Adafruit has posted a notice reminding its customers that the micro:bit will soon be available, inviting people to sign up to be notified when they are available. If you can't wait, UK-based Tech Will Save Us already ships worldwide.

We reported BBC Micro:Bit Goes Worldwide back in October, but it seems that was somewhat premature. The announcement on Adafruit, probably the best known Maker outlet now has a product page for the device which states:

This product is coming soon! There's no ETA and no pricing quite yet - but you'll be sure to hear about it when there is! Please sign up to be notified the moment these are available

The micro:bit is a pocket-sized computer that you can code, customize and control to bring your digital ideas, games and apps to life. Each element is completely programmable via easy-to-use software that can be accessed from a PC, laptop, tablet, or mobile.

It’s a small, code-able device that can be programmed to light up using a series of tiny LEDs. A non-intimidating introduction to programming and making – switch on, program it to do something fun – wear it, customize it, develop new ideas.

micro:bit combines a pocket- sized coding device featuring several sensors and LED’s, with a website full of coding languages, helping you get creative – from making your own games to taking selfies, the possibilities are endless.

There are two programmable buttons that can be used to control games or pause and skip songs on a playlist. The micro:bit can even detect motion (using an accelerometer) and tell you which direction you are heading in (using a magnetometer/compass chip).

The other sense in which the previous headline was misleading is that, in expanding its territory,  the micro:bit has lost its prestigious "BBC" prefix. Now if you go to its website, which still has the url microbit.org you'll arrive on a landing page that has a few differences - the most significant being the lack of the letters BBC at the left of the menu bar:

(See here for the previous version) 

The copyright notice now refers to the Micro:bit Educational Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that came into being in October with the aim of reaching 100 million people worldwide, according to its director, Zach Shelby, formerly Director of Technology for Internet of Things at ARM. The site now has a Developer Community section that isn't just for education:

Shelby announced that the device would initially be available in the UK and Europe and that a new version would be manufactured for the USA and China in 2017.

Although pre-teens were the original target audience for the micro:bit is a perfectly suitable device to play a role on IoT (Internet of Things) and is su

Shelby announced that the device would initially be available in the UK and Europe and that a new version would be manufactured for the USA and China in 2017.

Although pre-teens were the original target audience for the micro:bit, it is also a perfectly suitable device to play a role on IoT (Internet of Things); after all it is built on top of the ARM mbed IoT software for which the supporting C/C++ libraries have been open sourced, see .The BBC Micro:bit Is An Mbed Device In C/C++. If you are interested in this potential see Harry Fairhead's book, which presents details of sensors and circuits with several complete programs.

Back in July when we reported BBC Micro:bit Now On Sale and Shipping, we looked at the resources for young makers to have fun with it available from Technology Will Save Us, a UK-based company which was one of the original partners in the BBC-led initiative to hand out micro:bits to a million school children for free. TechWillSaveUs had already launched a Craft Pack with twelve hand-on projects. This company now has a Micro:Bot pack, again for the age range 11 years and older, that lets you build and code three different toy robots. A mega pack, containing a micro:bit plus the two add-ons, is also available and all these products can be shipped across the world. 

More Information

micro:bit

micro:bit on Adafruit

micro:bit on Technology Will Save Us

micro:bit:developer community

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