I dunno of many Cortex M0+ devices that can source/sink 40mA like an AVR while only sipping 200uA (microAmps) like the AtMega328pb. That's active mode btw, AtMega328pb drops down to 1.3 uA in sleep mode.
Cortex M0+ devices are "larger" than AVRs. You have more RAM, CPU power and unfortunately... complexity and power usage.
But its still got an order of magnitude more power usage and complexity over AVR's AtMega328pb. The ATMega's "active" mode is comparable to the LPC811's "sleep" mode.
Most of the LPC811's pins only can sink / source ~4mA, while the "biggest" pins can only sink / source 20mA. In contrast, all of the AtMega328pb pins can sink/source 40mA. Easily driving LEDs with only a resistor (instead of having to hook up a transistor or external buffer of some kind)
The LPC811 also shows what happens to cheap ARM chips: they are missing ADC converters, PWM, Real-time Counters (or a deep-sleep mode that still keeps the 32kHz clock active). Sure, you can buy these externally... but the AVRs and PICs have superior integration.
> It's not clear to me why you'd choose an AVR for a new product unless you really, really needed a specific feature.
Running an LED with just a resistor on any pin is a pretty nifty feature IMO.
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The AtMega328pb is a "bigger" and more expensive part though. Perhaps its more "fair" to compare the LPC811 against the AtTiny44A (which is also $1.50ish). ATTiny44A has similar power specifications as the 328pb.
Cortex M0+ devices are "larger" than AVRs. You have more RAM, CPU power and unfortunately... complexity and power usage.
I'm thinking a good example is the LPC811 from NXP: very good specs and it really shows how good ARM M0+ systems have become: http://www.nxp.com/documents/data_sheet/LPC81XM.pdf
But its still got an order of magnitude more power usage and complexity over AVR's AtMega328pb. The ATMega's "active" mode is comparable to the LPC811's "sleep" mode.
Most of the LPC811's pins only can sink / source ~4mA, while the "biggest" pins can only sink / source 20mA. In contrast, all of the AtMega328pb pins can sink/source 40mA. Easily driving LEDs with only a resistor (instead of having to hook up a transistor or external buffer of some kind)
The LPC811 also shows what happens to cheap ARM chips: they are missing ADC converters, PWM, Real-time Counters (or a deep-sleep mode that still keeps the 32kHz clock active). Sure, you can buy these externally... but the AVRs and PICs have superior integration.
> It's not clear to me why you'd choose an AVR for a new product unless you really, really needed a specific feature.
Running an LED with just a resistor on any pin is a pretty nifty feature IMO.
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The AtMega328pb is a "bigger" and more expensive part though. Perhaps its more "fair" to compare the LPC811 against the AtTiny44A (which is also $1.50ish). ATTiny44A has similar power specifications as the 328pb.