NXP has unveiled its latest ARM Cortex-MO based LPC1100 micro controller family. NXP claims that the new microcontroller is the cheapest solution on the market for a 32-bit MCU. The MCI promises 45 DMIPS of performance compared to the sub-DMIP performance of typical 8-bit MCUs and 3-5 DMIPS for 16-bit MCUs.

The device also uses less energy with the promised performance delivered at 50MHz and the MCU needs under 10mA of power to operate. NXP also claims that the new MCU needs 40 to 50% less code for most common microcontroller tasks.

“It may be a big surprise to embedded users how much the LPC1100, a 32-bit microcontroller, outperforms in efficiency compared to 8- and 16-bit microcontrollers. If performance and energy consumption are important criteria for selecting a microcontroller, based on the results generated from EEMBC's CoreMark benchmark, embedded designers should check out the LPC1100 (especially with its $0.65 price tag) before committing to any 8- or 16-bit options with comparable features and pricing. The scores for the LPC1100 are already posted on CoreMark.org,” said Markus Levy, EEMBC President.