recommended ibeacon platform

[Dan]

ibeacon noob here, I see several postings about implementing with different chips. Is there a preferred solution for an ibeacon for new designs? Thanks!

[Petter Myhre]

We recommend the nRF52 chip for new designs, this is our latest and greatest SoC.

For development I recommend buying a nRF52 DK, and maybe a nRF51 Dongle (no nRF52 Dongle out yet). It is nice to have two devices, so you can use our tools to test your application.

The nRF51822 Beacon Kit could be an interesting reference design, and the Solar powered sensor beacon could be an interesting example application.

[Dan]

I have a couple of nRF52 DKs, ran the demos that came with it. Starting to work toward my own application. For a compiler, IAR and GCC are listed. Is there a free compiler to use with Nordic products? I'm used to micros, and every vendor has a free development platform. Thank you.