What would be the differences from an end user perspective between series 1 and series 2(2.5?) and how does the chip antenna perform over the wire antenna? The wire antenna i use keeps breaking often..so i was wondering if the chip would be a good alternative.
Cheers,
Pracas
Series 1 chips are easier to use for most purposes. They provide direct I/O port manipulation. However they don't allow mesh networking. They are only point to point and point to multipoint. Mesh networking allows the signal to be relayed through multiple nodes before it gets to your final destination. If you absolutely need that capability then get series 2. Otherwise get series 1.
As far as chip/wire, ive only used the chip ones and have never had any problems with them, but I haven't done any range testing so its kinda hard to say. If you want to push the limits of the range you might want to go with an externally mounted antennae.
From an end-user perspective, there should be no difference between a device with a Series 1 XBee and one with a Series 2/2.5 XBee.
From a developer perspective, there is a huge difference. The Series 1 models are designed for point-to-point communication. One XBee talks to one other XBee.
The Series 2 models are designed to form a network, using auto-discovery and broadcast.
Which series to use with the Arduino all depends on what you are trying to accomplish.
The antenna style dictates range. Chip antennas have the shortest range. Wire antennas are a good compromise. The whip antennas give the greatest range.
I found the wire antennas a bit annoying when prototyping, but in the finished product, they work well. Were I to do that project again, I'd get two XBees with chip antennas and two with the wires. I'd build the project using the chip XBees and then swap in the wire XBees before delivery.
I've been using wires and they are kind of getting flimsy over a period(perhaps i abused the storage part! ) so i thought chip... but then if the range is a problem then the wire antenna should be a better option i suppose...
What kind of range are you looking to get out of them? Is this for a commercial project or just for personal use?
I recall someone telling me a while back that (to my surprise, actually) that there is no difference between the chip and antenna versions in terms of range, which is why I have always used chip. I'm ordering new xbee's this week, so if someone could give a DEFINITE answer on the difference, I would appreciate it, because I might as well go for antenna.
I would like to direct your attention to:
ftp1 digi com/support/images/XST-AN019a_XBeeAntennas.pdf
There is your answer
To sum up, wire better than chip outdoors, inside they are about the same.
grrr i can't post links! if you put that in your browser (with the dots) it should work.
I have been using the chip antennas on my demo boards. Less likely to get
damaged when I toss my boards in my bag.
(* jcl *)
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Well i ended up buying the wired ones again... but this time with a usb explorer board(clone) and wow! the range and communication were excellent! far better than before. one hard lesson i learnt was that there is no need for level conversion(i spent a lot of time doing this 
) it just worked fine.
Less likely to get
damaged when I toss my boards in my bag.
That happened to some of modules before..
pracas