We’re starting to have a decent choice of cellular development boards, and as the number of products is getting larger having some sort of list would be useful. That’s exactly what Hologram has done. While the list is not quite exhaustive, they’ve pushed the CSV list to Github, and plans to update it. Hologram also encourages pull requests, so manufacturers may consider updating it with their own boards.
The list focuses on development boards acting as cellular IoT endpoints, so you won’t find gateways, WiFi hotspots, end-user devices, and modules that needs to be soldered onto your own board.
I have imported the list to WordPress to make it searchable, let people select the number of rows to display, and customize visible fields.
| Manufacturer | Model Name | Category | Lifecycle Status | Retail Cost | Alt Currency | SKU/Link | Modem Manufacturer | Modem Name | 2G? | 3G? | Cat M1? | NB-IOT? | GPS included? | US Coverage | Europe Coverage | Asia Coverage | Works with Hologram SIM? | SDK Available? | Library Available? | Battery life (idle) | Battery life (SMS sent once per day) | Manufacturer Description | Voltage levels | I/O voltages | Ready to integrate in manufacturing? | What's the interface? | Features onboard | Direct modem passthrough? | Other thoughts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huawei | E303 | Modem | Obsolete | $30 | https://www.hackster.io/hologram/connect-raspberry-pi-to-cellular-with-huawei-e303-modem-d870fc | HUAWEI | ?? | Y | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||||||||
| Particle | Boron LTE (Mesh) | Embedded board | Sample | $39 | https://www.particle.io/mesh/buy/boron-lte | UBLOX | SARA-R410M | N | N | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | ? | |||||||||||||
| RAK | WisLTE | Add-on Module | Active | $39 | http://www.rakwireless.com/en/WisKeyOSH/WisLTE | QUECTEL | BG96 | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||||||||
| Adafruit | Adafruit FONA - Mini Cellular GSM Breakout uFL Version | Add-on Module | Active | $40 | https://www.adafruit.com/product/1946 | SIMCOM | SIM800H | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||||||||
| Seeed | LoNet - Mini GSM/GPRS/GPS Breakout | Add-on Module | Obsolete | $40 | https://www.seeedstudio.com/LoNet-Mini-GSM%2FGPRS%2FGPS-Breakout-p-2183.html | SIMCOM | SIM808 | Y | Y | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | ? | |||||||||||||
| Sodaq | GPRSbee | Add-on Module | Active | $43 | €35 | https://shop.sodaq.com/en/gprsbee.html | SIMCOM | SIM800H | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | ? | ||||||||||||
| Adafruit | Adafruit FONA - Mini Cellular GSM Breakout - SMA Version - v1 | Add-on Module | Active | $45 | https://www.adafruit.com/product/1963 | SIMCOM | SIM800H | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||||||||
| Hologram | Nova | Modem | Active | $49 | https://hologram.io/store/nova-global-cellular-modem/36/ | UBLOX | SARA-U201 | Y | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||||||||
| Adafruit | FONA808 | Add-on Module | Active | $50 | https://www.adafruit.com/product/2542 | SIMCOM | SIM808 | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||||||||
| PyCom | GPy | Embedded board | Active | $54 | €44 | https://pycom.io/product/gpy/ | PYCOM | Sequans Monarch (Chipset) | N | N | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||||||||||
| Huawei | MS2131 | Modem | Active | $57 | https://consumer.huawei.com/en/mobile-broadband/e8231/ | HUAWEI | ?? | Y | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||||||||
| Particle | Electron | Embedded board | Active | $59 | https://www.particle.io/products/hardware/electron-cellular-2g-3g-lte/ | UBLOX | SARA-U201 | Y | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||||||||
| Particle | Boron 2G/3G (Mesh) | Embedded board | Sample | $59 | https://www.particle.io/mesh/buy/boron-2g-3g | UBLOX | SARA-U201 | Y | Y | N | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | ? | |||||||||||||
| PyCom | FiPy | Embedded board | Active | $67 | €54 | https://pycom.io/product/fipy/ | PYCOM | Sequans Monarch (Chipset) | N | N | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||||||||||
| Arduino | MKR 1400 | Embedded board | Active | $69 | https://store.arduino.cc/usa/mkr-gsm-1400 | UBLOX | SARA U201 | Y | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||||||||
| Hologram | Dash | Embedded board | Active | $69 | https://hologram.io/store/hologram-global-dash/ | UBLOX | SARA-U201 | Y | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | AT Commands, API calls | ||||||||||||
