I'm using AVR and ARM , and selects by target use.
There's no need to use an ARM to blink a led , when a single input is toggled.
Or to display the temperature from a ds18b20 on a LCD (witch often is 5v anyway)
I'm trying to get my hands on some of the NCP Cortex M0 1114 DIP's now but i cant seem to find anywhere in EU , where i don't have to pay either $6 a piece , or $40 in shipping.
I need the 32bit timers thats available in the ARM , for precision counting (waveform gen)
So i chose the "Hammer" depending on the size of the "Nail".
Ohh. I have never programmed a pic , and would probably only consider a DsPIC (MIPS) if i had to chose one.
I have not done much with the new Atmel Xmega's , as i tend to see ARM's as a better choice if i have to go TQFP & 3v3 anyway. Besides a lot of the ARM's have 5v tolerant inputs (most of the pins) , witch the Xmega doesn't.
If you're going ARM , i suggest the Cortex'es ... At least the NVIC is standard there.
A STM32xx-Discovery board @ 10..15$ will be a nice beginning , and it includes the debugger.
/Bingo