ByteSnap Design
Birmingham electronics consultancy pairing PCB design with Linux, Android and RTOS firmware
What is ByteSnap Design?
Graeme Wintle and Dunstan Power founded ByteSnap Design in Birmingham in 2008, and both still run it from Park Point in Longbridge. With about 40 people, it is small by the standards of this list but covers a wide technical spread: schematic and PCB design, embedded Linux and Android board bring-up, RTOS firmware and touch interfaces. It is a Silicon Labs certified design partner and an Analog Devices partner. Trade press has linked recent growth to medical device work, alongside EV charging and industrial clients.
ByteSnap Design works primarily with clients in Medical devices, Energy & EV charging, Industrial IoT, Consumer electronics sectors. Its primary differentiator is: Small UK team covering PCB design, Linux and Android bring-up, and MCU firmware.
ByteSnap Design tech stack and services
| Service area |
|---|
| Firmware Development |
| RTOS & Bare-Metal |
| Embedded Linux & BSP |
| Electronics & PCB Design |
| Wireless & IoT Connectivity |
ByteSnap Design pricing
Short answer: ByteSnap Design uses a fixed project, time & materials pricing approach. Minimum engagement is not publicly disclosed; a discovery call is required.
| Engagement model | Typical range | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed project | From not disclosed | Well-defined scope |
| Time & materials | Variable; depends on team size | Large programmes or team augmentation |
ByteSnap Design pros and cons
| Advantages | Things to consider |
|---|---|
| +Founder-led team where senior engineers stay involved in delivery | -Around 40 people limits capacity for multiple large programmes at once |
| +Covers both MCU firmware and Linux or Android on application processors | -UK pricing is higher than offshore alternatives |
| +Silicon Labs certified design partner, useful for Zigbee, Thread and BLE products | -Less visible experience in automotive functional safety than larger engineering firms |
| +Offers free design clinics, which lowers the cost of an initial technical review |
ByteSnap Design vs alternatives
How ByteSnap Design compares to the other top Firmware Development service providers.
| Company | Best for | Key difference | Rating | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lemberg Solutions | Connected devices needing firmware and electronics together. | Electrical engineering, firmware, cloud and an in-house hardware lab under one contract, with NXP, Microchip and ST partner status | 4.8 | Full comparison |
| Dojo Five | Product teams wanting firmware with CI and test... | Firmware-only consultancy that also sells its own embedded DevOps product, EmbedOps | 4.6 | Full comparison |
| Witekio | Linux-class devices needing BSPs and long-term maintenance. | Two decades of BSP and Yocto work, now backed by Avnet's silicon relationships | 4.5 | Full comparison |
| Promwad | Hardware startups heading for volume production. | Combined PCB, FPGA and firmware design with manufacturing preparation, delivered from EU entities | 4.4 | Full comparison |
| Byte Lab | EU buyers wanting firmware plus low-volume boards. | ST and Nordic design partner that also offers low-volume manufacturing in-house | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| Bluefruit Software | Regulated devices where test evidence matters. | Test-driven embedded development with documented quality practices for medical and industrial products | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| Punch Through | Bluetooth LE products with companion mobile apps. | Bluetooth LE firmware and mobile apps built by the same team, with deep radio-level debugging experience | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| Integra Sources | Budget-conscious startups needing low-level drivers. | Kernel, driver and MCU firmware work from a small team with low hourly rates | 4.2 | Full comparison |
| Sirin Software | US buyers wanting Ukrainian embedded Linux rates. | US contracting entity with a Ukrainian embedded Linux and firmware team | 4.2 | Full comparison |
| Cardinal Peak | US consumer and media devices needing onshore engineers. | US-based device engineering with audio and video depth, now backed by FPT | 4.2 | Full comparison |
