PunchThrough LightBlue Bean

The PunchThrough LightBlue Bean is a fantastically quirky product in all the right ways. The Bean is an oval with Bluetooth low energy connectivity, an accelerometer, thermometer, RGB LED, and built-in prototyping area. It is Arduino compatible, which means that many of the Arduino libraries and sketches will work on the Bean without too much tweaking. Coding the device is straightforward. Using a customized version of the Arduino IDE and the supplemental LightBlue Bean loader, code is sent to the device over Bluetooth low energy. This makes flashing the Bean straightforward.

PunchThrough LightBlue Bean	http://punchthrough.com
Specs
Type:	Microcontroller
Price:	$30
Software:	Arduino
Clock Speed:	8 MHz
Processor:	8-bit ATMega328
I/O Pins Digital:	6 (PWM 4)
I/O Pins Analog:	2
WiFi?:	No
Video?:	No
Bluetooth?:	Yes
Ethernet?:	No
Operating Voltage:	3V
Dimensions:	1.8 in x 0.8 in
Memory:	32KB flash
Additional Features:	RGB LED; 3-axis accelerometer; mobile app

By Make: Editors

Published: January 4, 2016

Why To Buy

The LightBlue Bean is a fantastic board to buy if you’re interested in Bluetooth low energy. And if you’re at all interested in wearables, you should be into BLE. Since the board is Arduino compatible, it presents a familiar programming experience and lets you get down to what matters: prototyping your project quickly.