of the eg3.com audience for quite some time, and almost always makes a competitive shortlist against the Microchip PIC and/or TI MSP430. Interested in the AVR? Start at the Atmel AVR Home Page , where similarly to Microchip you'll find a plethora of marketing information 'selling you' on the AVR and Atmel's extended AVR family. One of the AVR's selling points is its upward migration to the 32-bit AVR architecture, as well as coordinated linkages to Atmel's ARM families. A failed merger between the companies was probably rooted in this selling advantage enjoyed by Atmel. The company also enjoys an incredibly informative Wikipedia page on the Atmel AVR , unmatched by either Microchip or TI. That shows robust ecosystem support.

Building on this ecosystem, the Atmel AVR also has some incredibly powerful free and personal pages on the Internet. Start, for example, at SmallC for AVR , a free compiler by Ron Kreymborg. Another incredible spontaneous website in support of the AVR is AVR Freaks . That forum is a must see, along your way to consider these three architectures, and is - again - unmatched by either the PIC or MSP430, as a community-based support forum. And whereas Microchip PIC has its Youtube forum, Atmel has its own Atmel TV channel , based in Norway. There is even a Tutorial on Assembly Language for the Atmel AVR . Of course, you can check out all the great Atmel AVR resources at the eg3.com page, here .

On the news front, Atmel spent 2009 churning out news release after news release on its robust AVR family. For example, Low-Power, Single-Chip Wireless Microcontroller Family for Growing IEEE 802.15.4 Market , released on December 8, targeted wireless applications such as ZigBee® and IPv6/6LoWPAN. The ATmega128RFA1 is IEEE 802.15.4 compliant and combines Atmel's picoPower® AVR MCU and a 2.4 GHz RF transceiver. Atmel's picoPower technology offers ultra-low power consumption to ultimately enable longer battery life for wireless ZigBee applications, including smart energy, building automation, telecom and health care. Or check out Atmel Introduces New Family of AVR Microcontrollers For Industrial Motor Control , released in August.

texas instruments msp430

The TI MSP430 is the last, but no means the least, in our round up of chips that should make your 'short list' for 2010. For one thing - there is still time to enter the Design MSP430 Ultra-Low Power Challenge - $10,000 In Prizes . Contest details are simple - All design and demonstration entries must feature a device from the TI MSP430 family of microcontrollers, and demonstrate via submission of abstract, project files & documentations, and optional video, its ultra-low power agility. Choose from your favorite ultra-low power devices and tools - MSP430x1xx, MSP430F2xx, MSP430x4xx, MSP430F5xx, CC430Fxxxx. Texas Instruments also has an amazing training site for all their DSPs and Microcontrollers. And of course, your starting page on the TI MSP430 at TI should not be missed!

TI, also enjoys a growing community of support for the MPS430, although it does not yet match that of the AVR or the Microchip PIC. There's a TI MSP430 Newsgroup on Yahoo, for example. Or lists of TI MSP430 Projects , a great TI Channel on Youtube , and GCC tools for the MSP430 , which includes the GNU C compiler (GCC), the assembler and linker (binutils), the debugger (GDB), and some other tools needed to make a complete development environment for the MSP430. The company has also shown some fun, innovative ideas in development kits such as the eZ430- Chronos , world’s first customizable development environment within a sports watch. The kit allows developers to easily harness the leading integration, ultra-low power and wireless capabilities of TI’s CC430 MCU. Priced at $49, Chronos was designed to provide customers with all of the hardware and software needed to immediately begin development of wireless networking applications, regardless of programming expertise.

The most important TI MSP430 news came in July, 2009 - New MSP430 MCUs with embedded full-speed USB and the world's leading ultra-low power consumption . With wide adoption of USB connectivity, designers are seeking smart embedded processing solutions that bring unique advantages to their applications such as longer battery life, portability and versatility. Providing easy, advanced connectivity with a robust portfolio, the new MSP430F55xx microcontroller (MCU) family with embedded full-speed USB (12 Mbps) is TI's answer to this need. Stay connected and informed about the MSP430 via the e-clips news service, or bookmark MSP430 page.

feedback - read it:

feedback - give it:

	submit feedback to this blog post your name: your company (optional): your e-mail (optional): (Email will not be published!) please type your comment below, and hit send: IMPORTANT: to prevent spam, please re-type the letters that you read in this graphic: * graphic says:

Express Logic develops, markets and supports the ThreadX® real-time operating system (RTOS), NetX™ TCP/IP networking stack, USBX™ USB stack, and FileX® embedded file system, and PrismX™ GUI toolkit for embedded applications. ThreadX is a royalty-free, full source code, small-footprint, low-overhead RTOS that is extremely easy to learn and use. ThreadX is one of the most widely deployed RTOS products in the world, with over 800 million products based on ThreadX.