Raspberry Pi 3 Released Into The Market

Raspberry Pi Foundation announced the availability of the Raspberry Pi 3 through a recent blog post. The device is price at $35, which is the same price as the previous version. The new device features Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, as shown on the blog post by the foundation.

An Ethernet connection will not be necessary for the device with the addition of Wi-Fi connectivity. The Bluetooth integration also allows users to connect it to a wireless mouse or keyboard as well as connect wirelessly to other devices. The device is essential a small-size motherboard with a CPU, memory, graphics card and other components typically found on computers. It can be used as a computer by simply connecting it to a mouse, keyboard and monitor.

The device was mainly designed for students, hobbyists and developers. The foundation aims to encourage tinkering with the device mainly to produce projects it was also meant to promote interest in computer science among students by letting them solve issue through application design.

Raspberry Pi 3 Released Into The Market - image credit: raspberrypi.org

Eben Upton, co-founder of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, said the Raspberry Pi 3 was meant to be used as a replacement of the PC or utilize it as an embedded computer. The new version is faster compared to its predecessors. It features a 1.2GHz 64-bit quad-core CPE, which is higher than the 900MHz 32-bit quad core processor found on the previous versions.

The enhancements on the new device allow it to move 50 percent faster compared to the previous model and 10 times faster than the first version. The Raspberry Pi 3 has no issue with compatibility with its predecessors. Which means projects created using the two previous models can also be used on the latest version.

The Raspberry Pi 3 is available through RS Components, Element14 and other resellers. To use the device, hobbyists can download the Raspbian, the official OS of the foundation. Users can also install third-party operating systems, like Pinet and Ubuntu Linux in managing the device inside a classroom. A special copy of Windows 10, Windows 10 Iot, can also be downloaded into the device.

The first Raspberry Pi was launched four years ago, and the foundation has delivered over eight million units since then. The foundation that created the Raspberry Pi 3 already has over sixty full-time employees.

Posted by George Daniels on Wednesday March 09 2016, 11:00 PM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Technology. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0