arm cyclone ii
Hi there,
What FPGA to go for depends on the application and the features you need/want.
Also you will probably need some applications support when designing. Trust me you will not be able to do it all by yourself.
So, it's ok to have the possibility to buy online, but at the end you will need some help from a distributor. This will also have an impact on your final choice.
Third, you are comparing a non-volatile architecture (Fusion) with volatile (Xilinx/Altera). Lattice is the only one offering non-volatile (no prom needed) as volatile solutions.
As you are a beginner, it's probably more convenient to get an eval board. All vendors have these (all be it not all through direct channels). The Spartan3 kit is well established, but I've heard from some designers that the board doesn't function all the time. On top, Xilinx doesn't really support the 'small' customer/hobbyist. The same counts for Altera (more or less). Also Lattice offers eval boards at low cost (some are available from a German company - h**p://w3.hardware-design.de)
A nice mean 'n lean FPGA like architecture is the MachXO from Lattice - very flexible and comes in a variety of packages - and it is non-volatile as well.
The Fusion has - as you mentioned - quite nice features. But if you don't need them, you will pay for them. Don't think the ARM core comes for free, you'll pay for it.
Hope this helps to make a choice,
L