Raspberry Pi Model A released one year later
Raspberry Pi’s base model release finally fulfills the promise of a $25 computer, available in Europe now
It’s been almost a year since the Raspberry Pi came out, and perhaps in some form of minor celebration, the Raspberry Pi Foundation have announced that the original Model A is now finally on sale. The original $25 concept for the Pi is tied to the Model A, as in comparison to the already released Model B, it’s a stripped down version.
For the $10 savings, the RAM is reduced to 256 MB over the Model B’s current 512 MB, there’s now only one USB port, and the Ethernet port has been removed. Because of this though, it consumes roughly one third of the power of the Model B, and you can always extend the functionality with a powered USB hub.
The power saving aspect seems to be the biggest upside to the savings, and, as pointed out on the announcement blog, XBMC was working pretty well last year on 256MB. So with the right set-up, it could be a $25 media center. Although, we’d suggest splashing the extra ten bucks in this case.
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The power savings are great, but once you plugin a USB WiFi adaptor, I assume it will use a lot more power than the Model B when using the LAN port. That’s just my opinion though.
Good morning.
I stay with Adam’s idea:
This crippled version is a drawback. Besides, Eth port is a must, even on a tiny device like this. To reduce RAM is not an option, anyway.
Morvan, Linux User #433640.
A USB ethernet adapter and a powered USB hub addresses both Adam and Morvan’s concerns.
I doubt you can get the ethernet adapter and the powered hub for less than $10, or even $10 total.