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Gooseberry Launches Android-based Raspberry Pi Rival

Posted by timothy on from the where-are-mullberry-blueberry-and-lingonberry? dept.

New submitter masternerdguy writes with this snippet from Tom's Hardware about yet another tiny, Linux-capable single-board computer: "The manufacturer claims that the Gooseberry is 'roughly 3 x more powerful in processing power,' and twice the RAM (512 MB) [compared to] the Raspberry Pi. The Gooseberry does not come with analog video and lacks a LAN port, but supports Wi-Fi. At this time, the board only supports Android 4 ICS and Ubuntu without graphics acceleration. However, Gooseberry is offering premade images for Ubuntu. Support for Arch Linux is 'expected in the future.'"

8 of 170 comments (clear)

  1. So, unless it's cheap, what is the point? by undefinedreference · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Even the Raspberry Pi is nothing special. I've been working with cheap tiny COTS SBCs that run Linux for many years... Clearly the average person working in IT/software development/etc has absolutely no awareness of this market.

    1. Re:So, unless it's cheap, what is the point? by JohnnyMindcrime · · Score: 5, Insightful

      As a fellow Linux user, I must say that you are missing the point entirely.

      The whole concept of the Raspberry Pi is not to be the smallest, fastest or most powerful, it is simply designed to be extremely cheap to buy but with enough processing power to make it a reasonably good programming platform, especially for kids and students.

      The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a UK charity, it has been set up to further IT skills in schools, and the reason it was introduced and sold the way it was a few months ago was specifically to get the units out to those people who are keen on doing interesting things with them, and to feed back what they've done into the Foundation to get the schoolkids even more interested in programming on one.

      Your comments about it being "nothing special" would be entirely valid were it being sold for profit and you were comparing specifications to similar items - but that is not the case.

      Incidentally, I have no personal connection with the Raspberry Pi Foundation, but I support any efforts done altruistically, especially in IT education where it might get kids learning proper skills that they can build careers on and make a living from.

      --
      Windows 10 is great - I used it to download Linux.
    2. Re:So, unless it's cheap, what is the point? by asdf7890 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I think what the person you are replying to was pointing out, perhaps too flippantly, is that the previous poster's post was the very definition of unhelpful in that it pointed out help could be given then failed to do so in any way shape or form. A couple of links to devices that already exist at good prices (for the home user buying one or two, not the commercial user buying by the thousand) that could be used for the projects people are planning to play with the Pis on, would have been the ideal way to help educate those of us who are missing the clue that is, in his estimation, obvious.

      Of course the less charitable interpretation of what Aeros said is "prove you know something or I'm going to assume you are a blabbler mouth who really knows nothing and is just trying to look important", but if that is the case then the very same little bits of info in the original post would also render such a response irrelevant.

      In either case the post by undefinedreference basically amounts to "I know something you don't know". Whether that is simply a matter-of-fact-statement, in invitation to politely ask for enlightenment, or something that in the playground would be followed by "ner ner n' ner ner", is a matter for individual interpretation until more information becomes apparent.

      I've just (well, yesterday) taken delivery of an rPi and if my playing goes well might well buy more of the same or similar devices, so I for one would be most interested in hearing some detail of what undefinedreference says he knows and I don't (yet).

  2. The More Competitors the Better by shione · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Good to see more manufacturers jumping on the pcb computer craze. So long as these can't run windows (which microsoft wouldnt do since it would eat into their profits), Linux marketshare will only grow. (I'm counting Android as Linux too).

    It looks very probable that these pcb computers will be the starting point towards building smart automated appliances in the home.

  3. *Yawn* by WildTangent · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is nothing more than a tablet PCB some guys sourced from a manufacturer in Asia that they're selling as some sort of development kit when it lacks even the most basic of facilities for hardware development such as JTAG headers, or GPIO pins. Call me when somebody actually tries to compete with the Raspberry Pi instead of pulling this jump-on-the-bandwagon crap.

  4. raspberry pi is special because of value by Chirs · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Yes, there are many little COTS SBCs that run linux. However, they don't give the mix of capabilities that the Raspberry Pi does for the price that it sells at.

    1. Re:raspberry pi is special because of value by Xenna · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Incomplete? OK, I'll give you the power supply, but my Raspi is never going to have a screen/keyboard or mouse. We you planning to replace your PC with it or something?

      The whole 'teaching' idea is quite absurd. You can program on a standard PC just as wel or even better.

      The main point of the Pi for me is that it's incredibly cheap. It has GPIO ports that no other PC's have (to my knowledge).

      Also, you can change its personality completely by just swapping the SD card. I can't remember the last device I could do that with so easily.

  5. Fuck android by thetoadwarrior · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Why use something weak like Android when you can have a real Linux distro?