TORONTO – It’s not every day a computer promising a powerful Windows experience is made available for under $50 – let alone $35. Enter the Raspberry Pi 2: The latest compact computer from the Raspberry Pi Foundation.
The original Raspberry Pi computer was launched in 2012 by the U.K.-based educational charity, which aims to get kids more interested in computer programming by using cheap, simple computers they can experiment with.
To use the single-board computer, users must plug in an SD card containing a copy of an operating system and hook up the device – which is no bigger than a credit card – to an external display and keyboard.
The Raspberry Pi 2 is reportedly six times more powerful than the prior version, the Model B+.
The central processing unit (CPU) is now quad-core rather than single core, which means it can be programmed for more computing power.
It also features one gigabyte of RAM, double the amount included with the Model B.
Raspberry Pi 2 will also run the upcoming Windows 10 operating system from Microsoft – although the software giant has not yet announced a release date for the OS.
“For the last six months we’ve been working closely with Microsoft to bring the forthcoming Windows 10 to Raspberry Pi 2. Microsoft will have much more to share over the coming months,” read a blog post announcing the new computer.
“The Raspberry Pi 2-compatible version of Windows 10 will be available free of charge to makers.”
Though it might look complicated to the average user, Raspberry Pi can do the same things a desktop computer can – from surfing the web, to playing games and using your run-of-the-mill work processing programs.
The computers have become quite popular with coding enthusiasts, who use them to teach coding languages like Scratch and Python.
The Raspberry Pi Foundation has sold about 4.5 million units since launching the product, according to BBC.
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