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Raspberry Pi Founder Demos Touchscreen Display For DIY Kits

An anonymous reader writes: Over 4 million Raspberry Pis have been sold so far, and now founder Eben Upton has shown off a touchscreen display panel that's designed to work with it. It's a 7" panel, roughly tablet sized, but slightly thicker. "With the incoming touchscreen panel The Pi Foundation is clearly hoping to keep stoking the creative fires that have helped drive sales of the Pi by slotting another piece of DIY hardware into the mix." Upton also discussed the Model A+ Raspberry Pi board — an updated version they'll be announcing soon.

81 comments

  1. Obvious question... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Why would I want to touch my raspberry? :P

    1. Re:Obvious question... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Does the :P mean you're giving us a raspberry?

    2. Re:Obvious question... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      If you have to ask...

  2. We need a whitebox mobile device. by jellomizer · · Score: 4, Interesting

    One of the things I am missing is the idea of a whitebox mobile devices. so you can build your own phone and your own tablet.
    It may not be Sexy as an iPad, but you can configure in ways to get what you want out of it. More speed, more memory, better video, or huge battery life...
    That is what made the PC popular, was the fact that you could get a PC configured for what you need it for. A cheap low end box, to a high end system. Was all possible.
    This also allowed for a bunch of small companies to start building computers.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    1. Re:We need a whitebox mobile device. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Problems with that.

      Cell frequencies are licensed and pretty much anything that touches those frequencies needs to be fully approved by the FCC.

      The carriers aren't going to allow it on their networks.

    2. Re:We need a whitebox mobile device. by causality · · Score: 2

      Problems with that.

      Cell frequencies are licensed and pretty much anything that touches those frequencies needs to be fully approved by the FCC.

      The carriers aren't going to allow it on their networks.

      Presumably the whitebox device would include as core components all of the FCC-approved hardware necessary to use said frequencies. Upgrading the GPU, the amount of RAM, or the battery shouldn't have anything to do with this.

      When you build your own PC from separate components, you don't have to worry about whether it can be powered by 60hz AC. The power supplies sold in this country are built to handle the electric supply found in this country and come with all of the UL (etc.) approvals.

      --
      It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
    3. Re:We need a whitebox mobile device. by fisted · · Score: 1
      I completely agree, but unfortunately this:

      or huge battery life...

      isn't going to happen with the raspi.

      No, not with Model A+, either.

    4. Re:We need a whitebox mobile device. by MobyDisk · · Score: 2

      You can buy 3G/4G/GSM/whatever Arduino shields for your own devices. They can be used to make phone calls, get internet access, etc.

    5. Re:We need a whitebox mobile device. by _xeno_ · · Score: 1

      You mean something like Project Ara? (Actually, Project Ara's website sucks, try the Wikipedia page on it instead.)

      People are working on a modular cell phone. Not open hardware, necessarily, but something which you can upgrade piecemeal. I don't think anyone's managed to create a real marketable solution, but - well, there are companies working on it.

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
    6. Re:We need a whitebox mobile device. by John+Bokma · · Score: 1

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?... Now compare it to an iPhone...

  3. Re:After whast happened to Odroid-w, why? by Charliemopps · · Score: 4, Informative

    I'd never heard of this controversy... but after looking it up, there's no proof rPI had anything to do with that... and even if they did, they kind of had a point. rPI is Not an open hardware project and never claimed to be. All the hacking people are using it for is welcome, but wasn't what they were going after in the beginning. You can't just copy other peoples closed source hardware.

  4. Re:After whast happened to Odroid-w, why? by jones_supa · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Isn't it more important to do cool and interesting things with a computer rather than everything obsessedly being open source?

  5. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Except I can do a shitload more with a Pi than you can ever do with a tablet.

    I love how the morons like you spout off when you dont know shit about electronics in general.

  6. Re:Wow by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 1

    Why yes, making a more expensive, less useful product is always a good goal. If you don't want to run Play Services or use the Play Store, that is fine, get yourself an Android and install one of the good ROMs that don't use those products. It is faster, cheaper and likely to draw less attention from those you're paranoid about anyways.

    The easiest way to blend into a crowd is by blending into a crowd, not by wearing Neon Colors in a sea of grey.

    --
    Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
  7. Re:Have they apologized for attacking gamers yet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    #gamergate and it's ilk needs to go away.

    I love video games and have been playing them since I was 8 (I'm 35 now). I will never again call myself a "gamer".

  8. Re:toad in hat by rochrist · · Score: 1

    Uh....what?

