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Raspberry Pi Zero released: New, fully-functioning computer goes on sale for $5

The computer is so cheap that it is being given away free with a magazine

Andrew Griffin
Thursday 26 November 2015 12:51 GMT
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The computer is smaller than a $5 banknote, which is all that is needed to buy it
The computer is smaller than a $5 banknote, which is all that is needed to buy it (Raspberry Pi)

Raspberry Pi has released a new device, an even cheaper version of the best-selling British computer ever made.

The Raspberry Pi Zero is just 3cm wide, but packs in everything that’s needed for full-fledged computing tasks.

The new computer costs £4 in the UK and $5 in the US. But it can be made so cheaply that the company is also giving it away with its £5.99 magazine, MagPi, which is in stores in the UK now.

The Raspberry Pi computers have cost around $20-$35. But the company said that it has been working since the beginning of the year to make an even cheaper version.

The company said that despite the already cheap price, some people were still being put off from buying the small computers. “We still meet people for whom cost remains a barrier to entry,” said Eben Upton.

The new, tiny computer includes many of the far from insubstantial components that allow it to run advanced programs. That includes 512MB of Ram, a 1GHz processor, and sockets that allow for it to be connected to a HD TV, a memory card and a USB slot.

That means that the computer packs in all of the important parts of a computer once they are hooked up to accessories like a screen and a keyboard. As such, their small size and low price has led to them being used in schools and hobby projects.

The company has been gradually working to improve the tiny computers. That included a new model released earlier this year that kept the budget priced but gave it six times the power.

Earlier this year, it was discovered that one of the models of Raspberry Pi computer could reset itself if it was hit by a camera flash.

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