Original Price:$10.99
Now: $7.99
Ship from China
The Arduino Uno is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega328 (Datasheet). It has 14 digital input/output pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog inputs, a 16 MHz crystal oscillator, a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button.
Please update title to reflect the fact the price is in USD. I actually want it now to make my own evaluation on the quality of the product, but coming up as AUD$9.23 :(
Probably a philosphical point, but I'm not sure there is a thing such as a "genuine" arduino. Most of the major electronics stores, like freetronics, adafruit and sparkfun have their own clones as it is an open source development platform in both hardware and software terms. I bought a sparkfun redboard as my first arduino…no problems - its UNO R3 compatible. Then I bought an "UNO R3" which was a blueboard from ebay…then I bought 10 more off aliexpress. If it says UNO compatible or whatever then it should do what it says.
I'm not sure there is a thing such as a "genuine" arduino
There deinitely is. I have bought one and it was not cheap.
Adafruit distributes the real stuff as well as their alternatives which aren't even clones. They make different boards altogether.
I'd be pretty cautious when buying from eBay and Amazon if you are looking for genuine Arduino boards.
i see - thanks for clarifying. I've never looked for genuine and not had a problem so far for my diy projects - not as if it's mission critical stuff though.
I'm curious as to the reason behind your cautiousness in looking for genuine Arduino boards.
Because I am not certain on the quality or authenticity.
But do you need that level of certainty for your project? Surely you'd be going for a supplier like Element14 or RS if that's the case. Something for your risk assessment.
@octagonalman: Well, that was the thing. I had no idea what I was meant to expect at the time if I got a cheap alternative and still don't. That's just me. I actually did end up getting it from RS. That's hence my original question.
I'm confused about your "authenticity" reference. Quality? fair enough…but it's OSHW. They are more than happy for it to be cloned/improved upon, just as they are more than happy for you to buy genuine and support the Arduino Foundation from whence it all came…
I have found that all the Arduino clones I have ever bought are functionally-equivalent and work fine with the software. It's the other way for me - I don't know what I'm missing out on from the more expensive sources.
@octagonalman: This is the winning comment. That's all I really wanted to know. Thank you!
Zargonb, when I refer to authenticity, I mean it may say it is X and Y, but I don't know for sure.
I like this Uno R3 from icstation:
http://www.icstation.com/product_info.php?products_id=3746
It has several additional rows of pins (GND, +5V, analog and digital), which allows to connect sensors/servos directly to the board.
Almost bought it and realised it isn't Arduino (not having a go at OP as it is well stated in the title). I have used the Arduino Uno R3 and was quite happy. Does anyone know the difference between buying the genuine Arduino as opposed to say, SainSmart?