For the devices I use at least, AVRs are vastly superior to Microchip's
offerings in many respects. I generally use small package devices, most
often 8 pin packages, and just on pure speed AVRs will do 4 times as many
MIPs as the equivalent PIC. If you want to use the onboard clock, then
double that advantage to 8 times! That's not to mention a superior register
/ instruction set which often means you can do with one instruction what
might take 2 or even 3 with a PIC. Also better support for PWM in these
packages. Can't actually think of a single advantage in fact to an 8 pin PIC
over an equivalent AVR.
Got no particular loyalty to one side or the other, and have in fact done a
lot more with PICs than AVRs, and still have chips and development stuff
from both, so just calling it as I see it. I would be very disappointed if 8
pin AVRs disappeared any time in the forseeable future - we're not talking
about Microchip incorporating technology here, it would take a complete
design change for PICs to compete at this level!

On Thu, Oct 2, 2008 at 6:23 PM, Martin <martin@nnytech.net> wrote:

> alan smith wrote:
> > Wasn't it Atmel just a few years ago was in serious management
> > crisis?  They sold off...or did they...the VoIP specific stuff.  So
> > what would ON retain, and what would MChip retain?  Interesting the
> > ON is now expanding into new areas. Maybe they would take the 8051
> > stuff, MChip retains ARM (rumor was they were doing an ARM core
> > device anyway?) and integrates the serial memory into thier
> > offerings, and AVR..wouldnt they just kill it? Why keep a competing
> > device in the fold?
> >
>
> One real reason is that if they just killed the AVR they'd have a lot of
> pretty mad engineers - who would then be very mad at Microchip.
>
> One potentially true reason is (not intended to be flamebait) a lot of
> the AVR parts are considered functionally better than similar PIC parts.
> Interrupt tables versus vectors come to mind. They'll keep the parts as
> "Microchip AVRs" for a while and then likely roll any good technology
> into future parts (though uChip has come out with a LOT of good
> technology in the past few years on their own) .. and then slowly let
> the AVRs die out as they become "not recommended for new design"
>
> -
> Martin
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