The MSP430 contains several families, from the low cost Value family to the most advanced F6xx family. Each family is usually targeted at a set of applications and contains a certain mix of peripherals. In a family, however, devices vary as far as the amount of Flash and RAM available. It is not unusual to develop using relatively large devices in a family, only to migrate down to reduce costs. Because of this, the tutorial will end up discussing several platforms, but will attempt to cover the lowest denominator first to make it accessible. The MSP430 Launchpad is the most accessible MSP430 platform and although the devices supported do not have all the peripherals of some of the mode advanced MSP430, it does cover so many peripherals that it makes it an ideal platform for starting.
