Following the huge success of the Raspberry Pi microcomputer, a second model has launched. The Model A Raspberry Pi costs just £19 and offers a more basic computing experience.
The original Raspberry Pi, also known as Model B, costs around £26, so what’s the difference between the two that warrants the price difference? Well, Model A is lacking some of the connectivity options that the Model B board has.
For starters, there’s no Ethernet port for getting straight online. You also get the one USB port rather than two, and you’ll get 256MB of RAM rather than 512MB. Other than that you’ll still get a tiny little computer that’s ideal for developing new software, writing code and all sorts of projects. Did we mention that it costs just £19 ($25)?
Both models were meant to launch together around a year ago but only the Model B boards went on sale to start with, and that was a rather hectic affair for those who ordered.
By stripping back connections and components, the people behind the Raspberry Pi say that the Model A boards will use a third of the power used by the Model B. This makes them ideal for projects that will use solar power and such, and so we can see them being popular with schools and colleges.
“We are very, very pleased to finally be able to offer you a computer for $25. It’s what we said we’d do all along, and we can’t wait to see what you do with it” says the Raspberry Pi Foundation
The very first batch of Model A computers will be available in Europe only, through RS Components and Premier Farnell – the original retailers for the Model B computers. You can find out more about the new Raspberry Pi and where you can buy it on their official site – here.