The Raspberry Pi Foundation has launched the Raspberry Pi 3, a third generation model of the popular Raspberry Pi mini computer.
Costing $35, the Raspberry Pi 3 boasts several of the same features of its predecssor, including HDMI, ethernet, and 4 USB ports. However, the latest incarnation also lays out the red carpet for built-in wireless support, Bluetooth 4.0, and a faster 1.2GHz, 64-bit, quad-core ARMv8 processor. The Raspberry Pi 2 remains on sale with the same $35 price tag, so it’s a no-brainer which device you should opt for if you’re in the market for one of these devices.
Above: Raspberry Pi 3
If you’re new to Raspberry Pi, the credit card-sized contraption is designed as an easy point-of-entry for budding programmers and hackers. It's come a long way since its inception way back in 2012 — four years ago to the day.
It initially only supported a handful of operating systems, including Linux, however, a processor upgrade in the Raspberry Pi 2 last February allowed it to support Windows, too. This essentially opened the opportunities for what you could do with the microcomputer, transforming it nto a machine capable of several of the same things as a traditional PC. And back in September, Raspberry Pi unveled a new 7″ touchscreen display too, making it easier for tech tinkerers to build their own tablets or other devices that rely on visual outputs.
More than eight million Raspberry Pi units have shipped in the past four years, and the Raspberry Pi Foundation now has more than sixty employees.