The STM32F2 in the Imp is a Cortex M3. I absolutely love these micros, I've used them in dozens of applications over the last couple of years. Of course in this case we're kept out of the firmware (at least directly) but from what I hear the script engine runs very quickly (and so it should).
The power consumption also looks very good. My first project will be adding an Imp to my RFID cat flap which runs on 4 AA cells. If Hugo's figures are accurate, and assuming I can get a wakeup signal from the RFID module, it should run for months/years on a set of batteries.
Rob
We're just in the process of doing a cut down version of one of our products and in addition are looking to cut our power usage. The "systems" our product are used in are generally battery powered, but we're talking big batteries (30+Ah) because of the load that it drives.
However, static current draw is a concern to us (because the load isn't on anywhere near 100% of the time) and we pretty much hit the limit on what was achievable with the old design and micro (SAM7 micro).
We knew we were moving to Cortex from ARM7 and we had a good look around at what was about, including the STM32 and the offerings from NXP, TI etc.
We eventually settled on the EnergyMicro family of Cortex M3 because they were designed from the ground up for low power, there's some pretty neat stuff in there for optimising power usage, oh and they're also pretty darned cheap.
...wants to get hands on an Imp to have a play.
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