Explained: What Is Raspberry Pi?

A Raspberry Pi is a bare-bones personal computer with a Linux operating system installed in it. In most simple terms, it is a low cost, a credit-card sized computer that can easily be plugged into any computer screen or TV. It is a small piece of the chip with many circuits and USB slots in it. There are separate USB slots for connecting standard keyboard and mouse so that a user can have an experience of using a desktop. It is small in size but, powerful enough to convert any monitor into a desktop. It is capable of performing exactly like a desktop computer. You can browse the internet, can play HD videos, can make spreadsheets and can even play simple games.

It is a cheap device and costs somewhat between $25 to $35. It is created by Raspberry foundation to encourage the younger generation to learn coding and programming. The main aim of creating Raspberry Pi was to encourage learning of computer technology for kids. There are many segments of the society who still can’t afford a PC but, wish to have it. So, Raspberry Pi is a perfect gadget for them as it costs just 5-10% of a real PC and delivers an almost same experience.

It is case free single board device which means you can actually see the circuits and can easily carry it with you. Although, you would need a Monitor, Keyboard and Mouse to use this amazing piece of technology. There are two models of Raspberry Pi available in the market.

Model A

It is the first version of the Raspberry Pi. It is powered by the Broadcom BCM2835 system-on-a-chip (SoC) which includes a 32-bit ARM1176JZFS processor, clocked at 700MHz, and a Videocore IV GPU. This model also features a 256MB of RAM in a POP package above the SoC. The Model A of Raspberry Pi is powered by a 5V micro USB AC charger. It also features 1 USB 2.0 slot, 3.5 mm audio jack, SD card slot, H.264 codec for hardware decoding and costs only $25.

Model B

The processor is same as model A but it features 2 USB 2.0 ports and an Ethernet port. It is equipped with a better RAM of 512MB. All the features are somehow similar with few changes in power capacity and dimension. This model costs $35. A generation 2 Model of Model B is also available at same price. It is powered by 900 Mhz Quad-core ARM Cortex A7 processor and features 1GB of RAM.

It is a perfect gadget to make kids familiar with the world of technology and computer science. Raspberry Pi has found its application in many fields. It is used to teach languages and software. It is also used to do experimentation in the different field of computer science. You can easily buy a Raspberry Pi from any e-commerce web store. It is available on Amazon at INR 4443 only. So, if you are one of those persons who wishes to use a computer but can’t afford one, this is the right thing for you.

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