Raspberry Pi credit-card sized Linux PCs are on sale now, $25 Model A gets a RAM bump

The good news is that Raspberry Pi's highly anticipated teeny-tiny Linux computers are on sale now, just barely making the promised February launch window (good thing it's a leap year). The better news, is that the $25 Model A version has gotten an upgrade from the planned 128Mb of RAM to 256Mb matching the Model B, which still throws in an extra USB port and an Ethernet hookup for $10 more. Unfortunately there is some bad news as well, while the Model A is going into production "immediately", cheapskates will have to hold off a little, as the Model B is the only one on sale right now. Built on a Broadcom BCM2835 700MHz ARM11 processor, they're intended as a cheap computing option that require only a keyboard and RCA or HDMI-connected display to give a full desktop experience including gaming and HD video playback . The team also announced it has secured manufacturing and distribution agreements that should guarantee a steady supply, without the previous limitation of 10,000 at a time batches. Need more technical details? Hit the FAQ page below, or put down a few Hamiltons -- they can be ordered directly from distributors Premier Farnell / Element 14 and RS Components -- and find out how it runs (Fedora, Debian and ArchLinux are currently supported) for yourself.

Update: It appears the servers of both retailers are completely crushed by traffic at the moment, and we're told RS will ship in the UK only. Good luck in your struggle with that most difficult of questions: Keep mashing F5, or get some sleep and try again in the morning? Raspberry Pi's Twitter account reports Farrell appears to have already sold out, so keep that in mind. A press release and video demo from the BBC follow after the break.

Continue reading Raspberry Pi credit-card sized Linux PCs are on sale now, $25 Model A gets a RAM bump

Raspberry Pi credit-card sized Linux PCs are on sale now, $25 Model A gets a RAM bump originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 01:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Announcement, Element 14, @Raspberry_Pi (Twitter)  | Email this | Comments

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