RR

Rob R.

Engineer

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

1/25/2021

"Great Platform"

4/5

What do you like best about Particle?

I like the ability to create a product that I can quickly take to market with advanced cloud-based features. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Particle?

I don't like how the BlueTooth mesh products were discontinued. The Documentation is lacking in a lot of areas, I had to do a lot of "google-fu" to get the features that I wanted operational. I wish that the development platform was a little more robust. Over voltage protection would've saved me a few dollars when I mistakenly connected the wrong-voltage to supply my circuit. I feel like they are trying to force me to LTE products that would require a monthly fee, which makes sense as a business, but doesn't make sense for me where I'm at in the current development of my product. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering Particle:

I think it's a great platform for building IOT devices. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Particle solving and how is that benefiting you?

I am able to get a few BT features working that I really wanted to experiment with. I have realized that I really don't need the entire Particle platform for THIS particular project and this particular application, but I can see where it would be extremely helpful in other applications. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

NS

Noah S.

Assistant Professor

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

1/26/2021

"Using Particle to Teach Engineering Design"

4/5

What do you like best about Particle?

Particle is a well designed and integrated hardware and software ecosystem. Having all of the development tools online makes it easy to work on projects from any computer, regardless of operating system. The available IOT starter kits make it easy for students to all have the same hardware and software setups, which makes remote teaching and troubleshooting easier. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Particle?

It can be overwhelming for beginners to use, with a lot of different features and errors generated during the debugging process are not always clear or helpful. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering Particle:

Particle's support of the Grove Sensor ecosystem is great, it allows for easily connecting dozens of different sensors and output devices to the Particle boards, which in turn makes it very easy to upload the sensor data to the internet. In addition to the sensors supplied and supported by Particle, many others are available that are inexpensive and easy to use. There are lots of great resources available both on Particle's own website as well as elsewhere on the web that can help you to quickly and easily develop solutions to problems such as how to get Particle data into a Google spreadsheet. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Particle solving and how is that benefiting you?

I am using Particle primarily as a way to teach problem solving and prototyping as part of an interdisciplinary sophomore-level engineering design course. Particle's online platform and starter kits made rolling out this curriculum during the COVID pandemic much easier, and facilitates collaboration between students and allows me to easily review their code and help them troubleshoot their projects. Having good example code and libraries makes it easy to quickly prototype and test out ideas. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

JP

Jeremy P.

Staff Site Reliability Engineer (Technical Team Lead / Manager)

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

10/10/2018

"Saves me a back end cloud team to roll products quicker"

4/5

What do you like best about Particle?

VERY quick time to market with the abstraction of authentication and back end cloud, I can route data and interact with devices without worrying about having an entire dev ops staff or company on retainer Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Particle?

The cost per device is higher than off the self expressif type components which offer a lower total cost per device, but are overcome by the development and IT cost of the backend. At some point, the total deployed devices will tip the scales to the point where the higher device cost will trump a full time dev ops staff - although, that's the point when we start talking about devices in the millions mark.

The Cloud IDE is very quick and fast but without an integration with any type of code versioning (i.e. git). Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

JF

Justin F.

Student

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

1/26/2021

"Fast prototyping with solid results"

4.5/5

What do you like best about Particle?

The ability to flash via WiFi and USB. The flexibility of both those options means that it's great for quick prototyping at a desk as well as debugging and integration testing after assembly when it might be hard to plug into a computer.

Also, the in-depth documentation of the devices and related software is really amazing. Aside from the note below I have found almost everything I need just from reading your docs. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Particle?

There isn't much I don't like. The only real headache I have had with any of my experiences so far would be getting the particle cli setup to detect my particle devices on Ubuntu. The docs were not super clear in that regard. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Particle solving and how is that benefiting you?

Mainly hobbyist type problems and just general IoT projects. My favourite problem I was able to solve was an automated blind opening/alarm clock project. I am also currently tackling a project using Argons as BLE beacons.

Honestly, the biggest benefit of the Argon is its flexibility. Remote flashing, BLE, WiFi, LiPo charging all in one small package is just hard to find for a good price with good supporting docs. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

TC

Timothy Scott C.

Professor

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

1/25/2021

"Very easy to use and possesses a wide range of capabilities"

5/5

What do you like best about Particle?

I like that I can produce my own functions similar to Python and I could call them along the code. I like that it is similar to Arduino C, which I am familiar with. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Particle?

The libraries could offer a bit more; or rather, I find a way (I know a guide is there somewhere) to import/upload my own libraries for my use case. Hoping it could be simpler Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering Particle:

It's best to just dive into it. It's syntax is very similar to Arduino C, so if you have concerns on it, there are online simulations to practice; however, it's a relatively easy syntax and getting right into it gives you a more hands on learning experience. In addition, the Web IDE has sufficient guides to use as reference as well as online video tutorials. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Particle solving and how is that benefiting you?

