.NET Micro Framework devices update

We received a lot of feedback on our original .NET Micro Framework device roundup, most of which was positive (bonus!). However, one re-occuring comment was that we didn't really do the devices justice when listing the features. We agree, as we kind of ignored what we didn't care about and listed a few items that wouldn't take up to much page space.

So we learned our lesson, and to make up for it, we went back and constructed a more thorough chart that detailed out many of the specs. This time around we focused only on the SSJ and GHI offerings, as they are the most practical choices when you factor in overall price.

IMPORTANT CHANGE: SSJ dropped the prices of the EDK and EDKplus; they also announced support for more of the components included with the devices. At this point, our personal opinion is the EDK is now by far the best value (fast CPU, lots of flash and RAM, and Ethernet), unless you really need native USB support.

So, with that, here is the chart:


SSJ EDK SSJ EDKplus GHI USBizi   GHI EM
Price (US $) 115 175 100 200
CPU Mhz 200 200 72 72
CPU Type ARM9 ARM9 ARM7 ARM7
Flash 8MB 8MB 512KB 4.5MB
RAM 8MB 8MB 96KB 8MB
RS232 port 1 (debug only) 2 (1 is debug only) - -
UART - - 4 4
Ethernet 1 1 - 1
CAN - - 2 2
GPIO lines 16 16 44 51
PLD output lines 16 16 ? ?
PLD input lines 8 8 ? ?
SPI yes yes yes yes
I2C ? ? no yes
PWM I/O 2 2 6 5
A/D input 5 x 16 bit 5 x 16 bit 7 x 10 bit 4 x 10 bit
D/A output ? ? ? x 10 bit ? x 10 bit
MMC/SD socket yes yes yes yes
USB host port 2 (no .NET support) 2 (no .NET support) 1 1
USB device port - - 1 1

posted on 07 Dec 2008 | permalink | comment on this post