Date: 06/02/2009

Handheld prototyping tool for small computing devices

ST Microelectronics has gone further to help product designers prove their own ideas quickly and independently, by adding a rich range of features such as touchscreen, built-in audio and an extension connector to its series of self-contained handheld platforms for embedded design.
The latest STM32 Primer2 is about the size of a cellphone, and comes with a 128x160-pixel color touchscreen, a joystick/push button, extension connector and pre-loaded sample applications. There is also a built-in USB port, a MicroSD card slot, and other features, such as an accelerometer and an infrared transmitter/receiver, that allow users to quickly add numerous extra capabilities and functions to their applications. All of these components are easy to manage through the built-in software framework, the open-source CircleOS.
Using the STM32 Primer2, users can present a high-quality prototype, rather than a conventional engineering development board, to create a better first impression with minimal design-start investment.

The STM32 Primer2 enables product developers with diverse skills to access the power of ST's 32-bit STM32 microcontroller, which is available in three families targeting USB-based applications. Available devices have Flash memory ranging from 16KB to 512KB, and all models across all families are pin-compatible for maximum flexibility and easier design upgrades to existing products.

Availability: The STM32 Primer2 is in production now
Price: $49 each.

Further information on ST can be found at www.st.com