CC2541 versus nRF51822

[Gilson]

Gentlemen,

I apologize if this is not the correct place to post this question.

I have a potential project to start a BLE project but their requirement would be start a new design with the CC2541.

However, I would like to tell them to use the nRF51822 but I want to present good technical arguments.

Is there anyone here familiar with the CC2541? Please PM me and let me know.

Thanks, Gil

[Jeremy]

We currently use both chips in different aspects of our system, and personally I like the Nordic chip better. When we started our project, the SDK for the nRF51822 wasn't quite as developed as the CC2541, but I think it has come a long way and a long term goal of mine is to eventually replace the TI with the Nordic part.

Another company in our building was recently going through a side by side comparison of the nRF51822 and CC2541 in a beacon application (simple sleep & advertise), and has decided to go with the Nordic part due to substantially lower power consumption in his testing.

Another concern if this is a hobby project or you work for a small company is the toolchain cost. To do anything meaningful on the CC2541 you need to buy an IAR Embedded Workbench license which will run you around $4000. Compared to the free Kiel setup you can use with the Nordic part this is a little absurd.

Finally, the support with Nordic through the DevZone is fantastic. Usually forums are a hole into which you throw your consciousness when you are completely out of any other options, but responses here are unusually helpful with Nordic employees frequently chiming in with helpful information.

The only drawback to the nRF51822 is it still seems to be changing a bit (for the better) as it matures as a product. They are open about the remaining bugs people have found and most can be worked around pretty easily, you just need to pay attention to which version of the chips you are getting and reading through the most recent Product Anomaly Notice (PAN) to see if anything effects you.