The delay is due to a problem with the power supply on some of the devices that had been manufactured.
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“As you would expect, rigorous and extensive testing of the BBC Micro:bit has been another key focus over the summer”. The original BBC Micro computer was released in 1982 after lengthly delays – prompting outcry from commentators back then too. Delivery was anticipated to occur in September, so that every 11 or 12 year-old in the United Kingdom could be given the computer to spur them into digital classroom action. The spokesperson added that the company has to make some “minor revisions” to the microcomputer.
The micro:bit has been beaten to market by the CodeBug, the original design of which acted as inspiration for the BBC’s device, following a successful Kickstarter campaign.
That’s not to say that the finished micro:bit is not a positive and important idea, and can’t still succeed; manufacturing issues are common with any hardware launch and particularly common nowadays in the age of Kickstarter.
Kids can learn to code by developing simple games or other programs that use the LED lights, compass, magnetometer, accelerometer, or Bluetooth.
The Micro:bit was announced in March as a “get kids coding” initiative.
However, although initial prototypes featured slots for a small watch battery to power the device, the final version instead features a removable battery pack, which accepts AA cells.
Sinead Rocks, head of BBC learning, has high hopes for the potential boom the Micro Bit could cause: “as the micro:bit is able to connect to everything from mobile phones to plant pots and Raspberry Pis, this could be for the internet-of-things what the BBC Micro was to the British gaming industry”.
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The Micro Bit is a collaboration between 29 partners including Barclays, Microsoft, Samsung and Lancaster University.
