MICROBIT BBC Micro:bit Micro-Controller with Motion Detection, Compass, LED Display and Bluetooth, Model Number: MB80

An impulse buy of an electronics kit on Sale jogged my love for the subject of electronics. Since then I've been dabbling in all kinds of micro-controllers and Single Board Computers as a hobbyist.This is the first time, I've run into a product that can get you started on the subject with such an inexpensive investment. Whilst other micro-controllers would require you to buy some of the sensors as separate modules, this awesome little device comes with some of them on board and built it! Other than this board, all you will need to code your first project is a micro-USB cable and a computer with an internet connection!The most basic program to get you started on the Microbit site is the "Rock, Paper, Scissors" game. If you want to build this game on a traditional micro-controller platform, you would probably need a breadboard, an accelerometer sensor module, a bunch of messy wires and most importantly the know-how to communicate with an accelerometer module, read the measurements and then if you want to display the image of a Rock, Paper or Scissors, you will need some kind of an LCD monitor and the knowledge to program pixel images on the display!But on this chip, all you need is to hook up the board to the USB cable, finish your first lesson and simply shake the board to play the "Rock Paper Scissors Game"! Awesome!One thing though. If you come from a traditional computer programming background, the Javascript Block Editor may take a little getting used to. The "point, click and place" editor will need a couple of iterations to come to terms with. However, once you've run your first blocks program, you should be all set!But then, those who absolutely dislike the Blocks editor, Microbit offers the Python editor, which is another beloved language of the web today.If I had to get my kid started, this chip would be my first choice before gravitating towards higher level and more granular hardware and IoT platforms!

Unlike other micro-controllers for beginners, this one looks great, has two integrated buttons for input, a LED array for the output and even an accelerometer.You can try programming right away without even wiring up some additional stuff because the buttons and the output are already there. Then you can gradually try something else, initially with simple wires that do not need a breadboard (there are four huge holes to connect to).Programming is easy via a web site and there are lots of examples to copy. Uploading a program is as easy as dragging and dropping a file onto a disk. I haven't had so much simple fun - with immediate results to see - in years.Disconnecting the power connector is a bit difficult. Use either the USB port (the same as for uploading code) or find a battery pack with a power switch.

Device is small, not exactly a beginners programming device. Uses "a little" pre knowledge to understand. Will say it would have been helpful to come with the data/power cord. Had to dig through some old ones as none of my devices use this anymore. But I got it going and had some fun. 5 stars

The BBC micro:bit is a fun little board, and with 256 kB of flash and an ARM Cortex-M0, processor, it runs nice and fast.But this seller is charging $23 for something that other sellers (for example Adafruit) sell for $16. The package I received was just the board and some documentation - no batteries/cables/etc that one might expect. And not even the jolly green box depicted in the image.Buying one of the kits that has some cables, maybe a LiPo battery, and better documentation (though the BBC documentation itself is plenty good enough) might make a better choice, unless (like me) you have lots of batteries and cables and stuff just lying around "the Lab".

The board works well and the LED matric has a surprising amount of functionality. It took me a while to get used to the scrolling error messages. It's nice to have Bluetooth for wireless connectivity, but it seems to be limited to BLE features. I was pleased that it worked with my iPad, but wish it at least had an audio jack (a piezoelectric speaker would have been nice).

I ordered this thinking it was a v1 board. What I received is a v2 board. It has been redesigned and has many new features. I am well pleased with this purchase.

This seemed like a great idea; but it's an idea that was not quite pursued to completion and has now been abandoned by the BBC who started it. Some sort of organization has picked up _some_ of the pieces, but too many critical links are broken - for example, the Android app you are supposed to download no longer exists.You can do a _few_ thinks in Make Code, but nothing that leverages the Bluetooth radio works - if you're very lucky the device will show up in a scan, but it is not possible to connect to it.And the whole download a file from your web browser to the USB drive thing isn't quite clever enough to work without having to recopy it from the downloads directory each time.If someone who works with these types of systems professionally all day every day has this much trouble with it, how is the target audience of elementary school students supposed to get anywhere?

Love this platform. So easy to get started and well supported. I usually focus on arduino projects, however the ease and feature set up this platform is very attractive. I can't wait until my kid is old enough to read and get started with this!

The media could not be loaded.  My daughter had been getting into coding using the free (and amazing) Khan academy.We use MicroBits at work with stem outreach for schools so I thought I’d take the plunge and see how my 9YO got on.Connectivity is slick via Bluetooth to an IPad or similar app. The Microbit app is simple but varied, gradually introducing different principles of coding such as variables, logic statements, loops and lots more. It does all of this in a beautifully easy block layout meaning it’s super simple to follow what you are doing.The tutorials are simple and guided, allowing parents or children in their own to work unaided.Interestingly the Microbit was design for Year 5 (9-10YO) but they found wider engagement outside of the classroom with Year 7, hence why this is where they were targeted. My 9YO LOVES 💖 it.So far we have made...A pedometer, Rock paper scissors game, secret signs, name badges, scrolling messages. All from a cold start with no real coding experience.Gorgeous introduction to a wonderful world and something that every Fortnite obsessed child should have a go at. And at this price there’s little to lose!Update after a week... some amazing projects. The hardware is very versatile, we made a light meter graph with the LED array where they also function as light detectors. BRILLIANT.I don’t want to over do this, but my 9YO daughter who has never coded before did all of this.. 😮

Only the BBC Microbit device came within an Amazon envelop. No BBC Microbit branded box as displayed in the advertisement. Not satisfied as cannot be given a present. Product is working but how it presented is wrong. There are cheap ones without the original cover.

This is a great little device. It's especially great if you are starting out with microcontrollers, the simplicity of this device is just amazing!Little overview:The BBC micro:bit is a microcontroller designed ease of use, it was originally made with the intention of getting kids into coding.They later released the product to the wider public and despite it being for 'kids' anyone can use it.The BBC micro:bit has some pretty cool components in it already, it has a:- 5x5 LED grid- A light sensor- An accelerometer and compass- 2 buttons- Bluetooth- 20 pins of which 3 are digital/analogue input/output- Battery connectorThese make it very easy to do a fair amount of projects without having to buy a new new components.

So I've been using the micro:bit for about a week now and I have to say I'm surprised with all the different functions they managed to fit into such a small microcontroller. This seems like an amazing way for someone to start to get into programming and the world of Computer Science so I'd recommend something like this for someone aged 12+ that would be interested in this kind of thing. Just be aware that you only receive the micro:bit in this package so you'll also need a micro usb cable (to plug into your PC and transfer your code) as well as a 2xAAA battery pack (to run the code on the micro:bit away from your PC).

Intended for Year 7 pupils(11 - 12 years) my 7 and 10 year old grandchildren have had a lot of fun coding this versatile computer. The website is bewildering at first and needs to be rationalised but the Microsoft block editor allows quick coding and exciting results for a PC. What is even more exciting is converting that code to blue tooth it from touch-screen devices to the Micro-bit cable free.