Next BLE

in $5 range

Haha. Yes. That would be nice. It's not going to happen any time soon though I'm afraid - even selling at cost I wouldn't hit that :)

@Spocki yes - I'd like to do something else that fits in the same Puck.js molds too, but I know what you mean. It's hard to cram enough extra worthwhile stuff on there at the moment.

Teensy looks like an interesting form factor... Do you think that more breakouts are available for Teensy 3.2 than for the Arduino Nano?

for $5 range I compared with https://minew.en.alibaba.com/product/60606212990-802524400/Factory_Direct_Sale_Anti_losting_Tracker.html with nRF51822, buzzer, on/off button that is $3 at 1000 units (that was 2 years ago)

I like the http://www.m5stack.com/ form factor - small, 320x240 LCD, stackable, easy to prototype.

another cheap round design ESP32 solution – https://www.tindie.com/products/Sandeep_ee/hornbill-esp32-minima/

just brainstorming around

Honestly I don't know how they manage that - because just the bare Raytac bluetooth module costs me ~$4, without anything else.

I did contact Minewtech about a very slightly custom beacon (not even using a custom PCB) before I launched Puck.js and I was quoted around $15 at 1000-off I believe, for an nRF51 beacon.

I think it's just the sheer quantity they make them in.

maybe try to negotiate with them again. or sell more Puck.js 😋

Try to order boards from https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a312a.7700824.w4023-16080569721.11.6e5efbbasB39iB&id=532630623264
They almost like MDBT42 ut may be cheaper.

Just as a update, Particle is in a presale for their nrf52840 based boards.
Expected shipping starts in July 2018.
Another interesting thing is the formfactor.. they hop on to the adafruit feather train.. this could be a good choice for the next espruino generation too.

Interesting - thanks!

I am planning on something but because I'm using BLE modules, the BLE module supplier has to wait until they get Nordic's chips before they can make the modules, so it may be a month or so after other boards.

They tell me they got stung before when they produced pre-production modules and then Nordic modified the production chip, so this time they're only making modules available when they have production silicon. That was supposed to be this month, but Nordic's release date for the nrf52840 keeps getting pushed back.

On the plus side, the first prototype panel of LCD boards came off the production line at Pimoroni yesterday. It's a shame they don't have the new chip, but hopefully they'll still be pretty popular.

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Did I miss a post about these new boards ? @Gordon whats the news ?

These things are basically the Espruino Nodeconf badge, but with an Arduino footprint on them and a voltage regulator (so Bluetooth and a 128x64 LCD).

I'm pretty excited about them, especially given you can just push in bargain priced GSM, WiFi, Ethernet shields and have them work.

I'm gearing up to do a first batch of 500 which should be ready by April. I've decided not to KickStarter this time, but will just see what publicity I can get.

If anyone is interested in updates, please fill in your email at this link and I'll let you know when it's on sale: http://www.espruino.com/Pixl.js

Ok, Pixl.js has now been available for a while

However there's now another board available - a cheaper Bluetooth LE dev board - the one that @Adam79 originally spotted in the YouTube video!

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