One of the projects that I am working on is the use of swarm technology for land canvassing. We're not using the commercialized drones since they're expensive, the particle component allows me to see where the drone is going without using the traditional Transceiver and Receiver antenna which can get quite heavy. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

RL

Roberto L.

Developer

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

1/25/2021

"From startup to full fledged company"

5/5

What do you like best about Particle?

Having been an early adopter since the initial Spark Core Kickstarter campaign I can say the Company has evolved around its ability to relate to a constantly growing community of passionate supporters.

The Particle platform has immediately demonstrated its attractiveness and power, but the road has not always been paved in golden stones but Particle didn't have a problem in admitting their failure and keep moving forward: well done, failure is a key part of growth, and there is no shame in admitting it. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Particle?

I would have appreciated some sort of compensation for those who, like me, tried to use the Particle mesh network but now have a bunch of devices with limited capability and troublesome updating process. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering Particle:

It's the easiest IoT platform I have seen and it was an amazing experience as an early adopter. If you want to prototype something without having to deal with all the fuss, I strongly advise giving Particle's devices a good try: you won't be disappointed and you don't have to invest a capital just to start. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Particle solving and how is that benefiting you?

Creating connected device prototypes has become a breeze, I can move from idea to prototype in less than an hour in most cases. I haven't succeeded in bringing any of those prototypes to production yet, but this is not discouraging me. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

AM

Andrew M.

Software Engineer

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

1/25/2021

Business partner of the seller or seller's competitor, not included in G2 scores.

"Easiest solution to get up and running"

5/5

What do you like best about Particle?

Particle products are extremely easy to setup and get running out of the box. Going from a brand new device to an IoT design can be a matter or seconds. The ease of programming updates over the air and via the particle cloud makes the setup very easy. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Particle?

The only downsides (which some would consider an upside) is the hidden use of the arduino frameworks. It can get quite complicated if you want to do something on the device that isn't supported. Though it's very rare to need things that aren't part of the native support, but something like taking over the network if you want the particle to be a server and not talk to the particle cloud can be difficult. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering Particle:

If you're looking for a product to get your IoT from idea to implementation quickly, Particle is the way to go. I use Particle products for all of my home automation products and whenever I need to do a quick embedded system integration. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Particle solving and how is that benefiting you?

I'm currently running all of my local home automation products on a particle. It is simply the best rapid prototyping device on the market period. And the particle IoT cloud app makes testing designs (reading variables, testing functions) remotely super easy. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

AM

Antonio M.

Owner

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

1/27/2021

"A great microcontroller with cloud"

5/5

What do you like best about Particle?

Surprisingly simple, seamless and reliable cloud. It has a great API for integrating with third party services. The community around it is great and offers assistance whenever needed. Arduino sensors compatibility is also a great plus! Tinker mobile app is a great way for rapid prototyping on a mobile ecosystem as well. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Particle?

Having bluetooth and wifi as a separate module on a single board would be a great upgrade. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering Particle:

Absolutely consider if you need a good microcontroller. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Particle solving and how is that benefiting you?

We use Particle in a prototype for a yeast growth measuring device. We use it to control the necessary sensors and acquiring data, sending them to the cloud. It is surprisingly simple to collect and upload data, and using Particle has greatly reduced time and effort we put in collecting and uploading data from our tests. I would absolutely recommend Particle to anyone who has a need for such a service. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

CL

Chris L.

Project Manager

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

1/26/2021

"Excellent Product"

5/5

What do you like best about Particle?

From the first time I set eyes on the particle photon I was interested and had to have one.

Once I received the product I found that the photon is one of the easiest products to use.

I have used and own multiple Arduino and esp products but prefer the particle photon over all.

I am in an industry where I rely on temperature, humidity, dew point and GPP, I am able to connect various sensors and have them send the real-time data back to an in office database server for review. I used to have to make sure visits to gather the same Psychrometric readings.

Anyone would be very happy to have a product this easy to use. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Particle?

I really haven't found anything I dislike. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

JH

Jim H.

Software Engineering Manager

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

1/25/2021

"Particle makes IoT development unbelievably easy"

4.5/5

What do you like best about Particle?

How easy and rapid it is to develop complex IoT projects to do many different types of things. The SDK and cloud platform take away all of the many months of complexity of standing up a new piece of embedded hardware in weeks or even days. This is no small accomplishment. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Particle?

Tied too tightly into Particle's cloud. Would like it to be easier to go to production with other cloud systems. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering Particle:

I've done a lot of embedded programming both on MCUs and SBCs like Rpi. This is about as easy and rapid of development as it gets while leading you into excellent design principles. Do yourself a favor and at least do a proof-of-concept with Particle and put it to the test. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Particle solving and how is that benefiting you?

I'm creating an IoT sensor platform for room monitoring, things like temperature, relative humidity, etc. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.