- Arduino
- Uno
- Mega
- Ethernet shield
- Motor shield
- SD card + XBee socket shield
- Mega ADK for Android
- Parallax
- Propeller dev kit (at $40, that's only $5/core!)
- Basic stamp dev kit
- Altimeter
- GPS
- XBee modules
- Serial LCD
- Ultrasonic sensor
- Make
- Basic Ardunio kit
- Ultimate microcontroller kit (Arduino version)
- Make: Electronics packs #1 & #2 (complements the book)
- Velleman:
- not sure if open source hardware, but various soldering kits & couple dev kits
I was also happy to see two different RadioShack-branded Christmas kits: a simple RBG LED for an ornament (like the Maker Faire badges)
and a LED "fireplace":
I heard criticism a couple times that even if RadioShack sells this stuff, the staff isn't savvy enough to assist customers. Well, I was very impressed that the sales associate that talked to me was a EE major in his senior year and very excited about the new products. The other associate was very interested to learn what Arduino Android ADK could do. Of course, that was sample size of one visit to one store, but I would hope that the same energy that flows through Maker Faire will catch on with some of the employees.
Also, I got a RadioShack Arduino flyer in the mail last week with 2 coupons: $5 off $20+ and $10 off $50+ which makes the pricing very competitive.
You could get the Make Arduino starter kit for $25 after coupon. Or in my case, I went back last night to pick up the Arduino Mega ADK (Android Dev Board) for $75 after coupon - which is cheaper than SparkFun's new $80 Electric Sheep ADK board:
Oh, and they had reprints of all the Forrest Mims mini-notebooks along with couple Arduino books. It looks like there are plenty of stores in Chicagoland with this stock and around the US. The best way to check is to click the 'Find in Store' button on Arduino product page:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12268262
I think what would really get things going would be for there to be some cool in-store demos. I mean, hey, they sell a ton of cellphones, the majority of which are Android, so why not show the cool stuff Arduino ADK board can do. Imagine someone walking into RadioShack looking for a phone to play Angry Birds, and comes out a maker-to-be!
P.S. I do want to give recognition to MicroCenter (http://www.microcenter.com/), the computer store, for being the first large chain store I've visited that sells Arduino and other open source hardware from SparkFun and Make. But I'm really excited about RadioShack given the sheer number of stores they have nationally. Put this all together, it's great for Open Source Hardware and the Maker movement.
Cheers,
Drew
