Raspberry Pi 2: $35 Mini PC Runs Windows 10
The Raspberry Pi mini-computer is back, now packing even more power inside of its tiny frame. Available now for $35, Rasberry Pi 2 adds a better processor, more RAM and eventual Windows 10 support to the bite-sized PC designed largely to help children learn to program.
Guts-wise, Raspberry Pi 2 sports a quad-core, 900-MHz Broadcom ARM Cortex-A7 processor with 1GB of RAM, which is a notable step up from its predecessor's 700MHz ARM11 CPU and 512MB of RAM. Everything else about the credit card-sized PC remains the same, including its microSD slot, four USB ports, Ethernet port and inviting $35 price tag.
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In addition to its added power, Raspberry Pi 2 will eventually receive a custom version of Microsoft's Windows 10. Raspberry Pi founder Eben Upton said in a blog post that the software will be free of charge via the company's developer program, and that Microsoft will have more to reveal "in the coming months."
It's easy to mistake a Raspberry Pi for a PC component rather than a full-on computer, but the mini-machine has been powering various types of projects since its inception in 2012. The device functions as a standard PC when hooked up to a keyboard, mouse and monitor, but it can also be used to power inventions such as music-makers and weather stations.
If you've never dabbled in Pi before or want to give your classroom more computing power to play with, you can buy a Pi 2 unit now from Element 14.
Mike Andronico is an Associate Editor at Tom's Guide. Follow Mike @MikeAndronico and on Google+. Follow us @TomsGuide, on Facebook and on Google+.
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