$25/$35 Mini-PC Available Next Month - ARM based

[beergeek]

Gode Mode, here are the gerber files http://www.raspberrypi.org/ABCMicro.zip
Still looking for the BOM.

I have no idea what those are for, but they are certainly not the Pi (look at the dates on the files, for one thing). The web site has some (but not manufacturing level) documentation available for their "alpha" boards, but as far as I can tell they have not yet released anything but photos (and the fact that it is 6 layer) for their production boards. However, they have promised that they will release full documentation (of their design, not of the BCM 2835, (much of) which is only available under NDA) at some point.

It appears the BOM isn't too long - from the pictures, there are 3 significant pieces of silicon (the Broadcom SoC, the Ether chip, and the RAM), some power parts, some LEDs, some passive components, and lots of connectors (all surface mount except the connectors...)

 

[God Mode]

I believe they will happily supply you with such - they'd like other people to manufacture it. However, that's not the same as "build one at home" - the major part (Broadcom BCM2835) is not something you are going to be able to pick up readily (or inexpensively) and it is a BGA part (the only non-industrial way to solder I know of is a special adapter that would be quite expensive), the memory part is (I believe) just as problematic, the circuit board, while small, is (I'd assume) at least 4 to 6 layers, and I'm sure there are other constraints.

At this point, they have some major players working on it - once the current teething problems are dealt with, they should be able to ramp up availability pretty quickly. If they can't, it's unlikely that anyone else can...

I'm familiar with bga and have access to IR equipment. I want to see how plausible it would be to layout the board to my liking because the standard layout is useless to me. They designed this too much like an eval board and not an end product.

 

[MXERYZ125]

Wow! Mine came a whole month before I ordered it and due to technological advances they built in a 16-core i7 prototype with an integrated with ten GTX Nvidia cards Crossfired together that were connected to ten AMD cards that were SLI'ed together all on one chip so small that it takes up negative space!
Overall, it runs Linux, OSX Liger, and Windows 9 pretty well simultaneously but there are a few issues connecting it to the 5G LTE Wifi Blu-tooth Jesus network in poor areas of the country. I recommend getting one of those free cases through that app portal that prevents it from exploding when you hold it correctly and go ahead and give it a good sanding because that is one slippery little machine. It will fall out of your hands even if you aren't even touching it. I've had to get my Pupil screen replaced like five thousand times for $70 each time even though it would be cheaper just to buy a new one but I just love giving repair businesses my money.
It does indeed support Google multitask mode so no worries there. Overall I have got to say this is one of the most delicious palm pilots I have ever owned and I know what you are thinking and yes, it blends quite well.
I bought like eight of them and built a space pirate ship with them and sailed into the sun while towing the moon with me.
CONS: does not come with its own blender. That is a separate buy altogether. Also, it does not work well in the bath tub. What is up with that? I'm not sure where the average consumer keeps their Raspberry Pi but I sure like to think of mine as a submarine. Where is the time travel function? I DID NOT PAY 35 dollars to sit my fat bum in the year that the mayans predicted the world to end. COME ON EBEN!
PS When is Half Life 4 coming out?

definitely getting one after reading this review on the purchase page haha

 

[kami333]

CE (and more importantly, FCC) testing passed! Looks like there's still the paperwork, but good news!

 

[daw123]

Mine's arriving on Monday. I'm chuffed to bits. I'll let you guys know how I get on with it (don't have a clue how to use Linux, so its a big learning curve for me)

 

[mleejr]

don't have a clue how to use Linux, so its a big learning curve for me

Linux Mint is by far the easiest Linux out there. Just burn this DVD ISO image and whola, you are 99% of the way there. If I didn't need to play BF3 and other win only PC games I would probably run this.

http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=95

 

[beergeek]

Linux Mint is by far the easiest Linux out there. Just burn this DVD ISO image and whola, you are 99% of the way there. If I didn't need to play BF3 and other win only PC games I would probably run this.

http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=95

Useful for learning Linux, but not useful on the Pi itself, of course. There are only a few distros built for the Pi so far, especially if you want support for the on-chip graphics.

 

[bobfloyd]

I got my Raspberry Pi up and running Debian Linux. I had to swap keyboards until I found one it liked. Total cost was just under $100 using an old monitor with a DVI connector.

Newegg.com
GWC HU2G40 USB 2.0 4-Port Hub with 2.5A Power Adapter, Bus-power/Self-power Modes 14.99
Orange KBC2010BK Black 104 Normal Keys 12 Function Keys USB Wired Ergonomic Multimedia Keyboard 6.99
Orange MOUC7070BK Black 3 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Optical 800 dpi Mouse 5.99
Shipping and Handling:* 8.13


*Amazon.com
Samsung OEM USB Travel Charger Adapter with Data Cable MicroUSB - Bulk Packaging - Black 2.66
AmazonBasics HDMI to DVI Adapter Cable (9.8 Feet/3.0 Meters) 6.99
2X Kingston 8 GB microSDHC Class 4 Flash Memory Card SDC4/8GB 10.84

Allied Electronics & RS Components
Raspberry Pi Type B Single Board Computer 35.00
Shipping and Handling:* 8.02

Total 99.61

 

[wirednuts]

ive been finding droid x phones on ebay for $50 shipped. they kinda smoke the shit out of the raspberry pi. really, if these things came out 9 months ago like they were supposed to it would have been better. theyre still cool, but... meh.... at this point.

