John Payson <PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU> wrote:

> Per Microchip's web site, there ARE going to be 8-pin devices.

    John:

    I just took a look at that press release.  Guess the information
    I have isn't secret anymore, so...

> By the sound of it, they're equivalent to the 16C54 except:
>
> No external clock generator (internal 4MHz)
>
> Code=512, Data=25, like the 54

    TWO chips in the 12000 series have been announced... The other
    one has 1024 words of code space, 41 registers.

> Watchdog unknown

    Watchdog included.

> No external reset (or RTCC?) input
>
> Only 6 I/O pins [I don't know whether portB only or some portA some
> portB

    PortB only.  That is, the register is at the same address as the
    PORTB register on the 16C5x.  Whether Microchip's documentation
    will refer to that port as "A" or "B", though, is anyone's guess.

> Price under $1.

    In serious quantities, the smaller chip (the 12C508) will be WAY
    under $1.  I suppose that ANYONE could infer this from the fact
    that Microchip's press release says, "pricing in 50,000-unit
    quantities is less than $0.99 each for both the PIC12C508 and the
    PIC12C509".

    I'm surprised that Microchip has publicized the parts so
    early... Perhaps the fact that they just started distributing
    Picstart Plus programmers with silkscreened "8-pin devices go
    here" markings had something to do with it.

    -Andy

Andrew Warren - fastfwd@ix.netcom.com
Fast Forward Engineering, Vista, California
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/2499