I wonder, why Mini is more expensive than Panda? The same chip and nothing more than on Panda, only smaller size.
Probably its due to demand… I think the panda is selling a lot better than the mini, and its a better step for arduino / netduino users I suppose.
Cheers Ian
I am not allowed to say anything but I will give you a hint… check the website back in couple days
I’d say it was originally more because of manufacturing costs. The panda was built to be the lowest price point possible, whereas the mini was built more for functionality. The mini is double sided SMT which also costs more to assemble.
And RS232 circuitry
Maybe MarkH is right. But the price for the Mini has dropped to 39.95 which is only roughly 5 dollars away from the Panda. Now if you need something that Arduino-form-factor fit then it is perfect for you. However, for us we find that the Mini is small enough such that we can design our board to 1.5 inch X 2.5 inch and have females connectors where the Fez Mini just plug right on top perfectly. Our main circuits are on the extended board while the Mini is just a plug in on top to serve as the main processor. Five more dollars for a small size Fez, I think it’s reasonable although we bought it at 49.95, btw, yay to GHI bringing the price down for the mini.
Still i’ll check back in a couple days to see why!
That is what I was trying to say, I couldn’t say it yesterday but now I will happily say that many board prices have been dropped.
I think new price for FEZ mini makes it very attractive and more competitive. The other alternative of the same size is netduino mini which is 10 dollars less (now). But FEZ Mini is almost twice as fast has more features and built-in mini usb. FEZ Mini is the absolute winner for me in its category.
the “other” mini + serial cable = (you do the math) …and like you said the speed …and do not forget about the GHI exclusive libraries too.
The built in USB makes it way more convenient for me… I don’t want to debug over serial… or deploy, or even deal with COM ports.
“…I don’t want to debug over serial… or deploy, or even deal with COM ports.”
Oo. And thanks Gus for new site. Looks good.
That really sux, I just bought a fez mini at full price only a week ago - Still like it though.
Oh well - C’est la vie