Factors That Need to be Taken Into Consideration Before Buying a Nordic Chip

Does it have a good track record for interoperability and production/manufacturing?

All production releases of Nordic’s Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) stacks are qualified with the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) and receive their own unique Qualified Design ID (QDID) to ensure they meet Bluetooth specifications. Additionally, Nordic are present at every UnPlugFest (UPF) arranged by Bluetooth SIG where they test their existing and upcoming hardware and software for interoperability.

100% of IC's are tested in production before shipped, so they know all aspects of the chip works as described in their production specifications.

Does it leverage as much existing certification as possible?

There are several options here, but all products must meet regulatory approval and possible certification with Bluetooth SIG.

Nordic documents their worldwide regulatory and compliance standards in this white paper: https://www.nordicsemi.com/eng/nordic/download_resource/20366/5/51642713.

Does it leverage as much of the software stack as possible? 

For a full list of supported protocols and stack, you will have to go through the soft device specifications as found on the specific product page. For example, the nRF51422, as it can run all stacks: https://www.nordicsemi.com/eng/Products/ANT/nRF51422.

S110: peripheral BLE stack

S120: central BLE stack

S130: peripheral and central BLE stack

S210: master and slave ANT/ANT+ stack

S310: master and slave ANT/ANT+ stack + peripheral BLE stack

Is it built with security in mind?

Nordic have implemented the security option for the BLE stack as specified for Bluetooth Low Energy. Refer to Bluetooth specifications v4.0 for details on implementation: e.g. pairing and bonding procedures, exchange of encryption keys, etc.

For the ANT stack, there is an option to encrypt the data using AES as defined in ANT-FS specifications.

Please call Symmetry at (310) 536-6190 or contact us online for any more questions regarding Nordic products or wireless connectivity.