ARduino :: Just out this month ...
the Arduino Esplora. HeliosLabs has 2 Uno boards, and I'll admit I have been an electronics geek since a very young age, and I was taught how to solder before I learned to drive a car - so the Unos are just fine, and of course newbies coming here to learn are walked through the harder aspects of putting together a project. But for some people out there wanting to get into the Arduino, but not having any electronics experience, something like the Esplora might be the right first microcontroller for them.
It's got many of the components you'd use in your first Arduino projects, built right into the board, from sensors to input devices including buttons and a PlayStation-style joystick. No need for breadboards - or even knowing what a breadboard is. Just get started right away with learning the ins and outs of using a microcontroller. The only thing that might be easier than this is
Lego's NXT system. It will be interesting to see what more experienced users do with this.
