I am evaluating OMAP boards to use as the base of a new
product we are designing. The predicted quantities of the product
will likely be in the 10,000s. However I've just tried to buy a
beagle board for evaluation and could not find any in stock and the
distributors were unsure as to when the units will be available.
The boards look to be well supported and have a vibrant community
but I need to be sure I can obtain the boards when the product levels
increase (our first off order quantity is 325). I noted that there
was a comment in the yearly address email about the availability of
boards and I haev experienced it firsthand. Could you update the
status of manufacture of the boards please and let me know if the
supply chain is looking solid/improving?
Sorry, but the BeagleBoard is not for sale for use an ANY product. It is a community board for the community. If you need a board for use in a product, you may want to look at one of the other boards that are out there.
Beagle is an open source effort and as such all of the documentation is out there for you to build your own version of the board using the same design material as is used on the BeagleBoard. But, it will be at that point your product and you will be responsible for arranging production of the board.
I am evaluating OMAP boards to use as the base of a new
product we are designing. The predicted quantities of the product
will likely be in the 10,000s. However I've just tried to buy a
beagle board for evaluation and could not find any in stock and the
distributors were unsure as to when the units will be available.
The boards look to be well supported and have a vibrant community
but I need to be sure I can obtain the boards when the product levels
increase (our first off order quantity is 325). I noted that there
was a comment in the yearly address email about the availability of
boards and I haev experienced it firsthand. Could you update the
status of manufacture of the boards please and let me know if the
supply chain is looking solid/improving?
Heya,
The supply chain seemed to be improving last time I looked; however,
if you (or indeed anyone else) wants a Beagle, I have three or four C3s
spare here (in Cambridge, UK) - make me an offer (or borrow one for
free if you're close - WHOIS reckons you might be :-)).
As Gerald says, you don't want to buy beagles for real products
(particularly if you want 10k+ of them!); plenty of people (such as
our good selves :-)) will build you something more or less custom
for less and the Beagle supply chain isn't really geared for
productisation - you might also want to talk to TI directly about
which of their products is best for you,