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Raspberry Pi Unveils New $5 Mini-computer
An anonymous reader writes: The Raspberry Pi Foundation unveiled the Pi Zero, a new $5 mini-computer, Thursday morning. The board is the smallest Raspberry Pi yet, containing the first-gen Raspberry Pi's BCM2835 chip (safely overclocked to 1GHz) and 512MB RAM. The latest issue of The Magpi will include a free Raspberry Pi Zero and hits U.K. newsstands Thursday. The announcement came just a few days before the highly anticipated C.H.I.P. $9 mini-computer goes on sale to the public.
puddingebola writes: How can they achieve this price, you may ask? "Its 40-pin GPIO header has identical pinouts, although the pads on the circuit board are "unpopulated," meaning you'll have to solder on your own connector. The same goes for the composite video output: The connection is available, but if you need a socket, you must solder it yourself." Dude, go to Radio Shack.
Some relevant specs besides those mentioned above, from the blog post linked:
- Micro-SD card slot
- mini-HDMI socket for 1080p60 video output
- Micro-USB sockets for data and power
- Identical pinout to Model A+/B+/2B
- An unpopulated composite video header
- "Our smallest ever form factor, at 65mm x 30mm x 5mm"
New submitter graffitiwriter adds a note that the newest Pi has "already been turned into a retro gaming console. It turns out the Pi Zero is more than capable of running Retro Pie and other emulators, and even has a video output that lets you play games on an old CRT TV."
Dude, go to Radio Shack.
Or not. Mostly you can only buy consumer electronics there now.
soylentnews.org
Aren't they the size of a filing cabinet?
That costs $3.14?
Hard to see how it can be useful for IoT
Let's give the folks at Raspberry some credit. It appears they are much smarter than the morons jumping on the IoT security nightmare bandwagon.
So, I remember when a fairly sizable tower was considered a "mini computer" ... hell, I think it was a friggin' VAX.
And the desktop PC was considered a "micro-computer".
Now we have this mini-micro computer called a mini-computer.
This is all very complicated. :-P
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
"Why isn't it more powerful, I can get a Beaglebone/Banana Pi/Intel board for just a little more money with a faster processor"
"Why isn't it less powerful, the Arduino is more efficient"
"Why can't I have exactly what I imagine in my head for an impossibly small amount of money"
"It doesn't have ethernet/wifi/component video/USB hub so is therefore useless"
"The video code isn't free therefore IT IS PURE EVIL"
A computer as a magazine cover freebie is pretty cool...
Back in the 90s I joked that computers would become so ubiquitous that they would some away when buying a box of laundry powder.... not far away now...
The ENIAC Demo Competition
As is, this Raspberry is quite useless... You need to add
- a SD card
- some header
- an USB Hub
- Some adapters (micro-USB to USB host, HDMI)
- Some network dongle (Wifi or RJ45)
- You can use the video composite output... but you don't have any sound output so video composite is rather useless and you need to use more expensive HDMI monitors
When you add all these hidden costs, you get a price similar to Raspberry 1 or 2... in a much less practical form.
They stripped the card of everything possible to reach that 5$ price tag... which make me think that they wanted to undercut the C.H.I.P. which is going out in a couple of month and will be 9$...
Useless product... Microcontrollers (AVR/PIC/...) or conventionnal Raspberry/BBB/... are much more useful.
Arduino has some advantages :
- cheaper (nano/pro clones are at less than 3$)
- lower power consumption
- both digital AND ANALOG pins
- exists in both 3v3 AND 5V (which is hobbyist friendlier)
- easier to begin computing (good libraries support, no need for that awful langage (IMHO) that is Python, we even have ardublock or mblock to make native visual (scratch-like) programming)
For connected projects, ESP8266 may be the way to go... lots of flash space, decent number of I/O and still cost lower than RaspZero.
