Finally, I have been waiting for the final version, and now I have a P2 (at least the latest version). A friend of mine sent me one so I could play with it alongside him. I helped him get started with the P1 when I was working at Parallax, so it's safe to say, I might be of some help.

I have wanted to get the P2 before it came to be. I worked at Parallax for 3.5 years and supported the whole product line from microcontrollers like the BASIC Stamp 1, the BASIC Stamp II series, Propeller 1, to a whole host of sensors, modules, and robots.

Over the years I have used the P1 for many of my projects, especially because of its versatility and rock-solid performance. I remember answering questions about what the P2’s potential function while it was still being constructed by Chip Gracey, so it's been long overdue for me to play with one.

First, I have to say, it looks great. The documentation is on the lackluster side though; much of it looks like it's in pieces and needs some consolidation to create something I'm used to with the P1. The P2 website is functional, and all the instructions were clear and correct, so all in all, setup was easy enough. Getting past the demo and simple stuff is generally the easy part, and now comes the real fun and learning what this thing can do using all the sensors and modules I already have.

I must admit that I like the fact that it can be programmed in so many different languages. As someone who taught programming to students, it's nice to support languages that they already know or are familiar with, and the hardware operates the same regardless. I will continue to build up my comfortability using the P2 for material and projects, and no doubt will share on here. A special thanks to Martin Montague for sending me one; he and I have been messing around with Parallax products together since around 2007.