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Raspberry Pi 400 – First Impressions

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Re: Raspberry Pi 400 – First Impressions

#31

Post by gambiting »

lxgr wrote: post #29
gambiting wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but this isn't a USB audio device. You need to be able to select and control an HDMI audio output for this to work.

What "this" are you referring to? The grandparent post is talking about USB dongles as a workaround, which in my experience work very reliably.

Oh. Either that post was edited or I misunderstood - I thought they were talking about an HDMI dongle with 3.5mm audio jack for audio extracted from the hdmi. But yes, indeed, a USB audio dongle should "just work".

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 – First Impressions

#32

Post by exged »

tarruda wrote: post #28

I would consider using this for serious work if they had added support for 2.5 or m.2 drives. There are some third party raspberry pi 4 cases that support m.2 via an internal USB 3.0 adapter [1]. Considering they designed a custom PCB for this product, adding a native M.2 or SATA is a reasonable feature for something designed to replace a desktop PC [1]: https://www.argon40.com/argon-one-m-2-case-for-raspberry-pi-...

There aren't any free PCIe lanes on the SoC, so even if they added a bridge chip for a SATA / M.2 SSD it would have to be connected over USB.

Besides, the device is $70. A $10 32GB eMMC chip would be a far more reasonable ask at this price point if greater reliability is desired.

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 – First Impressions

#33

Post by jacquesm »

beagle3 wrote: post #22
tyingq wrote: post #2

"The 400 doesn’t have an audio-out." That does seem like a miss for an otherwise decent platform. HDMI out support is fine, but since this setup is quite portable, exposing a headphone jack seems obvious. I suppose bluetooth is the expectation now?

Apple, Samsung and others have eliminated the audio jack (for different reasons) and there was a lot of outrage but the bottom line is: acceptable Bluetooth headphones can be bought for about $10-$25 now, and are widely available. Between Bluetooth headphones, HDMI out to the screen, HDMI audio splitters and $5 USB audio dongles, it really is a fine design choice - especially given that the RasPI’s analog audio out c…

Bluetooth introduces (even more...) latency, which isn't always acceptable.

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 – First Impressions

#34

Post by simonh »

So going through the actual comments here, what this really needs to make a compelling product is: A built in touch pad, an audio jack, a full size HDMI port (even thought the accessory set includes an HDMI cable), an M.2 or SATA connector and a backlit keyboard.

Anything else? Maybe an Intel processor, Windows, a built in battery and a hinged screen that folds down over the keyboard. Are we getting there yet?

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 – First Impressions

#35

Post by pmontra »

DebtDeflation wrote: post #23

I wish the keyboard had a touchpad built in to eliminate the need for a separate mouse.

Also my thought. I'd like a touchpad below the space bar, as on my laptop. I saw some wireless keyboards with a touchpad where the numberpad is.

I found some bluetooth touchpads on Amazon, they cost at least about half the price of the Pi 400.

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 – First Impressions

#36

Post by HeyHoJoe »

simonh wrote: post #30
HeyHoJoe wrote: post #25

> I own several Raspberry Pi computers (1, 2 and 3). Most of them are the Model B format, but I have couple of Zeros too. All of them sit in a box, unused. Same for me and most people I know who have bought an rpi. Buy it because it seems like a cool toy and then stick it in a box and never use it for anything.

This seems like a much more practical and useful package for most people, especially the full kit with all the connectors and such you need included. Just hook it up to a hand me down / cheap TV and you’ve got a very capable little computer. If this had come out when my kids were younger, learning Scratch and getting into Minecraft, I’d have been all over it.

If you say so, but I doubt I’ll buy an rpi again, with or without a built in keyboard. I had a look at project ideas when the 400 was announced and realised there was nothing I wanted to do, and for most of the projects you can buy a premade solution cheaply. I guess I’m not their target audience.

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 – First Impressions

#37

Post by HeyHoJoe »

simonh wrote: post #34

So going through the actual comments here, what this really needs to make a compelling product is: A built in touch pad, an audio jack, a full size HDMI port (even thought the accessory set includes an HDMI cable), an M.2 or SATA connector and a backlit keyboard. Anything else? Maybe an Intel processor, Windows, a built in battery and a hinged screen that folds down over the keyboard. Are we getting there yet?

That’s sort of the point, there’s lots of demand for a cheap laptop, there’s very little actual demand for the raspberry pi, which is why everyone is trying to morph the rpi into a laptop.

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 – First Impressions

#38

Post by m4r35n357 »

HeyHoJoe wrote: post #37
simonh wrote: post #34

So going through the actual comments here, what this really needs to make a compelling product is: A built in touch pad, an audio jack, a full size HDMI port (even thought the accessory set includes an HDMI cable), an M.2 or SATA connector and a backlit keyboard. Anything else? Maybe an Intel processor, Windows, a built in battery and a hinged screen that folds down over the keyboard. Are we getting there yet?

That’s sort of the point, there’s lots of demand for a cheap laptop, there’s very little actual demand for the raspberry pi, which is why everyone is trying to morph the rpi into a laptop.

How wrong would you like to be? Look up their sales figures . . .

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 – First Impressions

#39

Post by keyle »

HeyHoJoe wrote: post #25

> I own several Raspberry Pi computers (1, 2 and 3). Most of them are the Model B format, but I have couple of Zeros too. All of them sit in a box, unused. Same for me and most people I know who have bought an rpi. Buy it because it seems like a cool toy and then stick it in a box and never use it for anything.

Mine was catching dust for years, then I bought a Arcade 1UP, modded it and it's now the core of it.

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 – First Impressions

#40

Post by agumonkey »

HeyHoJoe wrote: post #25

> I own several Raspberry Pi computers (1, 2 and 3). Most of them are the Model B format, but I have couple of Zeros too. All of them sit in a box, unused. Same for me and most people I know who have bought an rpi. Buy it because it seems like a cool toy and then stick it in a box and never use it for anything.

I did use my A as irc bouncer for a while. Then I stopped. rpi curse
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