Hi,
I'm trying to make a small device that uses bluetooth to talk to android or apple phones and tablets. I found the Bluetooth express BGX13 from Silicone Labs which looked like a simple way to avoid a lot of bluetooth connectivity development effort. I now wonder if it's being phased out because the prices seem to have doubled.
When I first looked at prices I saw
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/silicon-labs-wireless-xpress-modules-deliver-bluetooth-and-wi-fi-connectivity-with-zero-programming-300712568.html which says prices are as low as $4.09 for 10,000
but now I see octopart listing prices around 10 dollars and I wonder what might have caused this.
https://octopart.com/search?q=BGX13Now that I reread the prnewswire.com page I wonder if they meant the Wireless express module/sip instead of the bluetooth express version
Anyone know whats the reason?
Also is there an alternative module/SIP with a good/easy bluetooth setup and easy connectivity with low developer effort? I dont want to spend weeks debugging bluetooth bugs on 101 phones and I think something like BGX13 offers a way to avoid that. I don't need bluetooth 5 range/bandwidth. I origianlly got nrf52840 dev stuff but switched to silabs when I realised it offered an easier development route.
Thanks,
-Jason