RS Components and Allied Electronics said in a joint announcement on Wednesday that they are now shipping the credit-card sized Raspberry Pi computer board. The shipments are being sent to the first group of customers from around the world, all of whom registered for a Raspberry Pi from RS and Allied. This will be the $35 Model B version with two USB ports and an Ethernet port.
Meanwhile, invitations to place an order on the new RS and Allied Raspberry Pi online store have been sent out to customers on a first-come, first-served basis, the companies said. These invitations will be in line with registrations of interest placed on the companies' websites and to match the number of boards available from RS and Allied in the first production run.
"When ordering Raspberry Pi from the dedicated online store, customers can click through to the associated parts and accessories required for activation of the board," they said. "These include USB A-B cables, HDMI cables, power supplies and SD memory cards from a range of leading cable and components suppliers, all available to purchase from stock. By ordering these cables and other accessories (such a cable connector) from RS and Allied at the same time as the Raspberry Pi board, customers can make a saving on the delivery cost, as the same total shipping charge is applicable."
Once consumers receive their Raspberry Pi, they'll still need leads, a power supply and an SD card for storage. The card also features RCA video and HDMI output, so cables for those will be needed as well. Even more, the little board will come naked, meaning owners will need to either purchase an enclosure from a third party, or make their own -- honestly, the latter option would be much cooler, allowing owners to get creative.
"There has been a huge wave of anticipation and extraordinary levels of demand for Raspberry Pi since it was launched, so we are delighted to be delivering the first boards to initial customers," said Glenn Jarrett, Head of Electronics Marketing at RS Components. "We are working very closely with the manufacturer to bring subsequent batches of boards into stock so that we can fulfill every customer order for Raspberry Pi as quickly as possible."
For more information about Raspberry Pi, head here.
