The Raspberry Pi Foundation has sold more than 5 million of its inexpensive little computers since the first units shipped in 2012.

For $35 or less, folks can pick up a small, low-power computer with an ARM-based processor and support for a variety of Linux-based operating systems… and that idea has clearly appealed to a rather sizable number of people.

raspi 2

Over the past few years, the developers have refined the design of their Raspberry Pi computers, and the recently launched Raspberry Pi 2 packs a more powerful processor, more memory, and the same $35 price tag as its predecessor.

The concept of the Raspberry Pi was originally developed with education in mind: it’s a low-cost device that teachers and students can use to explore computers and programming.  But while Raspberry Pi computers have been purchased by educators, it’s also become popular with hackers and DIY enthusiasts. People have used Raspberry Pi devices to create home media PCs, affordable desktop computers, and projects involving everything from home automation to robotics.

There are plenty of other mini computers these days, featuring Intel or ARM-based chips and more powerful features than a Raspberry Pi. But most are also more expensive, and just about none have the same kind of community support that’s developed around the Raspberry Pi. When 5 million people are using a platform, it’s much easier to get in touch with other users to find new projects to work on, troubleshoot problems, or work together to build new software or hardware utilizing the system.

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7 replies on “Raspberry Pi: More than 5 million tiny computers sold”

  1. Skipped on Pi 1, but definitely going to buy a Pi 2. I am hoping that all the openelec changes will be stable by the time Newegg sells the Pi 2 for $35. Bluetooth audio during kodi playback is going to be great, and fast ethernet should be more stable than wifi (my afts will buffer when wifi congestion is high).
    Am planning to ditch afts and pair the remote with Pi 2. RIP afts.

  2. Proud to have #552 from the first batch of 10,000 from 2012 🙂

  3. It’s economics. If Intel made a $35 board like this one with the same flexibility it would sell a few as well. They went for a $99 price tag and sober how many they made? Me I am into the hard kernel C1. it doesn’t have all the users but does run Linux. Much faster than the Pi worth out the USB tied to the network port.

    1. Economics yes, but also dedication to the software and the user community.

    2. Considering neither the C1 nor the RPi2 are really that suitable for desktop replacement the bus weakness problems of the RPi2 aren’t quite as bad, even if they are there. The RPi’s advantage at this time is the ability to mostly keep up with the newest kernels and not be hamstrung by a company that’s as idiotic as Allwinner.

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