  9. Re:After whast happened to Odroid-w, why? by causality · · Score: 2

    Isn't it more important to do cool and interesting things with a computer rather than everything obsessedly being open source?

    The idea is that open source and the freedoms that come with it facilitate and ensure that you can continue to do cool and interesting things, often things the original designers didn't think of. It's certainly easier to be creative when you have the full specifications, source code, and documentation. It's easier to share your creativity with others when you can legally redistribute your derived works without violating someone else's copyright.

    Obsession with anything is not good; on that I agree. However I haven't seen that in this thread. To cry "obsession" merely because someone points out a controversy isn't helpful (and ironically raises the question of whether you have an obsession with the perceived obsessions of others). All I saw was someone stating that they wish to avoid certain Broadcom hardware because it does not provide the degree of open source access that he or she desired. That people have their own criteria and express a desire to choose products that best suit their own needs is a good thing. Your own priorities being different is not surprising and doesn't indicate fault with anyone else.

    --
    It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
  10. Re:Wow by hughbar · · Score: 1

    Who said anything about 'product'? Maybe people want a) to learn stuff b) have an enjoyable hobby c) not interact with some vast evil American corporation d) do something different.

    But please carry on with Google Play, iTunes etc. etc. we're not stopping you.

    --
    On y va, qui mal y pense!
  11. Re:Have they apologized for attacking gamers yet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Good. The last thing gamers need is a 35 year old virgin claiming to be one of them.

  12. Re:Wow by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

    I am more interested in the screen, if low cost, and if/how it can be used with platforms other than the RPi.

  13. Re:After whast happened to Odroid-w, why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    True. There's also the point that although open source is great, it in no way means there isn't a place for closed source hardware/software. There's something in hardware/software development for everyone. From the hacker to the entrepreneur. Besides, how will we recognize the virtues of open source if we didn't have closed source around to draw distinctions from?

  14. Re: Have they apologized for attacking gamers yet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Die in a fire, you women-hating, anti-geriatric virginophobe faggot.

  15. Re:Have they apologized for attacking gamers yet? by nucrash · · Score: 1

    #gamergate is about as much of a conspiracy as mystery meat Monday. Who cares? I mean, who really cares?

    So what if some game developer cheated on her boyfriend and started a relationship with a journalist. We are talking about the journalistic integrity of a game journalist.

    Are we going to go after every athlete that sleeps with a female reporter? Are we going to go after every female reporter that sleeps with a foot ball or basket ball player and give them a glowing review as their contract is about to expire?

    This is an outrage of "meh" proportions.

    --
    Place something witty here
  16. Re:Wow by afidel · · Score: 1

    Yeah, but you can't really run a temperature controlled fan stoker for a BBQ pit from a tablet either, which is one of the rPi projects I'm considering, being able to have a touchscreen to do the settings and view the temp graphs on would be kind of cool.

    --
    There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
  17. Re:After whast happened to Odroid-w, why? by spire3661 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Are we going to keep saying this forever? When are these things going to fall to the floor and become wrenches? (A wrench is a universally used device with no encumbrances, a true tool.)

    We want tools of computing to be as useful and flexible and free (in design) as cement, steel girders, wrenches and sockets, pencils and paper.

    --
    Good-bye
  18. Getting ridiculous now... by funkymonkjay · · Score: 1

    Why not just repurpose an old android phone? if you really need I/O, plug in an IOIO board. It's probably cheaper than buying all these peripherals.

    1. Re:Getting ridiculous now... by unimacs · · Score: 1

      It depends on whether you're doing it for a hobby or designing something you can build multiple copies of. It also depends on how important precise timing is. You may need a RTOS which Android isn't. Raspbian isn't either but there are ports of Real-Time OSes for RPi.

  19. VGA by Dracos · · Score: 1

    I hope "VGA" is a bad hint at what this screen will be. Pi's have HDMI output, so surely the screen will support that, if not HDMI/VGA/NTSC/PAL. Adafruit's 7 inch LCD screens are 800x640 or more, so hopefully he's not referring to 640x480 resolution.

    Hopefully what they release is at least 720p.

    1. Re:VGA by khellendros1984 · · Score: 1

      The previously-released camera module used the ribbon-cable CSI interface, so the new screen module will probably use the DSI interface. According to the specifications, it allows "up to" an 800x480 screen to be connected, so they may be releasing a WVGA screen.

      --
      It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
  20. Re:After whast happened to Odroid-w, why? by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

    Broadcom did them a favour. That chip is hopelessly slow and out dated compared to any Cortex ARM CPU.

