Few days back, I stumbled upon a cool piece of miniature PC called Raspberry Pi. A UK based charitable trust called Raspberry Pi Foundation has come up with this credit card sized Personal Computer. Ultra cheap cost (25-35 USD) and attractive features are making it a most desirable gadget among hobbyists, geeks and kids.
It comes in two models, A and B, just a specification table shows their differences, I relied on wikipedia for this
| Model A | Model B | |
| Target price:[5] | 25 US$ | 35 US$[52] |
| SoC:[5] | Broadcom BCM2835 (CPU, GPU, DSP, and SDRAM)[3] | |
| CPU: | 700 MHz ARM1176JZF-S core (ARM11 family)[3] | |
| GPU: | Broadcom VideoCore IV,[53] OpenGL ES 2.0, 1080p30 h.264/MPEG-4 AVC high-profile decoder[3] | |
| Memory (SDRAM): | 256 MB (shared with GPU) | |
| USB 2.0 ports:[10] | 1 | 2 (via integrated USB hub)[50] |
| Video outputs:[5] | Composite RCA (PAL & NTSC), HDMI (rev 1.3 & 1.4),[54] raw LCD Panels via DSI[55][56] | |
| 14 HDMI resolutions from 640×350 to 1920×1200 plus various PAL and NTSC standards.[57] | ||
| Audio outputs:[5] | 3.5 mm jack, HDMI | |
| Onboard storage:[10] | SD / MMC / SDIO card slot | |
| Onboard network:[5][10] | None | 10/100 Ethernet (RJ45)[50] |
| Low-level peripherals: | 8 × GPIO, UART, I²C bus, SPI bus with two chip selects, +3.3 V, +5 V, ground[53][58] | |
| Power ratings: | 500 mA (2.5 W)[5] | 700 mA (3.5 W) |
| Power source:[5] | 5 volt via MicroUSB or GPIO header | |
| Size: | 85.60 × 53.98 mm (3.370 × 2.125 in)[59] | |
| Weight: | 45 g (1.6 oz)[60] | |
| Supported operating systems: | Debian GNU/Linux, Fedora, Arch Linux ARM,[2] RISC OS[24] | |
Verdict
Pros :
I liked the graphics rendering, I/O and low power consumption capabilities of this device.
Cons :
RAM, CPU scores average for power applications ( used by hackers, geeks), Mirocosoft is yet to announce a Windows OS for broadcom devices. However, it runs all almost all popular versions of linux.
Ordering and getting a device is like winning a lottery. Manufacturer is already flooded with order backlogs of several hundred thousands, and also facing manufacturing hiccups. You can order this device at www.raspberrypi.org.
However, this device has some alternatives as well, which i will be posting in next article, or you can google it as well :)
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