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BLE Devices Nov '14 |
The speed at which the BLE device market is growing is almost ridiculous. Quite a few of the below devices were not even available a month ago! Here we attempt review of cost and information on the chipsets used. |
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The purpose of this page is not to provide a complete and comprehensive list of all BLE and BLE compatible devices, but to explore the hardware behind a majority for the purposes of my final year project.
There are quite a lot of different BLE devices being both developed and currently released. AisleLabs has a comprehensive list of primed and ready BLE devices here.
The BLE device market can be condensed down to 4 different chips
- Nordic Semiconductor nRF51822 SoC
- Single chip, 2.4 GHz multi-protocol device
- 32-bit ARM Cortex M0 CPU core
- 256kB/128kB flash + 32kB/16kB RAM
- Texas Instruments TI CC2540
- 8051 MCU (8 or 16 bit)
- In-System-Programmable Flash, 128 KB or 256 KB
- 8-KB SRAM
- Bluegiga Bluegiga BLE113 (suspiciously similar to the TI CC2540?)
- 8051 microcontroller
- 8kB RAM
- 128kB or 256kB Flash
- Gimbal proprietary chip, further information is currently unknown
- Not much is known about the chipset
| Title of Device | Manufacturer | CPU | Battery | Available | Pricing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimote Sticker | Estimote | Cortex M0 / nRF51822 SoC | Integrated Battery | Autumn 2014 (Delayed) | $10 (each) | |
| Estimote Tag | Estimote | Cortex M0 / nRF51822 SoC | 620 mAh CR2450 (Not replaceable) | Yes | $33 (each) | |
| Bleu Station Beacons | Twocanoes | N/A | USB Power | Yes | $83 (each) | |
| Redbeacon | Twocanoes | N/A | USB Power | Yes | $83 (each) | |
| Bleep Beacon | Rainmaker Labs | ?? | Battery ?? | Yes | $33 (each) | |
| Gimbal | Qualcomm | N/A | 240mAh | No | - | Looks a little while out |
| Particle | KStechnologies | Cortex M0 / nRF51822 SoC | 240mAh CR2032 | Yes | $40 | |
| Radbeacon Tag | Radius Networks | CPU | CR2032 coin-cell battery (replaceable) | Yes | $39 | |
| IKBS 105 beacons | Accent Systems | TI CC2540 ?? | 240mAh CR2032 (replaceable) | Yes | €16 (each) | Accelerometer |
| AprilBeacon 241 | April Brother | TI CC2540 | 620mAh CR2450 (replaceable) | Yes | $15 | Very small, chip same size as battery |
| BlueBar Beacon | BlueSense Networks (UK) | Bluegiga BLE113 | 620mAh CR2450 (replaceable) | Yes | £20.99 | Long range extender available, with it indoor range 200m, line of sight 450m |
| Glimworm | Gilmworm | TI CC2540 ?? | 620mAh CR2450 (replaceable) | Yes | €24.50 | |
| kontact.io | kontact.io | Cortex M0 / nRF51822 SoC | 1000 mAh CR2477 (replaceable) | N/A | N/A | |
| MineW | Shenzhen Minew Technologies | TI CC2540 | 1000mAH CR2477 (replaceable) | Yes | $8 | |
| Recco | Perples, Inc / LG | Cortex M0 / nRF51822 SoC | 620mAh CR2450 | Yes | $30 | They're gorgeous! |
| Model X | Roximity | Cortex M0 / nRF51822 SoC | 240mAh CR2032 | Yes | $66 | Seems very business focused |
| Sensorberg | Sensorberg | TI CC2540 | 620 mAh CR2450 | Yes | €30 | Has online platform & SDK |
| SensorTag | Texas Instruments | TI CC2540 | 240 mAh CR2032 | Yes | $25 | Lots of integrated sensors |
| Tōd | Tōdally | Bluegiga BLE113 | 240mAh CR2032 | Yes | $40 | |
| Gelo | Gelo Inc. | Unknown | 2xAAA ~1000mAh | Yes | $35 | Works in all weather conditions |
| Airfy Beacon | Airfy | Unknown | Unknown | No | - | Currently in kickstarter |
| Title of Device | Manufacturer | CPU | Available | Pricing | SDK(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLE Nano | Redbear Labs | ARM Cortex M0 | Yes | $38 (Incl. USB Board) | Multiple | USB Board available, board is Nordic nRF51822 SoC |
| Blend Micro | Redbear Labs | Atmel ATmega32U4 | No | N/A | Nordic Arduino SDK | UART for compatibility to Raspiberry Pi, Arduino etc.. |
| Blend | Redbear Labs | Atmel ATmega32U4 | No | N/A | Nordic Arduino SDK | UART for compatibility to Raspiberry Pi, Arduino etc.. |
| BLE Shield | Redbear Labs | Slave Operation | Yes | $23.66 | Nordic Arduino SDK | |
| BLE Mini | Redbear Labs | TI CC2540 | Yes | $23.66 | Broken link to SDK | |
| BLEduino | Kytelabs | Atmel ATmega32U4 | No | N/A | - | Kickstarter active |
| Title of Device | Manufacturer | CPU | Available | Pricing | SDK(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LightBlue Bean | Punch Through Design | TI CC2540 | Yes | $28.50 (each) | Arduino | |
| Edison | Intel | Atom Slivermont 22nm | Yes | $75 | Arduino |