Raspberry Pi Model A costs £19, makes sun-powered robots
The cheaper version of the popular micro PC uses a third as much power, making it perfect for battery or solar-powered projects.
A new, cheaper model of the Raspberry Pi is now on sale, delivering a tiny computer for an even more affordable £19.33.
The 'Model A' micro PC is now out in Europe, available to buy from RS components for under twenty quid. It ditches the Ethernet port, but has a single USB socket and 256MB of RAM.
On its official blog, the creators of the UK-built device explain that the stripped-down computer would come in handy for tinkerers looking to build machines that are powered by a battery or solar power, because it uses "roughly a third" as much power as the existing Model B.
Robots, sensors and Wi-Fi repeaters glued to bus stops are some given examples, but it will be interesting to see what bizarre technological creations the ambitious Raspberry Pi community can cook up.
The Model A has half as much RAM as the Model B Raspberry Pi, but prior to November of last year that earlier version also had just 256MB. As such, you should still be able to craft the Model A into a bargain-priced media centre -- check out our guide if you're keen on giving it a go.
In January, the Raspberry Pi foundation revealed that it had sold roughly 1 million of the little blighters, while Google has splashed out to put 15,000 of the tiny computers in British schools -- a ploy designed to give the UK's programming industry a kick up the backside.
Will you buy a Model A Pi? What would you like to see adventurous PC-builders create? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook wall.