  21. Re:Have they apologized for attacking gamers yet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh so you guys just like younger virgins?

  22. Re: Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    By the time you guys have finished, I'll be nearly ready with my machine vision guided raspberry pi ground attack drone.

    And, by the way, it has a USB host port to instill fear in my enemies (you see, with a servo controller, you can operate rocket launchers and non-sharkmounted lasers).

  23. Re:After whast happened to Odroid-w, why? by BaronAaron · · Score: 2

    We want tools of computing to be as useful and flexible and free (in design) as cement, steel girders, wrenches and sockets, pencils and paper.

    While the general concepts of those tools are free and open, there are patents on specific implementations of all of them. People are always inventing better wrenches. If you made a copy of Craftman's new wrench of the week and started selling them, I'm sure you'd be hearing from their lawyers.

    We live in a world, wrong or right, were people innovate for profit, not the betterment of society. I don't see why people feel computing devices should be any different.

  24. Re:After whast happened to Odroid-w, why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Actually, they specifically chose the Broadcom chip over faster ARM designs because of it's low power consumption (under 1W) which is important for the kind of battery-powered wearable designs the board was aimed at (the w in Odroid-w stands for wearable)

  25. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How much more can you do than with a tablet plus an IOIO board? https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11504

  26. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    SO THIS.

    I HATE thin tablets. Why the hell do I want a thin tablet?
    Hell no, I want a big fat tablet with FEATURES.

    Likewise with crap like Apples Air laptops. Awful useless piece of crap.
    Why would you want to gimp yourself with a featureless piece of crap like that?
    Get a real laptop, even if it is one of Apples other laptops. But don't buy thin-crap, it is a serious waste of money.

    Thing is, all of these crappy tablets COULD have features and such if they just added a common hardware port that let you connect to a hub, similar to this one from days of old M (holy crap why are ebays image links so terrible? Also funny story, 2 weeks ago I found a saved ebay image hidden on my Windows machine because it had a bloody $ symbol at the start of the name. )
    Something like this that let you connect to monitors, keyboard and anything under the sun, maybe then tablets might actually steal some more marketshare from PCs, but until then, they are simply casual computer users market tier.

    Features > looks.
    People that disagree are the reason we have shitty shiny screens instead of matte.

  27. Good idea, but that site sucks by Kazoo+the+Clown · · Score: 2

    The site's comments are driven by a Facebook login, I won't touch those with a 10-ft pole. Any site so brain dead as to think that would ever be appropriate has got nothing to say I want to hear.

  28. Intertesting by folderol · · Score: 1

    So much disdain, and even outright hostillity towards the Pi, yet it continues to confound its critics with its popularity.
    I wonder where the disconnect is.

    1. Re:Intertesting by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      And you're no exception to that rule.

    2. Re:Intertesting by amiga3D · · Score: 2

      The disconnect is called snobbery. My device is faster, better, smaller, quieter or what have you. So what? The Pi has the right mix of versatility, power and price to make it a success. If it doesn't fit their needs then they should feel free to shop elsewhere.

    3. Re:Intertesting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is no disconnect. The Pi is popular, so in order to demonstrate your 'leetitude you need to loudly and repeatedly say how absolutely, positively plebian the Pi is, and the real, true geeks (like you) are using some highly-obscure, hard to use alternative that hardly anyone has ever heard of. Thus load of Pi-hate and plugs for (insert some also-ran here).

  29. It's been 2.5 years by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So we get finally the DSI driver we have been waiting for 2.5 years?

  30. New PI A+ by eminencja · · Score: 1

    > Upton also discussed the Model A+ Raspberry Pi board
    Not, really: "We’re going to do an announcement about an A+ soon. I think it’s going to be an exciting product,” he said, without giving exact details of how the board will be upgraded.
    That's all he said.

  31. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I love how aggressive and unhelpful you are. You'll go far in life, make a lot of enemies, then crash and burn creating a job opportunity for someone else.

  32. Re:After whast happened to Odroid-w, why? by Type44Q · · Score: 1

    Isn't it more important to do cool and interesting things with a computer rather than everything obsessedly being open source?

    You simply don't get it: in the long run, those two ideals are anything but mutually exclusive.

  33. Re:Wow by khellendros1984 · · Score: 1

    There's a ribbon cable connector on the Pi that's called the "DSI" (Display Serial Interface). Presumably, any device that has a DSI connection could use the screen, assuming there's some kind of driver available for it.

