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The new Raspberry Pi Zero is a US$5 computer

By Koh Wanzi - on 26 Nov 2015, 10:00am

The new Raspberry Pi Zero is a US$5 computer

This is the smallest board from Raspberry Pi yet. (Image Source: Raspberry Pi Foundation)

The Raspberry Pi Foundation is best known for its affordable, miniature boards that allow hobbyists and programmers to experiment with them and create their own devices. For a recent example, just look at Poco, a multi-function device currently being funded on Indiegogo that is an action camera, gaming console, hi-res music player, and Web browser all at once.

Now, Raspberry Pi has announced the Raspberry Pi Zero, its latest programmable computing board that will cost only US$5 (cheaper than even the US$9 Chip by Next Thing Co.). The original Raspberry Pi Model B was already quite affordable in its own right, costing just US$20 to US$30, but the Zero goes much further in lowering the barriers to entry for amateur programmers and tinkerers.

The new Raspberry Pi Zero is made in Wales in the UK and is powered by a Broadcom BCM2835 application processor with a 1GHz ARM11 core. It also has 512MB of LPDDR2 SDRAM and I/O options like a mini-HDMI socket that supports 1080p60 video output and micro-USB sockets for data and power.

In addition, it uses the same 40-pin GPIO header with a pinout identical to its larger counterparts. Other than being the cheapest board from Raspberry Pi, it is also the smallest yet, measuring just 65 x 30 x 5mm.

Of course, its size and price does come with certain trade-offs and the Zero won’t go toe-to-toe with its larger siblings in computing heft. Still, it can run Raspbian, a version of Linux optimized specially for Raspberry Pi devices, and applications like Minecraft.

It is available starting today in the UK from sites like element14, The Pi Hut, and Pimoroni, and in the US from Adafruit. Several tens of thousands of units are reportedly being built to meet the expected surge in demand, but the company still expects demand to exceed supply in the near future.

Source: Raspberry Pi Blog via Engadget

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