I'm confused as to why they decided to build this when they already previously built the Raspberry Pi 400 keyboard all-in-one for under $100. As a casual observer, I don't know who they've built this $200 machine for. A cheap all-in-one for education totally makes sense, but this is a bit too much. Maybe someone more in the know can help us understand what direction the company's going?
How’s it too much? I’m baffled. If I had a kid between 10-18ish that needed/wanted a non-gaming computer, I would find this to be nearly perfect. $200 is not a ton of money for a computer, and it seems to be just powerful enough I wouldn’t worry about general tasks being frustrating.
I was saying that this part of your previous comment:
> just powerful enough I wouldn’t worry about general tasks being frustrating.
is not true. From experience with pi 5. It was not powerful enough to avoid frustrating an 8-yo. Too many educational resources use the web, and modern browsers are what they are. Maybe this 500+, with an nvme drive, is better, but I wouldn't bet on it.
> how’s it stopping people who prefer the n100 route?
It isn't stopping anyone from anything. This was my advice in case you somehow acquire "a kid between 10-18ish". Don't use overpriced ultra-niche devices unless you have a very clear scenario.
The Pi x00s are targeted at a certain nostalgic parent demographic, but do not, in my limited experience, impress, excite, or interest actual kids. The magic in c64 or apple ii was not in its form factor.
> The negativity about a $200 Linux computer just baffles me. Nobody’s forcing it on you.
You were saying that it's not overpriced for what it is. I said that you can get more performant devices cheaper. That's not negativity, that's conversation. You can say you still like this device for other reasons. Or say "hmm, maybe". Or not say anything at all.
Also, I'm very positive on sub-200 Linux computers, and own many. Including multiple Pis (main series boards and 400 are gathering dust, Zeros are cool as an airplay receiver and laser cutter operator), and several n100 boxes.
I agree it seems strange market placement. I guess the Pi 500 is for kids and the double the price 500+ is for adult hardware hackers who often like mechanical keyboards. However if they're hardware hackers, an all in one keyboard pc makes hacking the hardware redundant?
They'll sell a lot more 500s, but are the profit margins on the 500+ really that great?
>I'm confused as to why they decided to build this when they already previously built the Raspberry Pi 400 keyboard all-in-one for under $100.
As you would have been told in the second paragraph had you actually read the article, this is not a replacement for the existing Pi 500, which costs about that much MSRP.
You're right, I forgot about the Pi 500 which was already that price. Still, it doesn't answer my question about who this is for.
Is their strategy to branch out to more premium prices? Did they see enough uptake of the Pi 500 that they figured there's enough of a niche to want to pay $200 for a bit more?
It's just interesting to me that they started out making cheap little educational devices that were great for the price and now they're making $200 devices. I understand there's a profit-making side to Raspberry Pi now that they're not strictly just a charity, so this must be some long-term bet.
