UK electronics specialist Maplin has started taking pre-orders for its Raspberry Pi starter kit bundle, which includes all the essentials users need to get it working (except a TV), at a price of £69.99.
Previously, the device was distributed under exclusive licence by two British electronic component companies: Premier Farnell and RS Components.
Raspberry Pi is a basic computer that can be connected to a TV or monitor via HDMI. It can be used for many of the things that your desktop PC does, including office work, Internet browsing and high-definition video playback – but its main objective is as a configurable system for education and play. By April, the number of worldwide pre-orders for Raspberry Pi had hit 350,000, and potential customers have had to wait.
Besides the Raspberry Pi mainboard, the Maplin kit includes Raspbian Wheezy O/S pre-installed on an ultrafast Class 6 SD card, USB mains power supply, AC powered 4-port USB hub, USB keyboard and mouse, 1.5m gold-plated HDMI cable and a Wi-Fi dongle.
Maplin says that the starter kit is “the perfect way to begin experimenting and developing with the Raspberry Pi”. The computer itself costs £29.95, which means Maplin charges around £40 for what is essentially an accessory pack. Whether it is a reasonable price will depend on the quality of the said acessories.
Raspberry Pi is due in-stock at the end of September, and the orders will be processed on a “first come, first served” basis.
Last week, Oleg Romashin, a Nokia engineer who has worked on open source OS MeeGo throughout 2011, had released a video showing how he made the incomplete, Linux-based Firefox OS work on the Raspberry Pi.
And in May, TechWeekEurope published pictures of the world’s first IT lesson with Raspberry Pi.
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