I had to wait a bit to review this so I cold actually use it before I reviewed the item. In short, works great; I love it.
Pros:
DIP package - I hate when I accidentally blow something up or I want to migrate it to a project not on a dev board... handy for sure.
Breadboard Friendly - This is my favorite way to develop, could be a con for others?
Onboard Reset / Power LED / USB+ Power Supply - Whats more to say? Very handy!
Onboard 12Mhz xtal - this worked out for developing code. I used the PLLDIV Divide by 3 to keep it USB friendly.
Boot Loader - I can't speak for this ... I don't use boot loaders but I think it's a plus for people who wouldn't want to by the PICKit 3! They even provide the .hex code for the bootloader for people like me that might blow it away (on purpose).. but then I can load it back up if I want to use it or give this to someone.
ICSP header - A must, sure you can wire this up to an interface but very nice to have on the board. I forgot to check the "1" pin and soldered a right angle connector on the top of the board, this makes you have to plug your PICKit in upside down.. oops. Oh well. If I get another one I'll solder it under or just put a straight pin header on.
Cons:
RA6/7 not on the board.. watchout for that because the pins the board are *almost* like they are in the DIP package.. they brought VDD/GND to where these pins would be. These pins of course go to the XTAL.. so you're minus two pins if you decide to use INTOSC... no big deal.. it doesn't make sense not to use the XTAL. Not much to complain about.
