Ten Raspberry Pi 2 alternatives
The Raspberry Pi 2 is the single-board computer of the moment, but there are plenty of others out there. We've rounded up some of the most eye-catching offerings.
Raspberry Pi Model B+
At the launch of the Raspberry Pi 2 it was announced that the Raspberry Pi B+ would continue to be available, and at the same $35 (£22.78) price as the Pi 2. However RS Components already shows the Pi Model B+ as marked down to £20.35 (ex. VAT).
For more on the B+, see ZDNet's Hands-on with the Raspberry Pi Model B+.
Arduino Uno
The Italian Arduino Uno (£17.33 ex. VAT from RS Components) is perhaps the benchmark for small single-board computers.
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BeagleBone Black
The BeagleBone Black (£35.16 ex. VAT from RS Components) is the open-source US equivalent of the Raspberry Pi from the non-profit BeagleBoard.org Foundation.
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Banana Pi
The Banana Pi (£31.95 inc. VAT on Amazon) is a fork of the Raspberry Pi that uses different components, but attempts to provide as much compatibility as possible.
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PandaBoard
PandaBoard is an open OMAP 4 processor-based mobile software development platform. The OMAP (Open Multimedia Applications Platform) processor was developed by Texas Instruments for portable/mobile multimedia applications. In 2012 TI announced that it was quitting the mobile processor business to concentrate on embedded platforms, and the future of OMAP remains uncertain. The PandaBoard can be obtained from DigiKey.
LinkSprite pcDuino
LinkSprite manufactures several single-board computers in the pcDuino range. This picture is of the pcDuino 3, which costs $59.99 (about £39) from LinkSprite.
Intel Galileo Gen 2
Intel's Galileo Gen 2 is based around an Intel Quark SoC X1000 application processor and is compatible with the Arduino line of products. It provides more power and functionality for those already familiar with Arduino prototyping tools and costs around £50 (ex. VAT).
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Intel NUC series
Intel also offers the NUC series of kit products built into a mini-PC complete with case. The bare boards from this series are also available for purchase. Prices range from $128 to $419 (£83-£273).
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Cotton Candy
The Cotton Candy from Norwegian company FXI Technologies is "a USB stick sized computer that provides a single, secure point of access to a user's personal cloud services and apps through their favorite operating system, while delivering a consistent experience on any screen."
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Odroid-CI
One of a range of single-board computers from Hardkernel, the Odroid-CI is another $35 competitor for the Raspberry Pi. It has a similar hardware specification to the Pi, with a 1.5GHz quad-core Amlogic Cortex-A5 (ARMv7) CPU and 1GB of RAM. Available operating systems include Ubuntu 14.04 or Android KitKat.