Raspberry Pi Zero: New computer costs only $5

Last updated Aug 21, 2019 226

The new Raspberry Pi Zero was announced officially: it has a single-core 1 GHz processor and 512 MB of RAM, a dual-core GPU, and costs only $5.

Raspberry Pi Foundation has launched a new Zero board, which costs only $5. In this figure, the foundation proposes a small computer, particularly essential that can be used for the most varied purposes.

It is meant for the makers, hobbyists or for educational purposes, and offers the chance to experience spending a pittance. Besides the price also shrink the size, with Raspberry Pi Zero, which is even smaller than the other proposals of the previous family.

The logic board occupies an area of 65 x 30 mm, is 5 mm thick, and can be integrated into the most disparate nature of the projects. The SoC is an integrated Broadcom BCM2835 ARMv6 CPU with ” Low Power ” 1 GHz GPU and dual-core VideoCore IV.

It is supported by 512 MB of SDRAM memory, while for storing data can be used a microSD card or a USB micro-USB. In short, Zero is smaller than a credit card and 40% more powerful than the first Raspberry Pi.

The mini computer can be connected to an external monitor via a mini-HDMI connector that supports a resolution of up to 1080p at 60Hz. It can be installed on a traditional operating system. However, Zero is not designed primarily for that.

The foundation says that the new computer can run from $ 5 Raspian, the version of Linux optimized for computers of the family, and even apps like Scratch, Minecraft and Sonic Pi. There are no USB ports or Ethernet standards, nor do they support the Wi-Fi.

To connect devices must buy a powered hub and externally, as there is no support for networks, we recommend that you first set the microSD go performed on another system Raspberry Pi, and then installed on Zero. On the board, which is fed through another microUSB port dedicated, we find the inevitable 40 pins GPIO for connection to external projects.

Raspberry Pi Zero is already on sale in the UK and the US in the usual channels often bundled with microSD cards and mini-HDMI and micro USB adapters that allow you to also use traditional cables with the small computer with a small surcharge.

Given the low costs of the machine, at the time the import is useful only if you are ordering many pieces and at the time of writing the availability does not seem to be a lot. More information here.