| Sparkfun | MG2639 SparkFun Cellular Shield | Add-on Module | Obsolete | $70 | https://www.sparkfun.com/products/retired/13120 | ZTE | MG2639 | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||||||||
| Botletics | SIM7000A Shield (US Version) | Add-on Module | Active | $79 | https://www.botletics.com/products/sim7000-shield | SIMCOM | SIM7000A | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | Y | |||||||||||||
| Botletics | SIM7000C Shield (China Version) | Add-on Module | Active | $79 | https://www.botletics.com/products/sim7000-shield | SIMCOM | SIM7000C | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | N | N | Y | Y | |||||||||||||
| Botletics | SIM7000E Shield (Europe Version) | Add-on Module | Active | $79 | https://www.botletics.com/products/sim7000-shield | SIMCOM | SIM7000E | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | N | Y | |||||||||||||
| Botletics | SIM7000G Shield | Add-on Module | Active | $79 | https://www.botletics.com/products/sim7000-shield | SIMCOM | SIM7000G | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||||||||
| Hologram | Dash Pro | Embedded board | Obsolete | $79 | https://hologram.io/docs/reference/dash/pro-datasheet/ | UBLOX | LISA-U200 | Y | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||||||||
| NimbeLink | Skywire® LTE-M Modem with GNSS | Add-on Module | Active | $79 | https://nimbelink.com/skywire-4g-lte-cat-m1/ | TELIT | ME910C1 | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | ? | |||||||||||||
| Adafruit | Adafruit FONA 3G Cellular Breakout - European version | Add-on Module | Active | $80 | https://www.adafruit.com/product/2691 | SIMCOM | SIM5320E | Y | Y | N | N | Y | N | Y | N | Y | |||||||||||||
| Adafruit | Adafruit FONA 3G Cellular Breakout - American version | Add-on Module | Active | $80 | https://www.adafruit.com/product/2687 | SIMCOM | SIM5320A | Y | Y | N | N | Y | Y | N | N | Y | |||||||||||||
| Sodaq | NB-IoT Bee N211 | Add-on Module | Active | $85 | €69 | https://shop.sodaq.com/en/nb-iot-bee.html | UBLOX | SARA N211 | Y | N | N | Y | N | N | Y | Y | ? | ||||||||||||
| Digi | Digi XBee® Cellular 3G | Add-on Module | Active | $89 | https://www.digi.com/products/xbee-rf-solutions/embedded-cellular-modems/digi-xbee-cellular-3g | UBLOX | SARA U201 | Y | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | ? | |||||||||||||
| Digi | Digi XBee3 Cellular Smart Modem, LTE CAT M, North America | Add-on Module | Active | $99 | https://www.digi.com/products/models/xb3-c-a2-ut-001 | TELIT | LE866 | N | N | Y | N | N | Y | N | N | ? | |||||||||||||
| Particle | E series | Integrated module | Active | $99 | https://www.particle.io/products/hardware/electron-cellular-2g-3g-lte/ | UBLOX | SARA-U201 | Y | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | N/A | |||||||||||||
| Embedded Artists | Cellular and positioning shield 3G/UMTS | Add-on Module | Obsolete | $110 | €89 | http://www.embeddedartists.com/products/acc/cell_3g_pos_shield.php | UBLOX | SARA U270 | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | N | ? | ||||||||||||
| Sodaq | NB-IOT Shield DeLuxe | Add-on Module | Sample | $135 | €109 | https://shop.sodaq.com/en/nb-iot-shield-deluxe.html | UBLOX | SARA N200 | Y | N | N | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | ? | ||||||||||||
| Altitude Tech | IoT Bit 3G HAT | Add-on Module | Active | $281 | https://www.mouser.com/new/altitude-technology/altitude-tech-iot-bit-3g-hat/ | SIMCOM | SIM5360E | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | N | ? | |||||||||||||
| Altitude Tech | IoT Bit 4G HAT | Add-on Module | Active | $422 | https://www.mouser.com/new/altitude-technology/altitude-tech-iot-bit-4g-hat/ | SIMCOM | SIM7100E | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | N | ? | |||||||||||||
| Nordic Semi | nRF91 | Integrated module | Sample | N/A | https://www.nordicsemi.com/eng/Products/Low-Power-Cellular-IoT/nRF91-SiP-Series | N/A | N/A | N | N | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | ? |
The table is not automatically synchronized, so for the latest version always check out Github.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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In the past, there was one thing, we called it hyperlink: “…a reference to data that the reader can directly follow either by clicking…”.
That was before today’s marchandised web 3.0 …
Feel free to change the csv file to insert HTML code for all links there.
When you think how many phone SoCs there are, competing for sales, surprising not many have branched out to these markets?
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