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How do I go about picking an architecture ? My first thoughts suggested Cortex M3 but the more I look into it the less sure I am.
Obviously I don't to go to the trouble of learning a new technology only to find that I've made a bad processor choice (ie nearly end of line). I've spent many hours looking at many websites and have yet to find any high-level stuff on choosing my first ARM device.
If there's one thing wrong with ARM its the almost infinite number of devices
I'm an embedded developer wanting to undertake my first ARM project, so I'm completely new to the ARM architecture. I want a low power device with serial, USB and some ADC channels.
Beware of "evaluation boards" that have loads of "goodies" on them.
Very often, these "goodies" can just get in the way of your own requirements.
And, these days, disabling the "goodies" is not just a question of fitting or removing jumpers - you have to fit or remove tiny, surface-mount zero-ohm resistors...
They can be great if you just want to "play" with what's there - but can be a real pain if you have an actual aapplication in mind...
This is general across the board - by no means specific to any kind of ARM.
Lots of goodies is nice, but should be completemented with lots of jumpers so that you can decide if they will consume processor pins or not. A board requiring (de)soldering to deactivate the goodies is lousy. It must be quick and easy to switch between the evaluation-board hardware and own hardware and then back again, in case the software (or the own hardware) doesn't work as expected.
But note that my recommendation to look for a evaluation board with lots of goodies was for someone interested in learning how to use a processor - not someone interested in designing their own products around an ARM chip. If the goal is to develop own products, then it is often better with a evaluation board with pin headers allowing the processor to be mated with prototype boards. A big prototyping area can be nice, but are best if you can afford to buy multiple evaluation boards.
I thoroughly agree.
It is, however, the trend these days.
:-(
And I do take your point about the distinction between learning/experimenting and actually trying to develop an application.