LightBlue Bean+

via Adafruit
$241.78
SKU AF-3254

The LightBlue Bean+ is a low energy Bluetooth Arduino microcontroller that is programmed wirelessly and is perfect for your smartphone controlled projects! With Bean, you can program wirelessly from any of your devices.

Using Bluetooth 4.0, this Arduino-compatible board is a serial protocol that allows the LBM313 Bluetooth Low Energy module and Atmega328p to communicate both messages from the client (OS X, iOS, etc.) to the Arduino. As well as send special commands to the LBM313 to do things like read the temperature sensor and set the LED.

In other words, this tiny little bean can handle anything from opening your combination lock with your phone to reminding you to pick up Almond milk from the grocery store, to turning your fan on automatically when you get too hot. The folks over at Punch Through Design have made it easy to wirelessly program The LightBlue Bean+ from your iOS (iPhone/iPad), Android phone/tablet, Mac or PC! Check out a few example projects here!

Bean+ comes with a LiPo battery and charges just like any other micro-USB device. If you need more capacity, simply solder on your own LiPo as a replacement. Bean+ operates at either 3.3 or 5 volts, so it can talk to all your favorite peripherals. You won’t have to limit which parts you can use because of incompatible operating voltages. Additionally, with a new RF amplifier, the Bean+ can communicate with other Bean+'s from up to 400 meters (1,300 ft) under ideal conditions, or 250 meters (820 ft) to your smartphone.

Built in Features Include:

  • 3-axis accelerometer
  • Temperature sensor
  • RGB LED
  • 3.7V 600mAh LiPo battery
  • ATmega 328p @ 8 MHz clock speed
  • 16 digital I/O pins, 6 analog pins
  • Bluetooth LE Peripheral (not Central-capable)
  • Wireless programming
  • 2 built-in Grove ports for easy and quick component connection
  • Support on OS X, iOS, Windows 8+! Not supported by Windows 7

For more information check out Bean Talk, the LightBlue forums! Find guides, documentation, and examples here. Ask questions about Arduino & Bluetooth, and share your projects here.

Note: Battery is included!