To the UDOO team, I want by first saying that your product looks incredible! I can't wait to pick one up and check out the ARM+Arduino abilities. As an electronics newbie, I feel that it really helps to have a complete package similar to the Arduino Starter Kit. This kit would contain: UDOO board A detailed project book discussing electronics (resisters, capacitors, etc.) and several complete projects using those topics Solderless breadboard All of the necessary components needed to complete the projects (wires included) 12V Power Supply Real time clock adapter (if you feel this would be valuable) Optional microSD card loaded with Linux or Android (or something similar to NOOBS with Raspberry Pi) Optional HDMI cable Optional Ethernet cable Optional micro USB cable for debugging or OTG interface Since this product is geared for education purposes, I'm sure there will be various books and tutorials that will be released in the future. However, to a person just starting out, it's just nice to have a kit with everything bundled together. Otherwise, someone would have to piece together all of the necessary components to complete the projects which for a newbie is pretty hard. Just a thought. Please let me know your thoughts on these "all-in-one" project kits.
well if you check out the UDOO Store you can add a starter pack, and it includes: EXCLUSIVE UDOO 8GB micro sd (not preloaded) HDMI cable USB Type A to Micro USB Type B cable (also for OTG) And right now the UDOO comes with a free power supply so that really is all you need to get started. The breadboard is a bit excess right now and with wifi/ethernet NTP works well so the RTC is quite optional. Its probably way too early for solid books or cookbooks/project books atm. The UDOO is still in its early phases of development on the software side. The hardware is pretty well done and also pretty well documented but the software side is changing every day and what can be done with the UDOO is also changing everyday as the UDOO development team, Beta testers and overall community figure out how to make different things work. Things that dont work today (Processing, Oracle JDK, etc) are likely going to get sorted out and will be working tomorrow. As much as i would like to see electronic newbies start with an UDOO i think it may be a bit premature because they would get it and maybe get a negative taste due to so many things changing, still lots of software bugs and so on. its going to be a few months before its solid. Not that it stopped the Raspberry Pi. but UDOO isnt started up with the press and media clammering over a $25 computer, the UDOO is notably more pricey (although for what you are gettings its very well priced).
Draco makes some good points. Several more weeks is needed before you'd want to pitch the UDOO with a starter kit like you describe. A little time is needed for the software side to mature, but I have confidence it won't take very long at all (after all, the companies behind UDOO are experienced in these things). Still, it makes sense for UDOO (the company) to source and buy in such kits and put together a bundle and mark it up, tweaking the accompanying generic documentation to suit the UDOO board. Given their contacts within Education such a documentation task may even be outsourced as a project to under or post-grads. UDOO have already announced their intention to offer Camera modules and just today LCD Panels... I'm sure in time other hardware/accessories would be added and a 'electronics project kit' would be a worthy candidate.
Yes im sure it will be a great platform with its combination of powerful ARM based Linux married with the powerful Arduino Due compatible board the possibilities for practical and educational kits are endless, especially when you add shields, screens, cameras and all of that.. I think its going to be great to be part of this ecosystem as it develops over the next few months. But it is going to take a few months for the dust to settle from the initial release.. As long as we dont lose steam things should keep moving right along nicely.
Thanks for the quick responses. I definitely agree with both of you that the product will need to be in a more finalized and mature state before any such kit or publication could be created. I was merely suggesting a future consideration to help adoption. I can't tell you how many YouTube videos that I've come across titled something along the lines of "I have a Raspberry Pi, now what?". A kit would help alleviate that question. I recently purchased both the Arduino Starter Kit and the Raspberry Pi (with camera board and SD card). I'll play with the Raspberry Pi at some point, but I can't wait to learn and work my way through the projects in the Arduino kit. Like I stated before, I think UDOO is a wonderful piece of hardware and I'm just trying to think of ways to help it stand out from the other ARM+Arduino boards (esp. the recently released Arduino Tre).
well over the next few months im sure a lot of the things you are talking about will come together. getting tutorials and kits and cookbooks (project books) together. We will get there.. Competing with the Arduino Tre is going to be a very challenging thing to do. While on paper the UDOO out competes the Tre on pretty much everything, they have the powerhouse behind them that is Arduino and Ti's Beaglebone. One of the things i want to try and really work on with UDOO is some of the things that beaglebone brings to the table that no other board has (well the Tr will likely have it now). Its that new user experience. The fact that a new user can take a beaglebone out of its tin case, plug it into the PC follow a couple lines of instructions and be guided through a whole setup process right to a usable interface where they can start making the board work for them, making LEDs blink, the equivalent of "hello world". no extra parts needed. I think getting UDOO to a place like that would REALLY go a long way to help get new user adoption up and help people learn. simply having better specs will not win the race. UDOO will have to work to build a great community and great software with a very good UX (User Experience). Without that, it will remain in the shadows... something we are all working hard to prevent.
