Launchpad compared to Arduino

[Steven Sigley]

I got my hands on an MSP430 Launchpad for a class and was wondering how it compares to an Arduino and if anyone has any experience with it.
Thanks.

[sanddrag]

I would say the ATMega328P is a much more powerful chip than the MSP430. The MSP430 has some interesting applications due to its low cost, but I believe most agree coding is easier to pick up and implement on Arduino.

[VanMan]

http://www.meanpc.com/2011/12/ti-lau...duino-uno.html

Arduino has a much bigger community and is much easier to get started with. MSP430 is really cheap and low power. Can even be powered with fruit.

My robotics team (NCSU underwater robotics) used to use 3+ arduinos on our robot. 3 were for thruster control with H-bridges and additional ones were for peripheral devices. On the motor board, we had each arduino controlling 2 thrusters. We've been making the transition over to using MSP430's because they are much cheaper.