Faster Raspberry Pi 2 Released

Faster Raspberry Pi 2 Released

The credit-card sized Raspberry Pi gets an upgrade, offering faster processor and more memory. I am glad I held off on the Raspberry Pi B+, as just barely six months after it’s launch, the Raspberry Pi 2 is now available and it offers significant improvement over it’s predecessor. The Rasp Pi 2 now sports a quad-core 800 / 900 MHz chip with 1GB of RAM. This is expected to offer six times the performance of the old Model B+. Footprint remains the same and it offers the same connectivity as the previous version. Best of all, pricing remains the same too at US$35.

The GPU and other specifications remain the same. It has an identical form-factor to the existing Raspberry Pi 1 Model B+, so you can re-use your existing case and other accessories. All of the connectors are in the same place and have the same functionality, and the board can still be run from a 5V micro-USB power adapter.

The latest Raspberry Pi 2 would also be compatible with Windows 10, and for those intending to explore Windows, the Raspberry Pi version would be made free. It is still pending further details on how the ARM architecture will handle Windows and its app supportability. Loading an OS is as easy as copying the necessary files to the MicroSD and that should increase the ease of access to the Raspberry Pi.

It is currently selling now. Singapore buyers should be able to get the Raspberry Pi 2 when it is available from both Element14 and RSOnline, although initial stocks would be limited. The link for RSOnline is now up at (http://sg.rs-online.com/web/p/processor-microcontroller-development-kits/8326274/)[http://sg.rs-online.com/web/p/processor-microcontroller-development-kits/8326274/] and retailing at S$47.17, priced slightly higher than normal.

Raspberry Pi 2 Model B SBC

  • Broadcom BCM2836 800MHz ARM Cortex-A7 quad-core processor with VideoCore IV dual-core GPU
  • GPU provides Open GL ES 2.0, hardware-accelerated OpenVG, and 1080p30 H.264 high-profile decode
  • GPU is capable of 1Gpixel/s, 1.5Gtexel/s or 24GFLOPs with texture filtering and DMA infrastructure
  • 1GB LPDDR2 SDRAM
  • HD 1080p video output
  • Composite video (PAL/NTSC) output
  • Stereo audio output
  • 10/100 BaseT RJ45 Ethernet socket
  • HDMI 1.3 & 1.4 video/audio socket
  • 3.5mm 4-pole audio/composite video out jack socket
  • 4 x USB 2.0 sockets
  • 15-way MPI CSI-2 connector for Raspberry Pi HD video camera (775-7731)
  • 15-way Display Serial Interface connector
  • MicroSD card socket
  • Boots from MicroSD card, running a new version of the Linux operating system (See Note below)
  • 40-pin header for GPIO and serial buses (compatible with Raspberry Pi 1 26-pin header)
  • Power supply: +5V @ 2A via microUSB socket
  • Dimensions: 86 x 56 x 20mm