Raspberry Pi waiting list scrapped: Let the bulk buying begin

The Raspberry Pi, a $35 (£21.60) ARM-based Linux system of tiny proportions, continues to prove popular. The non-profit organization behind the system, the Raspberry Pi Foundation, has said that both of its manufacturing partners -- RS Components and element14/Premier Farnell -- are now producing up to 4,000 units per day.

In light of the steady, high demand, according to a recent blog post published by the non-profit's single full-time worker Liz Upton, the purchase restrictions placed on the credit-card sized Linux system have now been lifted.

Before, purchases were restricted to one per customer. When the cheap, programmable computers first launched online, stocks were decimated within minutes and the organisation's website front page had to be replaced with a static version due to the heavy influx of traffic.

Customers can now purchase as many of the computers in one go as they wish. The models come with the latest Raspberry Pi operating system and storage cases.

The expected delivery time for new orders has been estimated at between 4 - 6 weeks, as both manufacturers still have to process a backlog of orders after the ramp-up of production. However, the waiting list is now a thing of the past.

As Upton notes, the Raspberry Pi is particularly applicable to schools and businesses, and now the restriction has been lifted, kits for the classroom might arrive in time before the beginning of the next school term. Upton urges customers to "get your order in; it helps us to plan the supply chain efficiently if we have a bit of visibility of what's just down the road."

However, it is not just schools or businesses interested in the tiny computer. As ZDNet's Tom Espiner writes, the system has been enthusiastically picked up by the modding community, and has been used in projects ranging from drones, robots and even space.