The next-generation Raspberry Pi 2 is now on sale, replacing the original Raspberry Pi 1 Model B+, offering a faster processor and more memory than before, for just $35.
It is the newest addition to the credit card-sized single-board computers developed in the UK by the Raspberry Pi Foundation.
Compared to the Raspberry Pi 1 it has a 900MHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 CPU and 1GB RAM. It can run the full range of ARM GNU/Linux distributions, including Snappy Ubuntu Core, as well as Microsoft Windows 10. This makes the Pi 2 six times more powerful than its predecessor with twice the amount of memory.
The new Pi 2 looks identical to the previous model and the connectors are in the same place and have the same functionality.
“Since we launched the original Raspberry Pi Model B, back in 2012, we’ve done an enormous amount of software work to get the best out of our Broadcom BCM2835 application processor and its 700MHz ARM11 CPU,” Eben Upton, Raspberry Pi Founder and CEO, wrote in a blog post.
“Nonetheless, there comes a point when there’s no substitute for more memory and CPU performance.”
Employees at the company spent “thousands of hours” developing firmware “to make Raspberry Pi the most stable single board computer in the world,” he said.
“It’s worth going back and trying out an old SD card image from 2012 to get an idea of how far we’ve come.”
“Remember you’ll need an updated NOOBS or Raspbian image including an ARMv7 kernel and modules from our downloads page,” Upton said.
Raspberry Pi 2 is available to buy from Raspberry’s partners element14 and RS Components.
The company also said:
“We’ll keep building Raspberry Pi 1 Model B and Model B+ as long as there’s demand for it. Both these boards will continue to sell for $35.”