Spark Electron - Dev Kit with mobile internet from $ 39

The creators of Spark Core after the success of the first project launched a new campaign replacing the WiFi module with a 3G with their SIM card.


A year after sending the first batches of Spark, its improved and cheaper version, Photon, was announced. Now announced the collection of funds for the new version of the Photon with 2G and 3G modules - Electron.

The idea and the essence of the device remain the same - the Arduino-compatible controller on ARM with a permanent connection to the Internet. Included with the controller is a SIM card that provides communication in North America or 27 countries in Europe (optional) upd Almost all over the world! Including Russia. For this, spark.io will become MVNO and will issue cards under its brand.

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Communication will not be free, but, according to the authors, at a reasonable price.

• $ 2.99 / month for the first MB (about 20 thousand messages)
• $ 0.99 for each additional MB
• No subscription

20,000 messages will be enough for everyone

Although it is not necessary to pay them, you can put your local SIM card. To save the firmware download via USB (Spark is usually updated via WiFI).

Speck

• STM32F205 ARM Cortex M3
• 1MB Flash, 128K RAM
• Modem: U-Blox SARA U-series (3G) or G-series (2G)
• 36 pins: 28 GPIOs (D0-D13, A0-A13), plus TX / RX, 2 GND, VIN, VBAT, WKP, 3V3, RST
• Dimensions: 51 x 20 x 7.6 mm (12.7 mm with pins)

The campaign will last until the first of March. So there is still time to decide whether you need it.
From myself I will say that Spark Core has been very successful. The project has a large community, a low threshold of entry and rich functionality out of the box. Sending devices will begin in October of this year. The first Spark went on time. We can hope that this time the creators will not let you down.

By the way, the 3G version uses the same chip that was praised in the Intel blog . So it will soon be possible to get it for your Internet of Things projects in a ready-made, digestible form.