This is something I have been following for a while and was actually bought to my attention by my wife. This is a fully functioning PC for just £22! Yup thats right £22!

What is it for?

Sound too good to be true?… Don’t go thinking this is a device to replace current PC’s, nor will it run Microsoft Windows, that is not what Raspberry Pi was ever intended for. This device will be for hobbyists, enthusiasts and students and will be a supplementary device to work alongside current computer technology. It ships with a Debian (linux) distro that boots from a standard SD Card and comes with some pre-installed software for people to use the device for programming. Raspberry Pi was designed for people to be able to write their own software and programs, learn to write programs and share this work, knowledge and achievements amongst the new society of users it will create. There are already many people planning on using this device in many different ways. It would work fantastically as a Media Centre PC running XBMC, some people already have it working as an AirPlay Device (much cheaper than an Apple TV) and Schools are already ordering them in their thousands to give future students the possibility to start a computing revolution. I have seen a tech demo of the device running Quake 3 at full 1080p Resolution at a fairly impressive frame-rate, besides if Onlive bring out a client for this it would be fantastic!

How does it work?

What this is, is a circuit board with a SOC (System on a chip) – like you find inside the latest Mobile Phones and Tablets. The SOC is a processor, graphics (GPU) and RAM all in one chip taking up less space and less resources. Along with this there are 2 USB Port’s, HDMI and good old fashioned Yellow Phono Out (RCA – will work with a scart socket on a TV), a 3.5mm Audio Jack, an Ethernet Port and an SD Card Reader. There is also a Micro USB Socket for the device to get its power from a 5V Charger similar to a Mobile Phone Charge. Literally plug this thing in, add a mouse and keyboard, HDMI or RCA to a Telly and off you go!

Version A & Version B….

The device will come in 2 versions, a Version A & a Version B. Currently Version B is available as from today from either Premier Farnell or RS Components and only costs £16 for version A and £22 for version B.
Because of the huge success and interest in this device production of the cheaper, lower spec Version A of the device has been ramped up to meet the demands of the educational market later in the year. The Version A Device will only have 1 USB Socket and no Ethernet, it is also believed that the Version A device will have a full housing that they hope to be see-through so students can see how impressive this bit of tech is.

Tech Specs

SOC (System on a Chip) – Broadcom BCM2835

Includes

2 x USB 2 Slots (Only 1 slot on Version A Device)
HDMI
Composite RCA (Yellow Phono)
3.5mm Audio Jack
SD Reader
10/100 Ethernet (RJ45) (Not available on Version A Device)
Power Source – MicroUSB

History of Raspberry Pi

Development of the device is undertaken by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a charitable organization registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. The board of trustees was assembled by 2008 and the Raspberry Pi Foundation was founded as a registered charity in May 2009 in Caldecote, South Cambridgeshire, UK. The Foundation is supported by the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory and Broadcom. Its aim is to “promote the study of computer science and related topics, especially at school level, and to put the fun back into learning computing.”
Trustees of the Foundation are David Braben, Jack Lang, Pete Lomas, Rob Mullins, Alan Mycroft and Eben Upton.

Will you be getting one?

I personally cant wait to get my hands on a few of these. I hope to be using them as Media Centre PC’s to extend my Media Network to all the TV’s in the house and I want to try and rig one up as a PVR with a USB TV Tuner. I will also want to try and get Airplay working on one to setup a screen on the wall in our kitchen for AirPlay Mirroring in the upcoming Mountain Lion – meaning I can have the full power of my Mac but slimmed down and wall mounted at very little cost. I will of course have one to play and tinker with and see exactly what I can get out of it and share with the community. Who knows, maybe we will see a whole Raspberry Pi Culture develop and an all new Raspberry App Store?… Lets see where this ends up in a years time!