This isn’t your huge company. I kind of get the idea this is something someone does as a sideline. But they have some interesting stuff, particularly the JeeNode. The JeeNode is a tiny Arduino clone that looks like the Adafruit Boarduino, except it has a FM radio tucked in on the end. This allows a pair or more of JeeNodes to interact.
I have messed around with xBee and FM and IR as I try to make remote controls for my robots. While successful, it’s always a serious pain in the butt to get the stuff going. But in this case, you just turn it on and its working. Kinda hard to beat that.
But Modern Device has a number of other offerings as well. They are the least expensive source for crystals and resonators, and they also offer a bare bones board Arduino –the Freeduino. But it’s actually not free, it’s $15. Still, that’s pretty cheap for a microcontroller that’s full sized.
Modern Device is based in Rhode Island, so shipping and delivery times are no issue. It’s always a lot more reassuring to purchase from American companies when shopping online. It can be lengthy waiting for some purchases to arrive from China or even Canada. (One Ontario company takes 5-6 weeks to deliver anything they sell!)
Their products may be limited in the numbers, but Modern Device offers some neat things at a decent price, and that’s about all that matters.