When the Raspberry Pi foundation announced the Model B+ back in July it did confirm that work was going on a low-cost model that will be comparable in certain respects to the original Model A. Today the Foundation has finally made the announcement. It is called the Raspberry Pi Model A+ and it happens to be smaller and cheaper than its predecessor.
The original Model A was 86mm in length whereas the A+ is only 65mm. It is powered by the same BCM2835 application processor and 256MB of RAM. Overall power consumption has been reduced and the board also brings improvements made in the Model B+.
Some of these improvements include the addition of a push-push microSD card slot as opposed to the old friction-fit SD card socket. The audio circuit, with a dedicated low-noise power supply, provides better audio. GPIO header goes down to 40 pins, making the A+ compatible with the HAT standard for add-on boards.
When the first Raspberry Pi was released back in 2011 many though that the idea of producing a board like this for $25 was ambitious. Now the Foundation has been able to knock off $5 more so the Model A+ can be purchased for $20 today from MCM in the U.S. Customers in the UK can purchase it for £20 starting today as well.
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