 

[BUTCH1]

I'm wondering how that SOC does so well at 1080p. Also I think (even though it's outdated) VGA should have been supported, since the mass switch to LCD monitors a CRT based VGA can easily be found for $10-15 enabling those financially challenged to get a system up and running even cheaper.

 

[bearxor]

It played 1080p rips a little choppy for me on the XBMC distro. Mines in the box now, but I'll probably pull it out in a few months and try an updated distro and see if performance improves. Looking to possibly replace my boxee box with this, but it still needs quite a few things.

 

[BUTCH1]

It played 1080p rips a little choppy for me on the XBMC distro. Mines in the box now, but I'll probably pull it out in a few months and try an updated distro and see if performance improves. Looking to possibly replace my boxee box with this, but it still needs quite a few things.

Yea, usually the weaker the SOC the more it struggles with 1080p. Broadcom must have done a hell of a job optimizing for it to work. At this point a tablet with an A10 Cortex8 based SOC along with a dedicated GPU (MALI-400) can be had for less than $100 and as dual-core SOC's become even more prevalent expect that price to get down to the $50-80 range, throw in a cheap USB keyboard and your good to go..

 

[bobfloyd]

ive been finding droid x phones on ebay for $50 shipped. they kinda smoke the shit out of the raspberry pi. really, if these things came out 9 months ago like they were supposed to it would have been better. theyre still cool, but... meh.... at this point.

I'm sure you can find cheap used PC's that do much more for the price than the RPi, but I think the attraction for this is the hobbyist community growing around it with lots of add-on components and interesting projects.

 

[kami333]

It played 1080p rips a little choppy for me on the XBMC distro. Mines in the box now, but I'll probably pull it out in a few months and try an updated distro and see if performance improves. Looking to possibly replace my boxee box with this, but it still needs quite a few things.

Which distro are you using? I got mine a few days ago and have been playing around with OpenELEC, seems I get some hiccups now and then even at 720p, haven't tried RaspBMC yet.

 

[mikeford]

If you want to mess around with something new, be part of the leading edge, then now is the time to get one.

If you want a commodity product that is polished and ready for turnkey applications, best to wait.

 

[Knavish]

ive been finding droid x phones on ebay for $50 shipped. they kinda smoke the shit out of the raspberry pi. really, if these things came out 9 months ago like they were supposed to it would have been better. theyre still cool, but... meh.... at this point.

Somehow I bet interfacing peripherals and setting up a traditional linux distribution on that Droid X will be a bit of a challenge...

 

[wirednuts]

i know, i was just throwing it out there because i think most things people want to do with raspberry pi's they can do with android

 

[HybridSquirrel]

just got a shipping notification on mine as well....woot

 

[thescreensavers]

Dont forget to look at GooseBerry, it has more Horsepower then Pi

 

[kami333]

Dont forget to look at GooseBerry, it has more Horsepower then Pi

I'm more interested in the VIA APC, have a bunch of monitors with VGA only that I could use them with.

 

[etrin]

got my notification too.

I have been checking and seen a lot of post saying well right now 720P is about the best you can get without stuttering.

WT HECK is up with this?

oh forgot to say that XBMC is still being developed >>>BUT<<< right now it has problems, a work in progress.

BEFORE the release all they could say is how it did 1080P and XBMC was awesome at BLA BLA BLA

now its released and well it almost does some of what we said.
HELL is this a microsoft product?


most of them are blaming it on low memory etc

thescreensavers if I had known about the Goose I would NOT have purchased this thing.

 

[bznotins]

got my notification too.

I have been checking and seen a lot of post saying well right now 720P is about the best you can get without stuttering.

WT HECK is up with this?

oh forgot to say that XBMC is still being developed >>>BUT<<< right now it has problems, a work in progress.

BEFORE the release all they could say is how it did 1080P and XBMC was awesome at BLA BLA BLA

now its released and well it almost does some of what we said.
HELL is this a microsoft product?

most of them are blaming it on low memory etc

thescreensavers if I had known about the Goose I would NOT have purchased this thing.

Wow, must be the worst $40 you ever spent.

 

[jalaram]

got my notification too.

I have been checking and seen a lot of post saying well right now 720P is about the best you can get without stuttering.

WT HECK is up with this?

oh forgot to say that XBMC is still being developed >>>BUT<<< right now it has problems, a work in progress.

BEFORE the release all they could say is how it did 1080P and XBMC was awesome at BLA BLA BLA

now its released and well it almost does some of what we said.
HELL is this a microsoft product?


most of them are blaming it on low memory etc

thescreensavers if I had known about the Goose I would NOT have purchased this thing.

If you don't want it, I'll buy it. My whole reason for getting this (still waiting for my shipping notice) is help teach my kids (8 and 6) about building a computer and getting it to run. If it does 1080p, great! 720p, that's fine as well.

 

[Raswan]

Haters gonna hate, trolls gonna troll. Long live RPi!

 

[HybridSquirrel]

mine just showed up....where do I start?