First Wave of Raspberry Pi Units Arriving in Users' Hands

RS Components and Allied Electronics, the distributors aligned with the tiny $25 and $35 Raspberry Pi computers have begun delivering the first Pi devices, according to their announcement. The first batch of the diminutive, Linux-based inexpensive devices sold out in February in nearly an instant. Now, the distributors have confirmed that units are arriving in the hands of those who pre-ordered them all around the world.

"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, in a statement. "We are working very closely with the manufacturer to bring subsequent batches of boards into stock so that we can fulfil every customer order for Raspberry Pi as quickly as possible." 

Eben Upton, Raspberry Pi founder and trustee, added: "This is an exciting and momentous phase for Raspberry Pi as the boards start heading out to customers from our distributors. We know from the incredible amount of interest in Raspberry Pi that there is a huge impetus among enthusiasts and educators for a product that brings computer programming to the masses, and we encourage these new programmers to share their experiences and results with us." 

If you didn't order one of the early units, you can still pre-order a unit from the next batch online. 

If you're a fan of Linux and you're also interested in how low prices can go for a reasonably high-powered computer, you've probably been following the Raspberry Pi story. Among other uses for it, Raspberry Pi may fill the gap that One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) couldn't quite fill, bringing computing to parts of the world where it has traditionally been unaffordable. It may fill that role because despite the fact that the OLPC team initially promised devices that would arrive for under $100, the prices ended up significantly higher.

The Raspberry Pi team has found a way to deliver a surprising amount of computing power and connectivity in a tiny form factor. A standard Raspberry Pi device comes with a 700MHz ARM11, 256 MB RAM, SD card slot, Ethernet port, 2 USB ports, and an an HDMI connector.

The distributors' statements adds this:

"RS and Allied are currently developing a variety of tools and initiatives to support Raspberry Pi users and the companies' DesignSpark electronics design community is seeing many people discussing ideas and thoughts on Raspberry Pi. Recent additions to the site include a series of Pi Perspectives, where leading UK academics and scientists share their views on Raspberry Pi, and information on a Raspberry Pi experimenter's kit now being developed. Various tutorials covering everything from initial set-up to a guide to the different Linux flavours, including a Fedora Mix start-up guide, are also available."