Raspberry Pi Zero officially announced ($5 USD!)

[Alejo I]

I just stumbled upon this and I thought it was too important not to post it over Arcade Controls, specially since it could make for even more affordable bartop builds.

Official announcement:

Today, I’m pleased to be able to announce the immediate availability of Raspberry Pi Zero, made in Wales and priced at just $5. Zero is a full-fledged member of the Raspberry Pi family, featuring:

· A Broadcom BCM2835 application processor
· 1GHz ARM11 core (40% faster than Raspberry Pi 1)
· 512MB of LPDDR2 SDRAM
· A micro-SD card slot
· A mini-HDMI socket for 1080p60 video output
· Micro-USB sockets for data and power
· An unpopulated 40-pin GPIO header
· Identical pinout to Model A+/B+/2B
· An unpopulated composite video header
· Our smallest ever form factor, at 65mm x 30mm x 5mm

Raspberry Pi Zero runs Raspbian and all your favourite applications, including Scratch, Minecraft and Sonic Pi. It is available today in the UK from our friends at element14, The Pi Hut and Pimoroni, and in the US from Adafruit and in-store at your local branch of Micro Center. We’ve built several tens of thousands of units so far, and are building more, but we expect demand to outstrip supply for the next little while.

And this just knocked my socks off:

One more thing: because the only thing better than a $5 computer is a free computer, we are giving away a free Raspberry Pi Zero on the front of each copy of the December issue of The MagPi, which arrives in UK stores today. Russell, Rob and the team have been killing themselves putting this together, and we’re very pleased with how it’s turned out. The issue is jam-packed with everything you need to know about Zero, including a heap of project ideas, and an interview with Mike Stimson, who designed the board.

A free computer with the purchase of a magazine. What a time to be alive.

[pbj]

That is nuts.

 

[obcd]

It sure will have it's use, but you also need 4$ cables to have a normal hdmi port and one usb port.
So, you will also need a usb hub if you have more than one usb device (like mouse and keyboard)
The cpu is a Broadcom BCM2835. Altough it's faster than the Pi1, it's probably not quad core like the pi2
And, we return from 1Gig of memory straight back to 512MB
The (bad) analog sound output was removed.. So only option is sound trough hdmi.
No networking. You will need an usb to wired ethernet or an usb wifi dongle for that.
Nevertheless, it's cute and cheap.

[ark_ader]

Not really.  Maybe for testing, but with a installed Mico SD Card and network card you can run plenty of these devices headless.

[Locke141]

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[Locke141]

I agree this is for a very niche market. But, for the embedded devises this is targeted to there are lots of applications where this is more then enough to get the job done.

As for the cables, there are options cheeper then $4.
HDMI
$2.25 shipped
33¢ shipped
$2.73 shipped

USB
$1 shipped
99¢ shipped

If you wanted to, you could even solder half of an old composite cable to the unpopulated composite video header. I would count this as a free option as almost everyone interested in this would have a solder iron and a old composite cable laying around.

The hipsters at Chip can't be having a great day.



I think there is probably still room for both, but this new R-Pi has to make there path forward more difficult.

Edit: You could also buy a Micro-USB  to ethernet adapter for $2.65 shipped, thats still makes it cheeper then Chip.

[Slippyblade]

The (bad) analog sound output was removed.. So only option is sound trough hdmi.

No, it's still there.  The header is simply not populated.  So if you want the analog audio or composite video, you will need to solder a socket onto the board.

[Locke141]

The (bad) analog sound output was removed.. So only option is sound trough hdmi.

No, it's still there.  The header is simply not populated.  So if you want the analog audio or composite video, you will need to solder a socket onto the board.

Or solder the wires directly. For an embedded devise that's a reasonable thing to do.

[obcd]

I can see the header for composite video but I am still missing the analog audio out stuff.
The other extra header pins are for a reset switch.

[Slippyblade]

I can see the header for composite video but I am still missing the analog audio out stuff.
The other extra header pins are for a reset switch.

The composite video and audio have been on a combined header for the past several versions.

[pbj]

I can see the header for composite video but I am still missing the analog audio out stuff.
The other extra header pins are for a reset switch.

The composite video and audio have been on a combined header for the past several versions.

Yeah, it's some plug used on camcorders.  If I recall correctly, it was exactly the same as a headphone + microphone plug.  Either way, cable only cost a couple of bucks.

