Is new £34 Raspberry Pi 4 cheapest PC ever?
A new version of the Raspberry Pi computer has been announced, with the manufacturer claiming it is the world’s most affordable multimedia desktop PC.
The Raspberry Pi 4, which starts at £34, is capable of driving two independent screens running 4K resolution content and has three times the processing power of its predecessor.
The credit card-sized computer is designed to be highly customisable with an appeal to computer hobbyists, but can also be bought in a bundle with a mouse, keyboard, SD card, power supply, cables and case for the first time to help recreate the experience of a desktop computer.
The new computer also includes Gigabit Ethernet and USB 3.0 connectivity ports on its single board to allow other devices to be connected to it.
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Created by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, the device is the fourth-generation model of the charity’s computer, which are designed to be low-cost, high-performance devices which enable more people around the world to gain access to a computer for the first time.
Co-founder Eben Upton said the updates to the new computer meant it should now be considered as a competitor to traditional desktops in the PC market.
“The vision behind Raspberry Pi 4 is to make a rich multimedia PC experience accessible to everyone. By offering a ‘just right’ level of performance for most users, we’ve been able to do this at roughly a tenth the cost of a traditional desktop PC,” he said.
“This is a significant development for the PC market as a whole. Raspberry Pi is already the best-selling British computer of all time. In 2018 Q4 Raspberry Pi 3+ and earlier models accounted for 2.5% of the global PC market; the improved capabilities of Raspberry Pi 4 should allow us to address a much larger fraction of that market.”
The Raspberry Pi 4 also comes with a range of programming languages, enabling users to enter the world of developing and coding as well as using the device like a traditional PC, and is already widely used in education and industry.