The arduCHIP is a small compact board and breadboard-friendly based on the ATmega328. It has more or less the same functionality of the Arduino, but in a very small and compact package (20.6mm x 25.8mm).
It requires a 4.5-5.5V, or 1.8 to 4.2 if you run it at 8MHz, regulated power source making it the perfect companion for the arduSTAMP. The serial interface is fully compatible with the USB breakout board of the arduSTAMP or with sparkFun's FTDI basic. The arduCHIP is a compact board that will allow you to have the full power of an Arduino on a very small footprint.
The arduCHIP is meant for users that are familiar with the Arduino environment and are looking for a cost effective bare bones board to use on a constraint space project (less than 7€ BOM including PCB). If you are not familiar with the Arduino environment it is recommend that you first go for the Arduino Duemilanove, the One (they are great boards and a very good starting point) or even the arduSTAMP. arduCHIP does not come with header connectors assembled (only the ISP header) so that you can solder in any connector with the orientation you need for your application.
I have also ordered a couple of these boards and they are currently on their way. If anyone is interested, please let me know, I am sending them for 2€ each P&P included.
If you are interested, just drop me a message and I will book them for you. They are currently in the fab house and will be arriving in about 2 weeks time.
Bare PCB are going for 2€ each.
Assembled PCBs for 13€ each with no header but the ISP.
Just received notification from fab house that the arduCHIPs are just that little closer - they have shipped the boards and they are making their way over -.
Honestly I don't think it's breadboard friendly at all... not as a general-purpose solution. You really need to move the digital pins 2,3,4,5, and 20,21 off to the sides. And to be the most friendly move the FTDI connector as well.
After all, who knows what people will want to use your board for?
As the board comes with no header connections, you can configure it for your particular use. There are several uses I have for this particular board:
For breadboard prototyping: IO 2, 3, 4, 5 and 20, 21 are going to come out with a right angle female header. FTDI connector is going to come out with a right angle header to directly pug into the arduSTAMP USB breakout or into Sparkfun's FTDI basic breakout board.
For some of the projects I am currently developing: The board is going to go directly to the prototyping perforated PCB.
For other project I am finalizing: The board is going to go directly to the main PCB, most likely on its SMD configuration, as it has no components on the botton side of the PCB.
This covers my current needs for compact solutions, I was looking for a plug'n'play solution for my designs.
The arduSTAMP, has a very similar configuration but with the FTDI chip directly mounted on the breakout.
The nice thing about eeDesign is that you can give the same problem, or PCB design for this matter, to 100 engineers and you will end up with 100 different solutions. I think that's the beauty of it: seeing what people come out with and how they solve a particular challenge.
Following your comments, I have also developed a similar board which is very much a collection of your comments. As you, I don't like permanent serial. The board is a mixture of the Nano and mini Pro but the USB breaks out of the board. All IOs and chip peripherals are on the sides of the board. This board is going to a local seminar I give on embedded realtime systems as part of the lectures I've prepared - a very cheap solution for the organizer -. I received the shipping notification from the fab house so the boards should be here soon.
Here is a little snap shot of the board (the arduSTICK - presentation in society).
