Hasta La Gadget!

The Raspberry Pi has been around for a long time now and has been used in some really cool projects by DIY enthusiasts around the world. When the device launched it sold for $35 for the original Model B. A cheaper version of the device called the Model A is now available to purchase in the US and is priced at $10 less than the original.

The device is available now for $25 and has a decent amount of processing power for all sorts of projects. The Model A consumes about one third less power than the Model B and was envisioned for low-power consuming projects. The $10 discount does come with some notable changes in hardware compared to the Model B.

The Model A has 256 MB of RAM, a single USB 2.0 port, and has no Ethernet port. The board is designed to run the Linux operating system and has a built-in HDMI port. The board has a SD memory card port and a 3.5 mm audio output. The device also features a HD video camera connector for the Raspberry Pi specific camera.

The processor on the small board runs at 700 MHz. It appears that $25 Model A is currently out of stock at most sellers. The board measures 85.6 x 53.9 x 17 mm, and enclosures as well as other accessories and add-ons are available to go along with the Raspberry Pi to complete your project. The Model A was only available in Europe previously.

[via Techcrunch]

Raspberry Pi Model A now available for $25 is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
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There is nothing quite like the feeling of paying a visit to the past, and sometimes, old is gold where certain computer games are concerned. I am quite sure that some of us do think back of those PC games which we spent hours on during our formative years as a teenager, where the DOS platform proved to be rather tricky when it comes to configuring your audio setup, with IRQs, XMS and EMS memory to set and all. Who would have thought that fast forward by a couple of decades, and something as small as the Raspberry Pi is powerful enough to run a DOS emulator, which in turn will let you enjoy those old school DOS games?

Homebrew coder Pate already has experience with DOS emulators, coming up with one for the Nintendo DS in the past, and has just completed another DOS emulator for the Raspberry Pi which is based on the DS version known as rpix86. You will obviously require a Raspberry Pi in the first place, as well as some know how before jumping through the rabbit hole and going back in time with your favorite DOS games.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Chinese Gamer Spends Six Years At Internet Cafe, Wii U Miiverse Coming To Smartphones, PC In A Few Weeks,

The $25 Model A Raspberry Pi has gone on sale in Asia, following its launch in Europe last month – suggesting a U.S. landing can’t be too far off for the most affordable of the Pi Foundation’s two low-cost microcomputers. One of the Foundation’s distributors, RS Components, said today it is now shipping the Model A Pi in Asia.

Speaking to TechCrunch at the end of last month, Raspberry Pi founder, Eben Upton, said the not-for-profit organisation had completed the paperwork required to kick off global sales of the Model A, adding that it and “hope[d] to be able to enable these within the next couple of weeks”.

The $25 Model A is the most affordable Pi in the Foundation’s microcomputing arsenal, a full ten dollars cheaper than the original Model B. To get the price down, the unit has half the RAM (256MB) of the second revision Model B, only one USB port and no Ethernet connection. It also consumes less power, making it suitable for remote battery-powered applications — although it can still support a ‘home media centre’ use-case too, according to the Foundation.

Asked about early sales of the Model A Pi at the end of February, Upton said: “Early indications are that we’ve been selling between 5,000 and 10,000 units per week across the two distributors: so, roughly a quarter of the sales rate of Model Bs.”

“It will be interesting to see whether these sales have displaced Model B sales, or have grown the market,” he added.

In January, Raspberry Pi passed the one million Model B sales mark — a far cry from the founders’ original estimates of a few thousand units. The Pi was conceived as a tool to get kids learning to code – but has also proved popular with big kids who like to tinker. And with Google.

As well as being used for powering DIY gadgets, the Pi has had plenty of software ported over to it — including classic first-person shooter Quake, block-building community game Minecraft – and for those who really want to relive the old days of computing: a DOS (PC) emulator, rpix86 (shown below running a benchmark):

A Brooklynite named Matt Richardson has built a working prototype of a bicycle headlight that uses a Raspberry Pi to project his current traveling speed as he rides around the city. Richardson calls it the Raspberry Pi Dynamic Headlight, and it’s one of those jaw-dropping DIY projects that makes you wonder why this isn’t something you can buy in a store yet.

The prototype has a small projector mounted to the handlebars of the bicycle, which is connected to the Raspberry Pi via HDMI cable. The projector and the Raspberry Pi are both powered by a USB battery pack. The Raspberry Pi and the battery pack seem to be crudely glued to a triangular piece of wood that is strapped onto the center of the bike, but Richardson says in his video that he’s hoping that future prototypes will combine all the components into one single piece that will be mounted onto the handlebars.

The Dynamic Headlight for now only projects the speed of the bike, but Richardson is looking to add all sorts of interesting functions to future iterations like GPS and other “animations and visualizations”. He’s also planning on writing about it for MAKE and including instructions for those that are brave enough to build one for themselves.

Someone needs to get him some of that Veronica Mars Kickstarter money, stat.

The Raspberry Pi affordable microcomputer is now almost entirely made in the U.K., after Premier Farnell/element 14 — the largest of the Pi Foundation‘s distributors — announced it has shifted all its production to Sony’s Pencoed factory in Wales.

The company inked a multi-million pound contract with Sony to manufacture Pis last fall but also had two locations in China producing Pis — meaning that around 70% of its Pi production was coming out of the U.K. at the turn of the year. Today, after a “period of transition”, Premier Farnell said the Pencoed factory now accounts for 100% of its Pi output.

“The business stated back in September its intention to bring production of the computer back to its home, the UK, and now after a period of transition we are delighted to announce that all production is in Wales,” said Claire Doyle, Global Head of Raspberry Pi at element14, in a statement.

“We are constantly amazed by the demand for the Raspberry Pi across the world and have done everything we can to ensure we keep our supply chain stocked,” she added. “We believe that a UK creation should be produced in its home country and since partnering with Sony UK Tec we have been delighted with the quality and the commitment they have shown in developing the product.”

There is still some non-U.K. Raspberry Pi production, as the Pi Foundation has another distributor, but Premier Farnell/element 14 is apparently the larger of the two. (The Foundation has previously said it does not disclose exactly how much of the Pi pie each of its licensees accounts for.)

Since the Pi’s launch on 29 February last year, Premier Farnell said it has distributed more than 500,000 Raspberry Pi’s. Back in January, it estimated more than a million Pis had been sold – a considerable bump on the Foundation’s original projections of a few thousand units.

The Foundation has previously produced this short video showing some of the manufacturing processes taking place at the Pencoed Pi factory: