The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ Is Here!

The Raspberry PI 3 is one of the best credit card sized computers you can buy. Well, meet the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+! This new version comes with an amazing 1.4GHz, quad-core CPU and 1GB RAM. The Cortex-A53 ARMv8 processor is 64-bit running at 1.4GHz. As with previous Pis, it can be overclocked. The 1GB is a slightly older, but still capable, LPDDR2 unit. An improvement over the last generation is the inclusion of dual band WiFi – useful for is you’re in a congested neighbourhood. Another improvement is the gigabit ethernet port, making the new Pi perfect as a NAS or media server.

As usual, the Pi comes with 4 USB 2.0 ports, bluetooth and a HDMI port. For connecting your projects, there’s the massive 40-pin GPIO header, CSI and DSI ports for your camera and touchscreen, and a 4-pole stereo output with acceptable audio. The OS is loaded onto a Micro SD card as usual, which is much better than the version 1’s full size SD card. Also, the power required is now 2.5A.

Somehow, the’ve managed to keep the price the same too!

Raspberry Pi 2

The Raspberry Pi 2 is the latest board from the Raspberry Pi Foundation. This latest board has improved the RAM and CPU from the first generation, keeping the same low price. The first Pi shook the world with its affordability and power as it was the first of its kind.

Compared to the Raspberry Pi 1 it has:

• A new quad core processors @ 900MHz (ARM Cortex-A7 CPU)
• A doubling of RAM up to 1GB RAM

It also features:

• Ethernet
• An upgrade to 4 USB ports from 2
• 40 GPIO pins instead of the Pi’s 27
• Full HDMI port instead of a composite signal
• Combined 3.5mm audio jack and composite video
• Camera interface (CSI)
• Display interface (DSI)
• Micro SD card slot
• VideoCore IV 3D graphics core

Raspberry Pi – The Mini Linux Computer

The Raspberry Pi is a credit-card sized mini computer that runs a version of Linux. The Raspberry Pi is developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, and was designed as a low-cost computer to teach computer science and programming in schools.

The Raspberry Pi features an ARM-powered, 700 MHz processor that can be overclocked to 1GHz, a Video IV GPU, and either 256 MB (Revision 1) or 512 MB RAM (revision 2). The Raspberry Pi uses an SD card to store the operating system, and store files, but can also save to a USB stick.

There are both Debian, and Arch Linux ARM distributions of the Linux OS available to download, as well as other 3rd party OS’s such as the XMBC for Pi. The Pi was originally developed to use the Python language as the main programming language, but there is support for C, Perl, and web languages such as PHP and HTML.

The Raspberry Pi Specs

	Model A	Model B
RRP:	$25 USD	$35 USD
System On A Chip:	Broadcom BCM2835 (CPU, GPU, DSP, SDRAM, and single USB port)
Processor:	700 MHz ARM1176JZF-S core (ARM11 family, ARMv6 instruction set)
Graphics:	Broadcom VideoCore IV @ 250 MHz OpenGL ES 2.0 (24 GFLOPS) MPEG-2 and VC-1 (with license), 1080p30 h.264/MPEG-4 AVC high-profile decoder and encoder
Memory (SDRAM):	256 MB (shared with GPU)	512 MB (shared with GPU) as of 15 October 2012
USB 2.0 ports:	1 (direct from BCM2835 chip)	2 (via the built in integrated 3-port USB hub)
Video Input:	A CSI input connector allows for the connection of a RPF designed camera module
Video Output:	Composite RCA (PAL and NTSC), HDMI (rev 1.3 & 1.4), raw LCD Panels via DSI14 HDMI resolutions from 640×350 to 1920×1200 plus various PAL and NTSC standards.
Audio Outputs:	3.5 mm jack, HDMI, and, as of revision 2 boards, I²S audio (also potentially for audio input)
Onboard storage:	SD / MMC / SDIO card slot (3,3V card power support only)
Networking:	None	10/100 Ethernet (8P8C) USB adapter on the third port of the USB hub
Low-level peripherals:	8 × GPIO, UART, I²C bus, SPI bus with two chip selects, I²S audio +3.3 V, +5 V, ground
Power:	300 mA (1.5 W)[86]	700 mA (3.5 W)
Power source:	5 volt via MicroUSB or GPIO header
Size:	85.60 mm × 53.98 mm (3.370 in × 2.125 in)
Weight:	45 g (1.6 oz)

The Raspberry Pi