    --
    It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
  34. Pi-Top by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Pi-Top idea is cool, but it's too expensive.

  35. Re:After whast happened to Odroid-w, why? by Charliemopps · · Score: 1

    Are we going to keep saying this forever? When are these things going to fall to the floor and become wrenches? (A wrench is a universally used device with no encumbrances, a true tool.)

      We want tools of computing to be as useful and flexible and free (in design) as cement, steel girders, wrenches and sockets, pencils and paper.

    I have about $10k worth of patented tools out in my garage. Your continuous wrench examples are hilariously ironic considering Cement, Steel girders, wenches and sock, pencils and paper all have patents

    You seem to think that the collective idea of a "Wrench" is the same as going to home depot to buy "Crescent Wrench" And I'll admit, those of us that use real tools tend to refer to them by their brand name. I call all my adjustable wrenches "Crescent Wrenches" because they made the first one I ever owned.

    But the fact of the matter is, Crescent is a brand: http://www.crescenttool.com/wr...

    They have all of their wrenches patented. And if you Gave the device we're talking about here the same patent treatment you did a Crescent wrench and tried to copy it like you want to, you'd get sued even more hardcore you dolt.

    You are free to design your own Wrench, or development computer. You are not free to copy Crescent or Raspberries designs without their permission. I find it idiotic that I'm defending patents, as I don't like them much... but you're so far off the mark you're making the rest of us that support FSSOS look like idiots.

  36. Re:Have they apologized for attacking gamers yet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Suggesting outrage to obvious conflicts of interest is somehow the incorrect response.

    get fucked

  37. Re:Have they apologized for attacking gamers yet? by dugancent · · Score: 1

    The last thing we need is anyone claiming to be one of them.

    --
    SJWs are the new boogeyman. -Me
  38. Intertesting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Most people are stupid

  39. Re:After whast happened to Odroid-w, why? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

    A favour that resulted in millions of Pi sales. I could do with a slow favour like that.

    For all the endless talks about how slow the RPi is you'd think that the competitors would be outselling them. I guess some people don't care about things like speed.

  40. Re: Boycott the Raspberry Pi and Foundation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Very propaganda. Much wow.

  41. Re: Boycott the Raspberry Pi and Foundation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That word you are using: I don't think it means what you think it means.

  42. Re:Better question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I hope you get Ebola.

  43. Re:After whast happened to Odroid-w, why? by spire3661 · · Score: 1

    Philip's screwdriver patent doesnt really mean shit to me in the 21st Century does it? The Philips design is laying on the floor, waiting for anyone to use it, with no encumbrances. We want more of that in computing hardware/software. Tired of people telling us we have to have $10,000 in patented tools to get anything done.

    --
    Good-bye
  44. Re:Wow by citizenr · · Score: 1

    mipi dsi, you can get mipi screens for $5 on ebay
    there are and wont be ANY open drivers for rPI, just like there are no open drivers for the mipi camera, mipi port is on the embedded 'proprietary' side of BCM chip and broadcom is HOSTILE against anyone wanting to touch their magic closed source firmware blob.

    --
    Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
  45. only took 2 years for mipi dsi screen by citizenr · · Score: 1

    just like it took them ~2 years for mipi camera, all because of closed source blob and Broadcom hostility. Instead of releasing simple shim drivers for MIPI ports they insist on keeping everything in the binary blob and tying users to their branded camera module (thankfully Chinese took care of that and you can buy 'counterfeit' at 2/3 the price), and now to their branded screen (which no doubt will be 2x the price of generic mipi screen on ebay)

    --
    Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
  46. Re:Wow by khellendros1984 · · Score: 1

    If you can get a 7" MIPI DSI screen with capacitive multi-touch for $5 on Ebay, people will get upset with the RPi foundation. The prototype that I've seen mentioned is supposed to be around $70, and as you've said, the drivers for CSI and DSI devices are in some part of the binary blob of system firmware. A matching screen seems to be $50-$60 on Ebay, though. So $70 might be overpriced, but at least it wouldn't be 10x overpriced.

    --
    It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
  47. Re:After whast happened to Odroid-w, why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What I don't understand is: why haven't they used the 1.3GHz version of that SAME chip in the B+ model? The one that Nokia used in their Nokia 701 and 808Pureview smartphones. It has the SAME Videocore IV and runs quite a lot faster. It would be a significant enough upgrade to keep the RPI alive for the next year while delivering just enough performance to e.g. run XBMC much better.

  48. Re:After whast happened to Odroid-w, why? by drinkypoo · · Score: 0

    rPI is Not an open hardware project and never claimed to be.

