Level of commitment from TI for the Stellaris family

David and all,

This is probably a question best addressed by your local TI sales contact(s) who may understand your specific program needs the best.  However, in general, it should be noted that the October announcement was that Stellaris LM3S devices are NRND --- No Longer Recommended for New Designs.  This should not be confused with an EOL Notice whereby a supplier chooses to End of Life their given product.

On the contrary, LM3S continues to be manufactured and sold, but TI strongly recommends users migrate to alternative TI solutions where and when possible.  While several LM4F devices are sampling as we speak, some have a longer release schedule into late-2013 and beyond.   The LM4F232, for instance, is sampling now with initial production release scheduled for March.  I believe this includes the LM4F122 variant as well (256KB Flash versions of LM4F product).  The 1MB Flash versions, LM4F29x, are later in 2013.

Depending on your specific requirements, other TI MCU offerings may be candidates to consider as well including;  C2000 and/or MSP430.

Again, this is probably a question best addressed by your local TI support team, but wanted to offer our thoughts on this forum as well.

Thanks,

Chris

Sorry, Chris, but your reply does not give me any warm fuzzies. (Please pardon the cynicism, but this is the reality of my position.)

DigiKey shows 7 in stock (with no indication of conitnuing to carry it), Arrow shows none in stock, Rochester Electronics shows a total of 22 (not the 262 that TI's site claims). Although Mouser shows none in stock, they say that there are 1800 on order with the first 360 being available in the end of March. What guarantee do I have that this delivery will in fact happen?

TI's statement is that they "will continue to manufacture LM3S part numbers as long as there is sufficient demand". What constitutes "sufficient demand"? If my client can anly guarantee 1000 per year, is that sufficient for TI?

This design was done in March of 2011. A decision must be made in the very near future and I don't have the luxury of waiting to see what else TI might offer in the LM4F series. It should be noted that none of the other processor families seem to be appropriate in that until I get the peripherals I need the cost is prohibitive. The Stellaris LM3S was an ideal match.

By the way, when I contacted my "local TI sales", all I got was the company line that it is NRND. To go from an active status in one day to not being available through the distibutor chain in the next is a jolt that's hard to live with.

David,

TI will not EOL LM3S devices for many years. If the customer is about to go to production they will be supported.

Chris Yorkey said:

This should not be confused with an EOL Notice

But, clearly, your distributors have made that jump!

This has been well attested in a number of the threads on this topic.

What are you doing to resolve that?

Hi Andy,

I guess that's the question I should have asked from the begnning.

Thanks, Dave

All,

Unfortunately, we do not have control over what our distribution channel partners say and do.  That is a simple fact.

We do, however, have control over our own products and their manufacturing and support.

What I can say is that for other customers going through this same process (that I am personally supporting) with proper planning and forecasting, even smaller volume product demands can be handled by the factory.  Real-time distribution inventories are not indicative of what accurate forecasting and product planning can accomplish.

I would again ask that you approach your TI sales channel to obtain more accurate delivery information based on your specific product needs.  That's what customers I am working with are doing as well.

My apologies for not delivering as much warm fuzzies as possible, but the reality of the situation is that an EOL is different from a NRND announcement and with proper planning, there is distinct evidence that supports how this can be managed properly. 

Sincerely,

Chris

Chris,

 LM4F19x (Ethernet MAC + PHY) are scheduled for samples and kits only for late in 2013 too? Or do you think that it will be released soon?

Ari.

Ari,

It's my understanding that all LM4F variants with 10/100 Ethernet are late 2013.  While I'm not as familiar with this LM4F19x, the LM4F29x follows this release schedule.

In the meantime, a user could start initial development with the existing LM4F120 - by using the EK-LM4F120 LaunchPad - to at least become familiar with the Cortex M4F architecture and basic peripherals, prior to leading up to developing with the extended peripheral set including the Ethernet block later this year.

Good question;  and hope this helps.

-Chris

Thanks Chris.

I hope it will be worth waiting for.

 Ari.

Chris Yorkey said:

we do not have control over what our distribution channel partners say and do

Really? Do you not have contracts in place that put at least some obligations on them? Isn't that part of the whole "Franchised Distributor" thing?

Anyhow, even where you don't have control you must, at least, have influence...?

Might it be that such, "tortured logic" is required (and continues) when attempting to defend the indefensible?

Might it be that such, "tortured logic" is required (and continues) when attempting to defend the indefensible?

Well, that would fit my impression of the issue. Seems like the decision was made a few levels up in the hierarchy, and the poor support team has to defend it now. Having been in contact with TI sales and FAE several times the last two years, I'm not too surprised by that "NRND" movement. It is comprehensible that TI does not want to make a M0/M0+, as it might hurt MSP430 sales (this is what representatives suggested). But with saying "better not use our LM3", TI is alienating a lot of customers. This includes my company, which want's to get rid of over-aged 8 bit controllers. We are willing to switch to ARM Cortex, and would be happy with a M0. But because other departments have higher requirements, we want a supplier covering M0 and M3. So TI is clearly off the list.

I see a lot of opportunities in the lower-performance market, say, in an ARM Cortex replacement for 8 bit controllers. TI obviously not.

Hi Chris,

I am expecting LM4F29X. Is everything on track to be released very soon?

Thanks,

John Z.