Raspberry Pi Offers $5 and $35 Personal Computers

The release of the $5 PC came shortly after the nonprofit Raspberry Pi Foundation joined with manufacturing partner on a new Raspberry Pi customization service for large orders of the microcomputer.

The Pi Zero’s super-low price tag is $30 less than that of the original Raspberry Pi, which was already cheap enough at $35. It is $4 less than CHIP, which managed to raise more than $ 2 million earlier in the year on Kickstarter.

“It looks like demand will continue to outstrip supply for a while if yesterday’s rush is anything to go by, but we’re doing our very best to keep channels open, and we advise you not to buy from scalpers on eBay, because… karma”, reads a statement from the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s head of communications, Liz Upton.

So why all the fuss? Essentially, Raspberry Pi computers are just motherboards that can be built to power robots and used to create connected devices.

Ultracompact, with no pre-installed operating system, Raspberry Pi Zero has just the essentials – a processor, RAM, basic ports and a micro-SD card slot.

All of the profits from this, according to Upton, will be going back to free learning resources, running Code Clubs, training teachers and getting children involved with computing.

The Raspberry Pi Zero is smaller than a mustard packet and light enough to be held up by two Lego figures.

While the Pi Zero is tiny and cheap, it does require some extra parts to be of use, like a power source, display and input, such as a keyboard.

The Raspberry Pi Zero computer a version of Linux called Raspbian; and comes preinstalled with applications – like Minecraft, Scratch and Sonic Pi – to enable users to learn computer coding skills.

The Raspberry Pi website has even put a map together highlighting every retailer that will be stocking the magazine to help people get their hands on the tiny computer.