RFduino - Simblee Starter Kit

The Simblee Starter Kit bundles everything you need to begin prototyping with Bluetooth Low Energy. The kit includes the Simblee DIP mainboard, a USB programming shield, and an RGB LED/Button shield — ready to connect to your computer and start coding through the Arduino IDE.

The Simblee is a BLE 4.0 module with a built-in ARM Cortex-M0 processor. It operates at 3.3 V, draws only 10 mA in RX mode (under 3 µA in ultra-low power), and lets you build custom smartphone interfaces via Bluetooth — no Xcode or Android SDK required. The USB shield includes a 3.3 V regulator to power the Simblee and additional shields.

Key Features

• ARM Cortex-M0 at 16 MHz – 128 KB flash, 24 KB RAM
• Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy – 2.4 GHz band, built-in AES encryption
• Ultra-Low Power – Under 3 µA in sleep, 8–16 mA TX/RX
• 7 GPIO Pins – 6 with 10-bit analogue input; PWM, UART, SPI, I²C capable
• Mobile App Creation – Build iPhone and Android interfaces without native SDKs
• Flexible Programming – UART over USB or over-the-air programming
• RF Performance – −93 dBm receiver sensitivity, −55 to +4 dBm TX power
• Certified – CE, ETSI, IC, TELEC, and FCC approved

Specifications

• Operating Voltage – 3 V (1.8–3.6 V range)
• TX/RX Current – 8–16 mA (under 3 µA ultra-low power)
• Processor – ARM Cortex-M0 at 16 MHz
• Memory – 128 KB flash, 24 KB RAM
• GPIO – 7 pins (6 with 10-bit ADC)

Package Contents

• 1× Simblee DIP mainboard
• 1× USB programming shield
• 1× RGB LED/Button shield

Resources

• USB Shield Schematic (PDF)
• RGB/Button Shield Schematic (PDF)
• USB Shield PCB Layout (PDF)
• RGB/Button Shield PCB Layout (PDF)
• Simblee Concepts Tutorial
• Simblee for Mobile (Android)