Frequently Asked Questions about the RasPi
Will it run Android?
With a limit of 256MB of memory, it seems unlikely that the very latest Android (ICS) will work very well. However, older versions may work OK. That said, the Foundation has no intention of porting Android to the Raspberry Pi, so that will need to be done by the community.
Is PoE (power over ethernet) possible?
Not in the base device, but it’s been a very commonly requested feature, so we’re examining options for later releases.
Is there a case?
Not for the initial version, but there will be a (removable, in case you want to do some soldering) case available later.
Can I run power Raspberry Pi from batteries as well as from a wall socket?
Yes. The device should run well off 4xAA cells.
The SoC is a Broadcom BCM2835. This contains an ARM1176JZFS, with floating point, running at 700Mhz, and a Videocore 4 GPU. The GPU is capable of BluRay quality playback, using H.264 at 40MBits/s. It has a fast 3D core accessed using the supplied OpenGL ES2.0 and OpenVG libraries.
Yes. The GPU binary also contains the first stage bootloader.
The minimum order quantity will be one unit.
The device is powered by 5v micro USB. You can read more about it here.
The Model B version of the device includes 10/100 wired Ethernet. There is no Ethernet on the Model A version (which we expect to be taken up mostly by the education market), but Wi-Fi will be available via a standard USB dongle.
There’s a standard 3.5mm jack, or you can use HDMI. You can add any supported USB microphone via a hub.
There is composite and HDMI out on the board, so you can hook it up to a digital or analogue television or to a DVI monitor. There is no VGA support, but adaptors are available.
Mice, keyboards, network adapters and external storage will all connect via a USB hub.
The Model A will cost $25 and the Model B $35.
Raspberry Pis started being made a couple of days ago.
This means that the first units from the first batch will be rolling off the line at the end of January. This first batch will consist only of Model Bs, although you will be able to buy Model As later on.
We are absolutely amazed by the generosity of the people bidding on the beta boards.
Every penny from the auction goes straight to our charity, where it will fund the making of more Raspberry Pis to go into schools. We know that those bidding are probably reading this, and we want to say a heartfelt thank you to you all for your support.
Eben and Liz will be in Las Vegas for CES 2012 next week.
Raspberry Pi doesn’t have a stand this year; Eben will actually be on the Broadcom stand representing them for his day job during the show itself.
Raspberry Pi will be shipping devices internationally, for orders placed on the http://www.raspberrypi.com website.
Later this year international distributors will be appointed.
The Raspberry Pi boards will be available to buy online at http://www.raspberrypi.com at the end of January.
You need to be subscribed to the mailing list in order to be emailed once the boards go on sale.
GertBoard is an add-on board for the Raspberry Pi.
It allows you to connect or interface various other devices such as sensors, detectors, LED's and electric motors.
The Raspberry Pi comes in two different flavors.
The Model A is the base model with 256Mb RAM.
The Model B is like the model A but has a 256Mb RAM, a 10/100 Mb network card and a USB hub.
To sign up for the mailing list you need to go to the main Raspberry Pi website (or click the button below) and enter your details in the Mailing List section on the top right of the page.
The Frequently Asked Questions section (FAQs) can be used to find answers to the most common questions about the Raspberry PI. It would help everyone if you could read the FAQs and forums before asking a question that has already been answered before.
The Forums can be used to find answers to more specific questions about the Raspberry PI. It would help everyone if you could read the FAQs and forums before asking a question that has already been answered before.
In the next few months we hope to be setting up a new forum area on this site aimed speciifically at the educational sector, to complement the general forum found on the main Raspberry Pi website.
Ready to Start?
The Shop can be found here, and will be taking order for the Raspberri Pi boards and accessories from late January 2012.
