AT89C2051 I can get in 1 pc amount for less than $1 (excl. VAT 19%) excl. any discount. I can buy it over the counter in a local parts shop for around $1.50 (incl. VAT).

I haven't tried to buy the LPCs yet, but for LPC922 the distributors quote around $2.20 (excl.VAT) and minimum order/multiplies of 18 or 75. They claim some of them are on stock but I have to order and wait until they arrive - usually a week or so. For some distributors also minimum total orders apply. No over-the-counter availability as far as I know.

Many of the features present in the LPC9xx are also present in ATMega8, and here this is around $2 (excl.VAT) from distributors and around $3 (incl.VAT) over-the-counter, so this is a good option for the little boy (if you don't mind to maintain an another variety of mcus). But, wait, it is Atmel again... :-) Then, the smallest PICs are of good features/performance/price/availability ratio, but I can't stand that concept and go for it only as the last resort (they have very low power consumption) - personal view.

These all is for small quantities with no contractual or similar discounts.

Erik mentioned somewhere here that the LPCs' price varies widely from distributor to distributor, maybe that's another issue - you need to find the cheapest. With the Atmel parts, being around for a long time, the competition is strong and prices are more-less uniform.

Jan Waclawek