This little gadget, the size of a credit card, it can be used as a single board minicomputer. Although, technological entrepreneurs have given it various uses since its performance as a substitute for a computer remains in doubt.
It started as a project to educate in schools and universities on the use of technology, but its affordable price popularized this tool in Europe.
Learn the possible uses that people have made of this equipment and know the best versions that have hit the market of computing from the European continent to the whole world.
What are Raspberry Pi and what are these single board computers for?
Its official logo is a raspberry, this because its name is a combination of a sweet dish made with this fruit. “Raspberry pie”. The project started in 2012 by the English manufacturer Raspberry Pi Foundation, which obtained a useful multipurpose educational tool for this sector.
The new models have up to 8 GB of RAM, but the first models did not exceed half a giga and its possible use as a desktop computer, so it was soon clouded by the low performance in office automation work. It is a single card with a processor, RAM memory and different input connectors that turn this device into a kind of Swiss army knife, with which technological entrepreneurs have achieved find alternative solutions and a low cost to your needs.
What uses can be given to a Raspberry Pi?
There are domestic uses that people can give to the equipment, as long as you have some knowledge of computer science and care of hardware, because originally the Raspberry Pi were not created for these purposes.
Let’s see:
- Web server: Although the size can be deceiving, a Raspberry Pi is actually a mini-computer and also a “mini server”, in which you can host content so that it is integrated into the “WWW”. It is enough to adapt and install a program like Apache, with which you will turn the device into a web page store, although with little traffic.
- Video conference station: on the web there are already thousands of tricks and steps to follow in order to install programs that support Zoom, Skype or Teams from Microsoft. With a Raspberry Pi with 2 Gb of memory it is enough for these programs to run, although natively it will not let you do it.
- Air meter: Connecting a SPS30 particle sensor with a Raspberry is simpler than it seems, since the data collected by this sensor can be uploaded to Microsoft’s Azure system to process this data and return it in the form of graphs to a monitor, which you can also connect to the device.
- Home intelligence system: when you have a “smart House”, Sometimes it is easier to unify all that system in a Raspberry monoblock, with which you control the operation of the heating, washing machines, refrigerators and sound systems that can be controlled remotely and from a single console.
- Turn your TV into Smart TV: This is perhaps one of the most popular uses for Raspberries. Thanks to its USB ports and connectors, the necessary links can be made to be a source of live transmissions on your old television via Wifi.
- Custom mail server: If you did not know, the postal services also require a server where all that information is stored. For this, you only require a basic knowledge of programming and the internet to make your own personalized email account work.
List of all models of Raspberry Pi boards and computers that have been developed to date
The times when these models brought 32 bits have gone down in history. Since 2012, the performance of Raspberry computers has evolved a lot, however, their popularity remains limited in the mainstream PC user market.
We leave you a list of all the main models that have come out to date, even the initial models:
Raspberry Pi 4 B + with Raspbian
This is the newest bet of the manufacturer, It has a value of less than 60 euros and with its 8 Gb of RAM promises to do tasks more efficiently than most computers that are already nearing obsolescence. Has USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports, which are the new standards in terms of wired connectivity. Like their predecessors, they have HDMI so that you can connect monitors and Smart TVs, so you avoid buying a Roku if you have this device at home.
What is your most acclaimed goodness? Its ability to allow 4K video playback, Wifi AC and Bluetooth 5.0. It is a team that begins to compete with important terminals in the desktop computer market.
Raspberry Pi 4 Model B
In short, it has the same technical characteristics as its plus version, but it comes with a variant in RAM, which are 2 Gb and 4 Gb. Although, if you want to have all the potential of a minicomputer in the palm of your hand, it is better to have the 8 Gb version, for almost the same price. Why are these variants offered? Because when it comes to industrial use, technical qualities and price affect the purchase decision when it is made in batches, and it is not worth having powerful equipment for simple tasks.
Raspberry Pi Spain 3 B +
This is a version that increases the speed of work due to its 4 cores of 1.4 Ghz in processing, which this time comes with 64 bits, unlike most of the known computers so far. It has bluetooth system, four USB 2.0 ports and one CSI camera port. A single disadvantage is that it only has 1 GB of RAM, but this is offset by the processing cores it has.
Raspberry Pi 3 B
Too comes with 64 bit and 4 processing cores that make it a speedy model. Like its older brother, it has a 1 Gb RAM memory and wireless connections through bluetooth 4.1 and WiFi connection. People popularized this version because, via HDMI or DVI, you can connect a Smart TV as a monitor if you want to use the device as a desktop computer. This model was a step forward in the advancement of the product due to the speed shown in its work.
Raspberry Pi 3 Model A +
At the end of 2018, This device was unveiled with an average power in terms of uses as a mini computer desktop. Users found that when it comes to simple office tasks, this team can handle these tasks.
Its design is smaller, as well as its speed with only 1 Gb of RAM, an RJ45 connector and a single USB connector, unlike other models that have up to four ports. It comes with a full HDMI port, a micro SD slot, CSI Camera, and DSI display. A variant of this model is that it has just 512 Mb of RAM.
Raspberry Pi 2 B
It is the second generation of this product that tries to break out of its educational apparatus scheme for schools and begin to offer more complex capacities for domestic use. It has an ARM Quad Core 900 Mhz processor, 1 Gb of RAM and four USB ports.
As a curiosity, this computer also receives an adapted version of Windows 10, with which you can install basic and required applications for office automation tasks. By default, it comes with its own operating system and to the advantage of many developers, it also supports the Linux operating system.
Raspberry Pi Zero W
This model was launched on the market in 2015 and was dedicated to the industrial sector for its single price of US $ 5. It is the preferred model for corporations looking to perform various micro tasks and they require plates like these. Its novelty is that it was the first model to support WiFi and Bluetooth. That same year, an additional model with pre-soldered GPIO pins was launched, but because it did not have USB ports, it was a big problem when it came to its industrial commercialization.
Raspberry Pi 1 model A / B
Both models are already discontinued. These began to hit the market in 2012, when there was an immediate acceptance of thousands of followers of the technology who preferred to use this model to adjust them to their own projects.
They did not have an Ethernet port, so the only possible connection with the card was via USB, even the WiFi had to be adjusted by means of a special adapter. It had a RAM of 256 Mb and a processor of just 700 Mhz. The Ethernet connection began to be seen in its version B, when they realized it was important to their customers.