[obcd]

I know that they were combined on the same 3.5 mm jack.
So, instead of being a stereo jack, you needed one with an extra contact like used on some cellphones to connect a microphone/headset.
Basically, this means we have GND "Comp video out" "Audio out L" and "Audio out R" (That's 4 connections)
On the Pi Zero, you have 2 connections which are Comp video out and GND. The Audio ones are missing imho.
The other 2 connections are "reset in" and gnd for a reset switch.

[Slippyblade]

Looking into it closer it appears obcd is correct.  It is just a composite video connector.  If you want analog out, you gotta toss together a quicky circuit and pull the signal from a GPIO pin.  It looks like 2 resistors and 2 caps.

[obcd]

If the pwm lines that they used on the other pi's are available on the gpio connector, it shouldn't be much of a problem.
If you need to use some other pwm lines, you are facing adapting the sound driver and recompiling the kernel.
As the pi is supported by a large community, it will likely become available soon or later.
I am not in the mood to dig into the schematics to figure out if the pwm's are available on the 40 pin gpio.

[Slippyblade]

According to the threads I found, the PWM lines are available and it's just a change in a boot file to send em to the GPIO.  No re-compile.

[obcd]

You are correct.

https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=91&t=86609

[Howard_Casto]

Because a few of the "necessary" things are missing from it, the zero isn't the most practical thing in the world and is only useful in certain situations.  Strangely enough video games seem to be one of the few things it's suited for. 

With the random fondness of antiquated technology as it pertains to our hobby aside, let's not be silly here.  This is 2015.... hdmi is the connector you should be using and a hdmi equipped monitor is what you will play anything on.  An hdmi cable is a dollar.  No seriously, they are a dollar.  If you are paying more than a dollar, I'll just direct you to "the internet"  just sort by price low to high.  The micro to macro hdmi adaptor is around 75 cents.  A micro usb cable is also a dollar.  I literally saw one in the dollar tree the other day, so you don't even need the internet for that one. 

Assuming you are hooking it up to a hdmi television, which we've already established that you should probably do, you hook the hdmi cable up for sound and video and plug that usb cable into the usb port of the tv for power.  Aside from a sd card that's really all you need. 

If you really need internet and what have you those dongles are around a dollar as well.  If you get a pair of Bluetooth dongles you can bridge internet, audio and devices all through a single dongle which eliminates the need for a hub. 

So sure, the thing isn't actually 5 dollars, it's more like 8-10 by the time you get all the necessary junk, but let's not over-react. 

It's still plenty cheap and the pi is now finally at the appropriate price point for what you get. 

I think for arcade emulation it's a bit of a bust because... well it's a pi, but console emulation seems like a sure bet.  8 and 16 bit consoles don't require a lot to emulate and their controllers could most likely be driven directly from the GPIO header. 

I'll also point out that they make hdmi cables with a 3.5mm output cable for audio.  They aren't super cheap, but they aren't terribly expensive either.

[Jamesbeat]

The hipsters at Chip can't be having a great day.

I just clicked the link and promptly regretted it.

That website is so 'hip' that I want to do violent things to the chip team 

[yotsuya]

I'm more excited to get my Chip than I am about the Pi0.

[Locke141]

I'm more excited to get my Chip than I am about the Pi0.

If you just want to do a signage like your digital scoreboard, then Chip with its built in wifi and blue tooth is the simpler option. The Pi zero with it's huge user community has its advantage as well.   

I want to see how low can I get the power requirement for a off grid computer lab. The Pi-0 looks promising but the lack ethernet connectivity is frustration. I need to see how feasible it is to do an ethernet bridge over the USB post.     

[yotsuya]

I'm more excited to get my Chip than I am about the Pi0.

If you just want to do a signage like your digital scoreboard, then Chip with its built in wifi and blue tooth is the simpler option. The Pi zero with it's huge user community has its advantage as well.   

I want to see how low can I get the power requirement for a off grid computer lab. The Pi-0 looks promising but the lack ethernet connectivity is frustration. I need to see how feasible it is to do an ethernet bridge over the USB post.   

Did you order a Chip, Locke?

[Locke141]

Yep, and did the add-on Chip. I think its going to be a fun little computer and I like Debian based linux systems.

 I have two Dell 19'' monitors (2008FT i think) in my class room. I'm going to use the composite port so the kids can switch between the windows PC and chip. Can't wait to stick DOXbox on them and load them with a bunch of old math games and more modern LINUX education games like scratch and tux math.