How to choose a MicroController

Step 6 The $100 Paradox

If your budget extends as far as $100 for the computing hardware, it's worth noting that you
have bought your way into an interesting realm of "bang for buck."

"About" $100 will buy:

- Relatively fancy development board for most micros; covering a wide range of processors and performances (including PC compatibles, for instance.)
- brand new Low end palmtop (ie Palm Z22)
- used last-generation desktop system (go two generations old and you can probably get a display too.)

It WON'T buy much in the way of custom development, if you're paying for it.

Now a palmtop makes a lousy motor controller. But if you "need" the color display and touchscreen, it might be easier (and cheaper) to add motor control electronics to a palmtop than it is to add a display to a bare microcontroller. Especially since the palmtop comes with a development environment for making the display DO things...