, the $35 Raspberry Pi Linux computer was made available for pre-order on Wednesday. The single-board computer is equipped with a 700MHz processor, 256MB of RAM, SD card support, two USB ports, an Ethernet hookup and both HDMI and RCA outputs. Despite the low cost and small size — which is roughly equal to a credit card — the Raspberry Pi computer is powerful enough to run games such as Quake III Arena and power 1080p video. Additionally, the cheaper Model A unit, which removes the Ethernet hookup and a USB port, received an increase from 128MB to 256MB of RAM and will be on sale later this year. “Raspberry Pi provides a revolutionary low cost platform, which opens up programming to a whole new audience,” the company said in a press release. “We are very honoured to have been chosen to work with the Foundation as a distribution partner at the launch of this exciting new tool.” Users interested in the device will have to be patient, however. The Raspberry Pi Twitter account confirmed that Farnell’s stock was depleted after less than a day of pre-order availability, and further inventory is expected in about a month. Read on for the company’s press release.
RS Components Announces Launch of Raspberry Pi $35 Computer
New low cost credit card sized computer now available to pre-order from RS websites
OXFORD, England–(BUSINESS WIRE)–RS Components (RS), the trading brand of Electrocomponents plc (LSE:ECM), the world’s leading high service distributor of electronics and maintenance products, today announced that the revolutionary credit card sized single-board computer from the Raspberry Pi Foundation is now available to pre-order from RS websites around the world. Created for educators, programmers, developers and IT enthusiasts, the kits can be pre-ordered at rswww.com.
“Raspberry Pi provides a revolutionary low cost platform, which opens up programming to a whole new audience. We are very honoured to have been chosen to work with the Foundation as a distribution partner at the launch of this exciting new tool.”
The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a charity established to promote the development of computer development skills in education across the globe. Its vision is for Raspberry Pi to provide budding IT developers and programmers with a base platform to exploit the full power and potential of computing within the Linux environment, at a remarkably low cost. As such, Raspberry Pi computers act as an enabler for the next generation of programmers to enter the IT industry.
RS was selected as a distribution partner for Raspberry Pi because, in the eyes of the Foundation, it connects with engineers across the globe throughout their careers. As such, the company is well positioned to provide Raspberry Pi adopters with support, advice and access to additional resources as they embark on new development activities. It was particularly impressed with the DesignSpark community and resources provided for new developers working on Open Source designs.
“RS has always been a trusted and reliable partner for engineers across the globe. The RS DesignSpark community and their free PCB design software connects with engineers throughout their career, and is being adopted by many universities around the world,” said Eben Upton, founder and trustee of Raspberry Pi. “This ethos of providing resources for engineers, along with the company’s support for open source design, makes RS the ideal distribution partner for Raspberry Pi.”
Glenn Jarrett, Head of Marketing, Electronics, at RS Components, added, “Raspberry Pi provides a revolutionary low cost platform, which opens up programming to a whole new audience. We are very honoured to have been chosen to work with the Foundation as a distribution partner at the launch of this exciting new tool.”
