Raspberry Pi 2 Introduced Into The Market

The Raspberry Pi 2 is already available in the market at a price tag of $35. Despite this ridiculously-low price, the microcomputer boasts of better performance and excellent memory compared to its predecessor.

The next generation Raspberry Pi features a quad-core 900MHz ARM Cortex-A7 CPU and a 1GB RAM. This is a marked improvement in performance compared to the previous model of the device. The

It is compatible with the first generation model and has an identical appearance to the Raspberry Pi 1 Model B+. Due to this, the connectors on latest model are in the same location, which facilitates transition for current users of the device. The latest device can also run using a 5V micro-USB power adapter.

Raspberry Pi CEO and Founder Eben Upton revealed through a blog post that they have worked hard on improving the software to maximize the Broadcom BCM2835 application processor along with the 700MHz ARM11 CPU since the introduction of the original model in 2012. However, there comes a time when additional memory and CPU performance becomes necessary. Thus, raspberry Pi 2 uses the BCM2836 Soc (which is very much like the BCM 2835 Soc) but with 4 cores and "a little tweak to allow us to address the gig of RAM," he explained.

Raspberry Pi 2

Upton added that they put it “thousands of hours” in developing the firmware and board support to ensure the stability of the Raspberry Pi 2. He indicated it may be important to check on a 2012 SD card image to check how far they have gone in their work.

The Raspberry Pi 2 can be purchased from RS Components and element14. Upton said an updated Raspbian or NOOBS image will be necessary when the device is purchased. A number of ARM GNY Linux distributions will be available for users after they purchase the device.

Windows IoT Group general manager Kevin Dallas revealed that the Raspberry Pi became the favorite platform in the Maker community due to its low-cost, highly capable boards and the compute modules that provide developers the opportunity to bring life to their visions.

He added that the latest device opens up numerous programming and computing opportunities for people with different skill levels. Despite the introduction of the Raspberry Pi 2, the company revealed it will continue to manufacture the two previous models as long as there is a demand for them.

Posted by George Daniels on Tuesday February 03 2015, 2:12 PM EST. Ref: PC Mag. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Technology. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0