Raspberry Pi A+ details have leaked: Despite trying to keep it secret, a major Raspberry Pi retailer has published some details of the upcoming model A+ Raspberry Pi thanks to a product page that went live early. The board layout looks different and is much smaller (56x65mm) than the model A or B+. New Raspberry Pi A+ article gives overview to this new board and this picture of the board. Also Hackaday has overview of the new A+ model. It looks like the model A+ is good news, except of course for all those Raspberry Pi case makers who will now have to redesign their model A cases.
Very soon after the leaks was the official release message: Raspberry Pi Model A+ on sale now at $20 (around 16 Euros). When Model B+ was announced back in July, the developers of it said that they’d be also be producing a lower-cost variant, analogous to the original Model A. Today Raspberry Pi Model A+ was announced at a new low price of $20. Like the Model A, the Model A+ uses the BCM2835 application processor and has 256MB RAM, but it is significantly smaller (65mm in length, versus 86mm for the Model A) and consumes less power. There are many improvements: more GPIO, microSD and better audio. You can buy the Model A+ today from Farnell in the UK, and MCM in the US. Here is image of the new board from Raspberry Pi Model A+ on sale now at $20 announcement:
One key improvement is the new 40-pin GPIO socket, which makes the model A+ fully compatible with the HAT expansion standard. ‘HATs’ (Hardware Attached on Top) were introduced with the Raspberry Pi model B+. A HAT is an add-on board for B+ that conforms to a specific set of rules. A significant feature of HATs is the inclusion of a system that allows the B+ to identify a connected HAT and automatically configure the GPIOs and drivers for the board, making life for the end user much easier! The first 26 pins of the NAT GPIO header are identical to those of the original models, so most existing boards will still work. In a nutshell a HAT is a rectangular board (65x56mm) that has four mounting holes in the (nicely rounded) corners that align with the mounting holes on Raspberry Pi below it.
Raspberry Pis are not truly powerful, but because of their low price and easy expandability, they are useful for so many creative projects. The new model has made the price even cheaper. It runs on the same price range as original Arduino UNO and is much more powerful.
3 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Raspberry Pi: NOT SMALL or CHEAP enough for you? Check out the NEW A+
Smaller and flatter RPi offers just one USB port, though
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/11/10/new_raspberry_pi_a_appears_for_sale_online/
The A+ was spotted in the wild over the weekend, only for a product page at Element14 describing the computer to disappear.
RS Online’s Australian site listed the A+ in the wee hours of the British morning at a price of AU$41.00. (US$35.56, £22.37 and €24.48). The A+ has since appeared on RS Online’s UK site at an even £20.00.
That makes the A+ just about a clone of the B+, save for the amount of RAM – the A+ has 256MB compared to the 512MB on the B+ – and in terms of size.
The arrival of the A+ doesn’t mean the end of the model A. Pi founder Eben Upton wrote to tell us “The big news is that we’ve cut the price to $20 from $25 for the old Model A.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Raspberry Pi A+
http://issuu.com/eeweb/docs/02-2015-modern_printed_circuits_1_p/33?e=7607911/11366671
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hackaday Perma-Proto Black Hat for Raspberry Pi Mini Kit – With EEPROM
http://store.hackaday.com/products/hackaday-perma-proto-black-hat
Printed circuit board and a single 2×20 GPIO Header for Raspberry Pi to put your Perma-Proto on top of your Raspberry Pi (like a nice little hat).
This hat is only compatible with the Raspberry Pi Model A+ or B+.
It will not work with the Raspberry Pi Model A or B.
Hackaday branded Perma-Proto Black Hat. Design your own Pi HAT, attach custom circuitry and otherwise dress your Pi A+ or B+ with this jaunty prototyping HAT kit with EEPROM. It has a grid of 0.1″ prototyping soldering holes for attaching chips, resistors, LED, potentiometers and more. The holes are connected underneath with traces to mimic the solderless breadboards you’re familiar. There’s also long power strips for +3V, +5V and Ground connections to the Pi. Near the top we break out nearly every pin you could want to connect to the Pi (#26 didnt quite make the cut).
This version comes with a blank 24C32 I2C EEPROM soldered on and connected to the EEDAT/EECLK lines so you cannot ‘stack’ it with other HATs.