ARM and IBM come with new development board for internet of things applications

ARM has teamed up with IBM to release the Ethernet IoT Starter Kit, a development board with an ARM Cortex M4-soc. The starter kit is intended for developers and small businesses that want to quickly link internet of things applications to IBM cloud services, among others.

The Freescale K64F soc of the Ethernet IoT Starter Kit is based on ARM’s Cortex M4 chip design. It is specifically intended for embedded applications. The soc runs at 120MHz. Furthermore, there is 256KB working memory, as well as 1MB flash memory. There is also an Ethernet connection available.

Compared to the earlier IoT starter package from ARM and IBM, the hardware has become more powerful: the older board still had to make do with a 96MHz Cortex M3 soc, 32KB ram and 512KB flash memory. In addition, the new version has more SPI and L2C connections. An expansion kit is also available. It offers various sensors, including a thermometer, an accelerometer, two potentiometers, a buzzer and an LED that can display three colors.

IBM is participating in ARM’s IoT project to promote its cloud services. With the included ARM mbed OS, developers can link to IBM’s BlueMix cloud service. In addition, the development board can be read via an IBM website. Suggested retail prices for the Ethernet IoT Starter Kit and various optional accessories have not yet been announced, but ARM tells the BBC that the kit will cost somewhere between $50, about $44, and $200.