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Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

raspberrypi.org

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Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#191

Post by trymas »

creshal wrote: post #150
trymas wrote: post #31

Next awesome step would be RPi with integrated wifi/bluetooth, and it would become ultimate IoT/embedded development platform. Such step would increase price, I know, but AFAIK, most people are almost always buying either wifi or bluetooth dongles anyway. All in all, RPi ables to deliver exciting, rather (for me) unexpected and most importantly great and user-friendly products.

You can find zigbee, wifi or bt dongles for $8 or less these days. I suspect board development costs are the limiting factor for the Foundation here, it's easier to slap on USB and tell users to plug in what they need.

hm, I probably should check now, but were I live (non US), the last time I've checked zigbee prices started from 19$ :(

But still the best thing will be that:

- you will not need any dongles

- can embed your project immediately

- better compatibility with hardware and software (hopefully) :)

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#192

Post by vive-la-liberte »

andrepd wrote: post #162
creshal wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> (Although it lacks WiFi AC that the new chromecast has, and probably way weaker graphics, but a cheap WiFi adapter or ethernet and having most stuff streamed should be workable.) This irks me a bit with the new "$5" RPi. Yes, it's $5… For a device without a power cord, without networking, and where you need adapters (and/or solder on a UART) to plug anything into it.

So... you will need to buy a power adapter and an Ethernet cable? That will come to, what, another fiver?

Not just an ethernet cable, I think. From the images it looks like there's no Ethernet port on the RPi Zero.

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#193

Post by privong »

danpeddle wrote: post #187
abdelhadikhiati wrote: post #182

Raspberry still costs more than 100$ in my country, due the rarity of such tools sometimes we found ourselves obliged to buy it with that price and pay the difference, and even though this is such a great step, i really doubt it would have any effect on 3rd world countries where this is really needed.

Why the huge difference in costs..? International shipping..?

I suspect it's due to the combination of low sales volumes and import taxes. Here in Chile, Pi B's are around $50–60. Though to be fair, traditional PCs and laptops are more expensive than in the US (but not 2x as expensive).

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#195

Post by sklogic »

jgowans42 wrote: post #184

I find the lack of ethernet or wifi concerning. I get that they're trying to keep it small and low cost, but I can't immediately see any use for a Pi that can't run standalone.

It's easy to imagine multiple simple designs. You can couple it with an ESP2866, for example, using a number of attinys to access their analog inputs, or with a CAN-SPI head collecting data from multiple sensors, processing and then reporting through an ESP2866.

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#196

Post by mSparks »

utku_karatas2 wrote: post #57
TeMPOraL wrote: post #52

Arduino Uno for $2, NodeMCU for $3, RPi for $5... please let this trend continue. A year or two, and we'll basically have computronium - simple dev boards powerful and cheap enough to just tile your house with them. I've recently figured out that there's no point in designing your own PCB for placing sensors at home, when you can get an Arduino and an ESP8266 for $5; add power (and some ~$0 of voltage regulation) and…

I'm speculating, rather sooner than later, the foundation will let people (read Chinese) clone Pi Zero at will ala Arduino way. They can't even have a profit margin with that price point. So why not open-source it anyway to let go of the burden of manufacturing? That would be a great boost for the Raspberry platform.

raspberry avoid this by using chips only supplied to them.

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#198

Post by drcross »

yuvadam wrote: post #189
jgowans42 wrote: post #184

I find the lack of ethernet or wifi concerning. I get that they're trying to keep it small and low cost, but I can't immediately see any use for a Pi that can't run standalone.

So you're basically saying you're not getting enough value for $5?

No, but like the Op, I would gladly pay double the price for some sort of onboard network connectivity.

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#200

Post by timc3 »

pavlov wrote: post #172

A single transistor cost several dollars in 1950. A full-blown 1GHz computer is now the same price (cheaper even, accounting for inflation). What will $5 buy in 2080? It's going to be a billion times faster than this, but it's hard to imagine the form factor.

It will buy you hours of virtual computing power somewhere...
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