The Raspberry Pi microcomputer’s most affordable model, known as the Model A, has gone on sale in Europe, and will go on sale in the rest of the world “very soon” according to the Raspberry Pi foundation. So while only Europeans can currently get their hands on the ultra-affordable computer, those of us in the rest of the world can rest assured that we too shall be able to play around with this staggeringly cheap piece of hardware soon enough.

The new Model A Raspberry Pi comes in $10 cheaper than the Model B, which has already been wildly successful with over a million units sold. Not that the Model B was expensive at only $35, but it just might help put the device in the hands of more people and that is certainly a good thing, especially since the intention of the device is to get more young people learning to code. More skilled programmers means more useful programs for us, and that is most certainly a cause for celebration.

The Model A Lacks some of the features of the Model B. First, there is no ethernet port. Instead, there exists only one USB port and 256MB of RAM, compared to 512MB on the Model B. However, it also consumes around a third less power, which opens up a slew of new options for running it. It will still run XBMC, which makes this quite possibly the cheapest media center you can get your hands on.

All Model A Raspberry Pi devices are being made in Wales. Soon they may also be made in Sony’s Pencoed factory, which is currently cranking out Model B units at a rate of about 4000 units a day.

Source: TechCrunch