Underrated. No Ethernet, no buy.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
If you're considering putting "dude" in your submission, turn off your internet and go live in a hole instead. Though you may already have done that if you think you can go to Radio Shack to get anything you can solder on, to, or with.
Its cool but, the lack of ethernet for most uses means people will also need to buy a USB network adapter bringing the price back up to $20 or so.
Why is element14 still in business?
SBC, RASPBERRY PI ZERO
[generic broken product image]
Image is for illustrative purposes only. Please refer to product description Manufacturer: RASPBERRY-PI
Mfg Part No: RASPBERRYPI-ZERO
Price: $23.17 (Price is before tax)
Out of Stock
Price: $13.50 (Price is before tax)
0 ship now
So in short, the product is not immediately available (it's sold out in the Swag shop also) and when it is, it won't be $5 unless you order it direct. And then, if you don't live in the UK, you'll have to pay an assload of shipping.
Where can I buy R-Pi in a B&M store in the USA, so that I can actually get it for $5? And when will it actually be available?
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
To me, "mini-computer" still means something that only requires two or three 6' cabinets - as opposed to a mainframe, which needs a whole room full.
As is, this Raspberry is quite useless... You need to add
- a SD card
$2
some header
No. No I don't. I can solder direct. For my application, that's actually more useful to me.
an USB Hub
If I even use the USB functionality at all, I shall use it to connect perhaps one device. Therefore, I only need some micro USB connectors. I got five minis for two bucks, I'm sure micro connectors are plenty cheap. Or I can pop the USB connectors right off the boards, and just solder magnet wire to the pads. I only wish they had brought in power on an unpopulated header connector instead of on a usb connector which I'm going to have to desolder.
Some adapters (micro-USB to USB host, HDMI)
I don't need the HDMI. If I use the GPU at all, it'll be for computing and not for video output. Already discussed the USB adapter issue, which for me is a non-issue.
Useless product... Microcontrollers (AVR/PIC/...) or conventionnal Raspberry/BBB/... are much more useful.
You can use this to do precisely what you do with a microcontroller; this is going to replace Arduino for a lot of uses.
The real problem is going to be actually getting them for $5. element14 is sold out and wants $13.50 for one even if they had one!
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
It's not useless as is. If you have one specific task for the Pi then you wont need a lot of that stuff. Why pay for ethernet if you wont be using it? Sure this isn't for everyone but I can see things it would be usefull for and I know at 5 bucks a pop it'll wind up doing a lot of things.
The CHIP has WiFi, Bluetooth, and 4Gbytes of NAND built in, all things you need to add to the Raspberry Pi.
It REALLY depends what your application for it is. For controlling things or reading a sensor? Arduino all the way. Media center or retro gaming emulation console? Not a chance, Pi all the way.
Two of the pins (+5V and any GND) on the 40-pin connector can be used to supply power instead of going through the USB port. That's what I did with my beer-fridge controller: power for the whole system comes through the barrel connector on the 1-Wire/I2C interface board in the middle of the stack.
20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
Meh, USB ethernet is faster than the built-in 100TX port on the Pi B+ / Pi 2. So buy a USB ethernet adapter.
I'm actually a bit surprised no one has started selling USB network switches without CAT5 or RJ-45 connectors (well, maybe one for the uplink).
The SoC in a Pi is a media device (originally designed for use in camcorders) so this is not underpowered -- it's perfectly adequately powered.
Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'
Different applications. Of course the pcduino is more capable - it's more than ten times the price. There's a wide spectrum of tiny computing devices available. There are the absolutely tiny PICs, the slightly more powerful and much more developer-friendly arduinos, then the Pis, then higher-power devices like the pcduino, and beyond that mini-ITX PC boards with Atom processors. With a variety of interfaces and capabilities. You just pick whichever one fits your application. If you need a 'proper OS' to run something like image processing or interface to USB peripherals, then Pi Zero is about the tiniest and lowest-power controller you'll find for the task. It's certainly the cheapest.