Arduino has announced two new products that are part of the Arduino Pro family at Embedded World 2024: the Arduino Pro 4G Module and Arduino Portenta Mid Carrier board.
Arduino Pro 4G module
Two variants of the mini PCIe module are available: one global and one for the EMEA and Southeast Asia markets with similar interfaces, but based on different Quectel modules, and the global model also supports GNSS.
Specifications:
| Product Name | Region | Modem | Chipset | LTE | GNSS | Interfaces |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arduino Pro 4G Module EMEA | EMEA/ Southeast Asia | Quectel EC200A-EU | ASR1803 (Marvell) | LTE CAT4 4G with 2G/3G fallback | N/A | USB, UART, PCM/I2C |
| Arduino Pro 4G GNSS Module Global | Global | Quectel EG25-G | MDM9x07 (Qualcomm) | LTE CAT4 4G with 2G/3G fallback | GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou (COMPASS), Galileo and QZSS | USB, UART, PCM/I2C |
Both also support 3G/2G fallback if 4G LTE network connectivity is out of range.
The 4G LTE module works with Arduino Pro carrier boards featuring a mini PCIe connector such as the Max Carrier and the new Mid Carrier which we will be covering below. More information can be found on the documentation website and product page.
The Arduino Pro 4G module global goes for $65 while the EMEA version sells for 29 Euros. Those prices are without antennas which add $6.80 or €5.70.
Arduino Portenta Mid Carrier Board
Specifications:
- High-density connectors compatible with Arduino Portenta boards such as the Portenta X8 (Linux) or Portenta H7 and Portenta C33 boards (Arduino programming)
- Storage – MicroSD card slot
- Camera I/F
- 1x MIPI Camera connector
- 1x Arducam Camera connector
- Networking – Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 connector
- USB – USB Type-A port
- Serial
- 1x CAN FD with onboard transceiver
- 1x CAN without transceiver
- Expansion
- mPCIe connector for add-on boards such as the Arduino Pro 4G module
- Arduino Giga Display Shield connector
- Various headers with CAN, SAI, I2S, PDM, GPIO, SPI, I2C, PWM, ANALOG I/Os
- Debugging – Onboard JTAG pins
- Misc – RTC LiPo battery slot
- Power Supply
- Via USB-C on Portenta board
- 5V on headers
- 5V via onboard screw terminal block powering both the carrier and the connected Portenta
- Dimensions – 114 x 86.5 mm
- Temperature Range – -40°C to +85°C
Arduino says the carrier board is suitable for smart cities and buildings, remote maintenance, and fleet management. More technical details can be found on the product page and documentation website.
The Arduino Portenta Mid Carrier is available now and sold for $65.00 or €55 plus shipping.
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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So they wrote (copied) a driver and OEM’d existing modules? I guess pre-verified hardware and software compatibility is a good idea in this market.
65usd for the carrier board? Wow, that’s expensive. The whole kit should be like 75-80 – even verified compatibility. In this market, companies is used to pay $$ for things, so why not milk them more than necessary? 🙂