Raspberry Pi Zero’s a $5 computer that’s smaller than a banknote

Raspberry Pi, the microcomputer that powers of the world’s most interesting home projects, was already fairly small. You could easily tote one around in a handbag without much of a weight or size penalty, but it’s developers back in Wales thought that even that was too big.

Its latest invention, the Raspberry Pi Zero, is even smaller, lighter and cheaper than any Pi before it. How cheap you ask? It retails for just US$5, or the same price as a relatively expensive pair of socks in South Africa.

More impressive still are the specs. There’s a Broadcom BCM2835 processor, sporting one ARM11 core running at 1.0GHz, 512MB of RAM, a mini-HDMI output compatible with 60fps video and a duo of micro USB ports. It’s extremely impressive considering that it’s just over six centimetres long, and three centimetres wide.

Read more: Meet PiKasa: the Cape Town-based all-in-one Raspberry Pi computer

The device also sports the same layout of pins compared to its bigger brothers, so it should in theory play nice with some of the current Raspberry Pi addons and goodies.

It’s currently on sale in the US and UK, but there’s no work just yet on South African availability. Nevertheless, expect the Raspberry Pi Zero to retail for around R100 when it finally arrives on our shores.

Image: Raspberry Pi Foundation