Is the nRF8001 recommend for new design

[CAJJED]

Reading the following post:

devzone.nordicsemi.com/.../

made me think that I could use either the nRF51822 or nRF8001 in my design. However, the following post:

devzone.nordicsemi.com/.../

makes me think that the nRF8001 probably isn't well supported like the nRF51822. For example, having to use the windows nRFgo to setup the header file (For the nRF51822 I use the SDK on my Mac). Also using Arduino code that you convert as the basis for the design makes me wonder if this board is becoming an afterthought.

All I need in my design is UART passthrough, which is why I was thinking about using the nRF8001, but I can use the nRF51822 - just has more features than I need.

Is it true that nRF8001 is BLE 4.0 and not BLE 4.1. Specifically that you can't change the advertising interval?

So is the nRF8001 recommended for a new designs?

If so is there another way to setup the nRF8001 without using the Windows nRFgo?

[Asbjørn]

You can use the nRF8001 in new designs, but as you have discovered the options and flexibility is better on the nRF51 family. There are also serialization available on the nRF51 if you want to control the BLE functionality on the nRF51 through UART that is possible as well. But the interface is not the same as it is on the nRF8001.

[CAJJED]

So if you were using the nRF51822 to do UART passthrough would you use serialization or build your own like in the github UART example: github.com/.../nrf51-UART-examples ?

[Asbjørn]

That's entirely up to you. Some are more comfortable on using just the external MCU, while others want to offload and have the nRF51 itself handle more than what it does with the default serialization example.

The serialization isn't one service implementation, it enables you to implement any service/profile on your external MCU and then have access directly to the BLE softdevice on the nRF51. So you have to implement the service on your external MCU, but the nRF51 works as a transceiver. The nRF51 SDK have for example code showing this done with the heart rate measurement.