RS – Shipment of latest 512MB Raspberry Pi boards begins (model B)

RS Components (RS) and Allied Electronics have announced they are commencing immediate shipment of the upgraded 512MB version of the Raspberry Pi model B board. Customers around the world who have an existing order with RS or Allied, and are awaiting delivery of their 256MB Raspberry Pi, will automatically receive this upgraded version. All new orders placed via the RS or Allied websites will be fulfilled with the 512MB version, says the duo.

This latest version of Raspberry Pi doubles the RAM capacity on the board from 256MB to 512MB, and is produced on Revision 2 boards, which incorporate feedback and suggestions from current users, giving all-round better performance of the board. Customers placing orders through RS or Allied will benefit from this improved functionality at no additional cost.

The tiny, credit card sized PCB was created by the Raspberry Pi Foundation to promote interest in computer programming among young people and enthusiasts, and has met with phenomenal global demand since its launch earlier this year.

Eben Upton, executive director, Raspberry Pi Foundation said, “We’re really excited to be able to offer this enhanced version of the Model B Raspberry Pi, and are very grateful to our partners at RS for all their hard work in making this possible. We believe that the increase in memory will make the platform substantially more useable, especially for people who want to use it as a general purpose computer, or who want to use it to run enterprise-grade software written in languages like Java.”

Glenn Jarrett, global head of product marketing, RS Components, said: “The arrival into stock of the 512MB version is particularly good news for those customers who have waited so long for their Raspberry Pi, as they will now get a higher performance product. The combination of the unparalleled demand for the product and delays in the supply of the Broadcom processor used as the core component for Raspberry Pi has created unexpectedly long lead times for our customers. We’d like to thank them again for their patience, and assure them we are doing everything possible to fulfil their orders as quickly as we can.”