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It’s been a long time in the making, but the second-generation Raspberry Pi is now available. The credit card-sized computer costs just $35 and contains a whopping 6x the processing power and 2x the random access memory as its predecessor.
If this is your first time hearing about the Raspberry Pi, let me explain what this device is all about. The Raspberry Pi is a small computer that connects to a standard TV and a keyboard. While it lacks many of the features found in “premium” computers, it supports spreadsheets, word processing, video gaming, and high-definition video. The nonprofit organization Raspberry Pi Foundation launched the first generation model three years ago, and since then its sold over 4.5 million units.
Raspberry Pi 2
The new Raspberry Pi 2 looks similar in appearance to its predecessor, but it contains numerous improvements worth noting. For starters, engineers have increased the number of USB ports from two to four, while also replacing the SD card slot with a MicroSD slot. Of course, the real beauty of the second generation Raspberry Pi comes from its hardware improvements.
As noted on the official Raspberry Pi blog, the second generation model features a new quad-core processor clocked at 900MHz. To put that into perspective, the first generation model featured a single-core processor clocked at just 700MHz. The Raspberry Pi Foundation also opted to use an ARMv7 processor instead of the ARMv6, further boosting its power and efficiency.
In terms of memory, the Raspberry Pi 2 packs a full 1GB of random access memory (RAM). Again, this is practically nothing compared to full-scale desktops and laptops, but it’s still twice the amount of memory found in the first generation Raspberry Pi.
Other specs for the Raspberry Pi include a 15-pin MIPA camera interface connector, HDMI output, composite video output, 3.5mm analog audio output, and a 10/100Mbps Ethernet card.
“There comes a point when there’s no substitute for more memory and CPU performance. Our challenge was to figure out how to get this without throwing away our investment in the platform or spoiling all those projects and tutorials which rely on the precise details of the Raspberry Pi hard,” wrote Eben Upton Raspberry Pi Founder and CEO, in a blog post announcing the second-generation Raspberry Pi.
