Hello! I wanted to get started in robotics as I will take part in a robotics competition with my school.From youtube videos and online searching I found out Arduino is pretty beginner-friendly.
From 2 days of searching I narrowed down to 3 options:
1)Buy a beginner kit with a compatible arduino uno r3 board, aswell as some brick leds,cables,button ,book,etc.
2)Buy an original arduino board aswell as the cable needed.
3)Buy this kuongshun clone that seems pretty good. It says that it has the atmega16u2 chip and not the ch340g one(I heard it was a pain to get the drivers and chinese sites with sketchy drivers are a no)so this inspires me trust.
Of course, for the last 2 I would have to buy the beginner leds,etc separately but that doesn't matter.What do you think?I don't want to fry a genuine board and buy another one as they are expensive in my country.Also I would look to use this board for other school related projects.
For most people starting out a clone can represent a very good starting point given the amount of extras included.
That said the OFFICIAL kit has a fantastic book and all that is needed that will guide absolute beginners through very basic stuff to a point where they may feel more inclined to jump into thier own projects.
The clone you pointed to represents exceptional value as a board ONLY.
There is nothing wrong with the clone drivers if you get them from HERE
They pass every security check I have tried so far.
I would suggest either a proper KIT or a clone KIT.
Started here with the OFFICIAL one.
Bob.
Suggest you buy an official Arduino from the people that pay for this web site.