You mean the 44-pin demo board? Yep, it's place to put parts... Plenty of room for 1 or more IC's in SOIC packages, several places to put parts in SOT23 packages, and lots of pads for resistors and caps in 0603 or 0805 packages.

And yes, it's possible to solder them by hand with a good strong magnifying glass, lots of light, and a very fine tipped iron. It's easier with a bit of solder paste and a hot air station with a fine nozzle.

Welcome to the world of surface mount devices.


Yes, typically on the breadboard, parts are inserted on the non-coppered side and soldered on the copper side. I always have used plain "unclad" breadboard, and don't have much experience with the copper coated stuff.