    Nonsense. They claimed to be generally open, hardware and software. Then it was pointed out that important parts of the software were so closed you couldn't even use them. Eventually it was opened up enough so that you could use them, but all the important parts except the interface (which was originally closed) remain secret sauce. They also claimed to use all documented interfaces, but provided inadequate documentation for the display and camera connectors for a seriously long time as well.

    They absolutely claimed to be promoting an open platform originally. They also made lots of other claims they never came through on, like that they would release Android for the device.

    All the hacking people are using it for is welcome, but wasn't what they were going after in the beginning. You can't just copy other peoples closed source hardware.

    Yes, you can, unless it's patent-protected.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  49. Re:Wow by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    but you can't really run a temperature controlled fan stoker for a BBQ pit from a tablet either, which

    Of course you can. There's lots of ways to do that, including hacking into the audio hardware. I'd probably just use an old phone though, and not a whole tablet. You don't need that much screen for that job. Most devices have some GPIO on board, which can be used with some effort, but using the audio hardware is much easier. Use one of the many phones with USB OTG, and connect up a cheap MCU to do the USB-to-GPIO work.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  50. Re:After whast happened to Odroid-w, why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Tired of people telling us we have to have $10,000 in patented tools to get anything done.

    Then wait until the patents expire. In the interim, the creators get to profit for a while. You may create a situation like the GIF or fractal compression ones, where the technology in large part sits unused until the patent runs out, or you may simply come late to the party, but free, just as you desire. What you do not get is the right to everyone else's stuff as soon as it's invented for free just because you want it. That's not happening, nor should it happen. You want to benefit from others time and energy and money, then you have to comply with whatever legal method they choose to use to share that technology. If that method is money on the barrelhead, then pony up -- or wait. Anything else is a major ethical fail.

    --fyngyrz (anon due to mod points)

  51. Re:After whast happened to Odroid-w, why? by rephlex · · Score: 1

    You can't just copy other peoples closed source hardware.

    But the Odroid-W wasn't a copy of any of the Raspberry Pi boards, it was merely based around the same BCM2835 SoC they are.

  52. Re:Wow by citizenr · · Score: 1

    you can get 1.54' 240x240 mipi screen for $5
    http://www.electricstuff.co.uk...

    3.5' with touchscreen are ~$20
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Replac...

    7' with touchscreen are ~$40
    http://www.aliexpress.com/item...

    so only ~2x overpriced, just like the camera module

    --
    Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
  53. Re:Wow by citizenr · · Score: 1

    wait, nexus 7 screen is ~$20 + ~$12 digitizer, so ~$32 for a 7' screen with digitizer

    --
    Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
  54. Re:Wow by khellendros1984 · · Score: 1

    They're also not MIPI interfaces, when they're over 800x480.

    --
    It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
  55. Re:Wow by citizenr · · Score: 1
    --
    Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
  56. Re:After whast happened to Odroid-w, why? by RabidReindeer · · Score: 1

    We live in a world, wrong or right, were people innovate for profit, not the betterment of society.

    Not always, thank goodness. Sometimes people innovate and give it away. Some of what's given away is quite valuable.

  57. Re:After whast happened to Odroid-w, why? by RabidReindeer · · Score: 1

    A favour that resulted in millions of Pi sales. I could do with a slow favour like that.

    For all the endless talks about how slow the RPi is you'd think that the competitors would be outselling them. I guess some people don't care about things like speed.

    Not everything needs blinding speed. Sometimes it's more useful to have a slower computer that's the size of a credit card, consumes less thn 5 watts, and costs around $35 or less.

    The Pi can be sluggish, true, but it's more than a match for the workhorse PCs of 10-15 years ago.

    And it's not dog-slow at everything. It renders Minecraft graphics impressively fast. In Java, no less.

  58. Re:After whast happened to Odroid-w, why? by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

    It's actually a bit slower than a Pentium 3 450 of ~15 years ago
    It has a decent GPU though.

  59. Re:After whast happened to Odroid-w, why? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

    Tell it to the GP. The RPi is the fastest embedded system in my house. Most of the others sit between 8 and 20MHz, all of them serving useful functions.

    My RPi has no problem decoding 1080p video as a media centre.

  60. Raspi = Evil by mnt · · Score: 1

    Only raspberry pi cameras work with the Pi, despite there being hundreds of CSI capable cameras. And now a touchscreen that will be the only screen that works with the Pi, despite hundreds of DSI capable screens out there. The Raspberry Pi is just another walled garden.