| Embien Technologies | Automotive and semiconductor firmware at Indian rates. | Renesas partner with its own reusable protocol stack libraries (RAPIDSEA) | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| Timesys | Linux devices facing SBOM and security compliance. | Embedded Linux services combined with Vigiles vulnerability tracking | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| Softeq | Storage and memory firmware, US-contracted IoT builds. | Deep NAND, SSD and storage-controller firmware experience alongside full IoT product teams | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| Mistral Solutions | Defence and aerospace embedded programmes in India. | Board design, BSPs and rugged systems for defence and aerospace, with TI partnership | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| MistyWest | Deep-tech startups at proof-of-concept stage. | Electrical, mechanical and firmware design for early hardware, aimed at manufacturability | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Developex | Peripheral makers needing firmware plus configuration apps. | Firmware combined with drivers and companion desktop or mobile apps for consumer hardware | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Indeema Software | IoT products needing device-to-cloud development. | Hardware, firmware, cloud and app teams under one IoT-focused vendor | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| eInfochips | Large device programmes needing many engineers. | Thousands of embedded engineers and broad chip-vendor partnerships, backed by Arrow | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Tata Elxsi | Automotive and medical OEMs needing compliance at volume. | Large, process-heavy embedded practices for automotive and medical compliance | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Ignitarium | Chip makers and edge AI device builders. | Firmware and drivers tied closely to semiconductor design and edge AI | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| rinf.tech | EU buyers wanting nearshore embedded capacity. | EU-based embedded and automotive engineering with multicore and NPU firmware experience | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| L&T Technology Services | Global OEMs outsourcing whole embedded programmes. | Very large engineering services capacity with embedded, VLSI and testing under one contract | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Intellias | Automotive OEMs needing in-vehicle software teams. | Large automotive and navigation software practice with HERE and TomTom experience | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Spyrosoft | EU automotive and EV-charging embedded teams. | Polish delivery for embedded HMI, EV charging and embedded security testing | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| GlobalLogic | Enterprises bundling embedded into larger programmes. | Global delivery capacity with embedded work attached to large digital programmes | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Luxoft | Automotive cockpit and ADAS software programmes. | Automotive embedded and cockpit software practice inside DXC | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Beningo Embedded Group | In-house teams needing architecture and process coaching. | Founder-led firmware architecture reviews and training from a widely published author | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Very | US companies building a first connected product. | Product-strategy-led IoT development with Nerves and Elixir experience | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Elinext | Firmware bundled with app and web development. | Generalist developer that can add firmware to a broader software project | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| ScienceSoft | Healthcare IoT platforms with light firmware needs. | Healthcare IT and IoT platform experience, with security testing in-house | 3.7 | Full comparison |
ByteSnap Design FAQ
What is ByteSnap Design?
Birmingham electronics consultancy pairing PCB design with Linux, Android and RTOS firmware
How much does ByteSnap Design charge?
ByteSnap Design uses fixed project, time & materials pricing. Minimum engagement is not publicly disclosed. A discovery call is required to get project-specific quotes.
What tech stack does ByteSnap Design use?
ByteSnap Design works with C, C++, Embedded Linux, Yocto, Android, FreeRTOS, NXP i.MX, Silicon Labs, Qt. Primary industries served include Medical devices, Energy & EV charging, Industrial IoT, Consumer electronics.
Is ByteSnap Design right for enterprise?
UK companies needing electronics and firmware from one team. 11–50 team size. Key consideration: Around 40 people limits capacity for multiple large programmes at once.
What are the best ByteSnap Design alternatives?
The best alternatives to ByteSnap Design depend on your use case. Top options are:
- Lemberg Solutions: electrical engineering, firmware, cloud and an in-house hardware lab under one contract, with nxp, microchip and st partner status
- Dojo Five: firmware-only consultancy that also sells its own embedded devops product, embedops
- Witekio: two decades of bsp and yocto work, now backed by avnet's silicon relationships
Compare ByteSnap Design with other Firmware Development service providers
Verify all details directly with ByteSnap Design before making a decision.