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Another slice of pie - New Raspberry Pi Model A+ is here

By Salehuddin Bin Husin - on 11 Nov 2014, 6:00pm

Another slice of pie: New Raspberry Pi Model A+ is here

That's all there is to it for a complete system. Amazing, isn't it?

If you haven't heard of it, the Raspberry Pi is a miniature computer with the absolute minimum of components needed to run a PC.

Originally launched in 2012, it came in two flavors, Model A and Model B, with Model A being US$10 cheaper but with slightly weaker hardware when compared to Model B. The Raspberry series of mini computers aren't meant for mainstream use. Instead, they're usually used to teach children to code, especially in areas where a normal computer might be too expensive a luxury or too hard to get and maintain. It's currently being used worldwide, even in unexpected places like Africa. While mainly used to teach, the Pi has also carved out a niche for itself among enthusiasts who use it for many different things, like programming basic robots. There's even a version of Minecraft available for it.

While the Raspberry Pi Foundation (the creators) has revealed previously that a new Model A was coming, it's only recently that more information and news (as well as release) became available. The Model A+ is cheaper than the original Model A by US$5 (it's being sold at US$20) and has better hardware when compared to the original. The Raspberry foundation also offers a more robust model, the Model B (and its upgrade, the B+) though unlike the Model A+'s price drop, the B and B+ are still selling at US$35. Both models are being sold here.

The Model A+ changes a few components from the initial Model A. It updates the SD card slot to a microSD one as well as more pins (now up to 40) for the GPIO header and better audio. If you're intrigued by all this, but are put off by coding primarily in an unfamiliar OS and gathering the rest of the hardware to do so, consider then getting the Kano computing kit. It uses the Raspberry Pi Model B (no word if they'll be upgrading to the B+) and comes with its own simplified OS, as well as hardware like keyboard and speakers to make your learning as painless as possible.

Source: Raspberry blog

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